Mentor Areas
Dr. De Biasi’s work is at the intersection of neuroscience, pharmacology and genetics. Her research interests focus on the neurobiological mechanisms involved in cholinergic signaling that contribute to drug addiction. In her efforts to define the molecular basis of nicotine dependence and withdrawal, she has made significant contributions to our understanding of the role of various nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits throughout the brain. Her lab is also contributing to the understanding of how certain nicotinic receptor gene variants influence nicotine dependence. Other work in her lab focuses on nicotine and alcohol co-dependence, nicotine’s interactions with stress, and cholinergic involvement in neurodegenerative disease and mental illness.
Description:
Project 1: Flavorants and e-cigarettes.
Undergraduates will be part of a team that studies the effects of flavorants used with e-cigarettes on the dopaminergic system. The student will help with operating a vaping machine that delivers e-cigarette nicotine vapor to animals during various behavioral tasks. Opportunities will be provided to learn and analyze behavioral and biochemical data.
Project 2: Mechanisms of drug co-abuse.
Undergraduates will participate in a study that examines the effects of nicotine-morphine co-abuse on the dopaminergic system. The student will help with behavioral and fiber photometry experiments to examine animals that are either taking the drugs or undergoing withdrawal.
Project 3: Genetic influences on alcohol dependence.
This is a bedside to bench project that examines the influence of human gene variants on alcohol-related behaviors. The student will help with a preclinical model of alcohol use disorder and various behavioral analyses.
Project 4: The effects of increased dopaminergic activity on addiction-related behaviors.
This project will use a combination of behavior, neurochemistry, and viral manipulations to interrogate the role of extracellular dopamine in addiction-related behaviors. The undergraduate research assistant will use multiple behavioral tests for consumption of highly-rewarding fluids, anhedonia, and compulsivity. There may additionally be opportunities to apply neurochemical techniques such as microdialysis and in vivo voltammetry to evaluate systems-level dopamine effects. This project requires a greater level of commitment than the others listed and is best suited for students who already have some lab experience.
Preferred Qualifications
Willing to work with small mice; willing to learn and conduct behavioral studies and stereotactic surgeries. The level of commitment will depend on the project but the time commitment will very likely be few hours every day.
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. De Biasi Lab
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.