Alumni

Ph.D. Students

Megan Huizenga, Ph.D. (2018)

Current Position: Research Scientist, Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Megan defended her thesis, "Efficacy and safety profile of cannabinoid-targeted compounds for seizure control in immature animals" in August of 2018. During the course of her thesis, Megan described the efficacy of a wide range of drugs targeting the cannabinoid system using an array of screening models in immature rats (see: Huizenga et al., 2017). She also described a specific profile of neuroprotective action of CB1 receptor agonist treatment against some types of injury in the immature brain (see: Huizenga and Forcelli, 2018). The last part of her thesis, focused on the preclinical safety and efficacy of cannabidivarin (a propyl analog of the recently approved cannabidiol), in immature rodents. She found that anticonvuslant effects were specific to certain types of seizures, and that this effect was mediated, at least in part by TRPV1 receptors (see: Huizenga et al., 2019).

Brittany Aguilar, Ph.D. (2018)

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis

Brittany's thesis, "Midbrain Contributions to Innate Defense and Anxiety Behaviors" was focused on midbrain structures (the substantia nigra pars reticulata and the superior colliculus) in the control of prepulse inhibition (see: Aguilar et al., 2018a) across two species and the control of anxiety behavior in a rat model of epilepsy (see: Aguilar et al., 2018b). During the course of her experiments, Brittany also modified and validated a new task to measure anxiety responses in rodents.

Catherine Elorette, Ph.D. (2019)

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Mount Sinai

Catherine's thesis, "The Basolateral Amygdala and Superior Colliculus Regulate Physiological and Behavioral Measures of Avoidance and Approach" was focused on the interplay between these two brain regions in the control of defense behavior in non-human primates. Catherine described a pathway from the superior colliculus to the pulvinar to the amygdala (see: Elorette et al., 2018) which may serve as a rapid, subcortical route for information transfer from the colliculus to the amygdala. The second component of her thesis focused on pharmacological activation and inhibition of the basolateral amygdala in a wide array of behavioral tasks (social behavior, social dominance, unconditioned fear, autonomic responses).

Evan Wicker, Ph.D. (2019)

Curent Position: Russo Partners, LLC

Evan's thesis, "Direct and Indirect Inhibition of the Mediodorsal Thalamus Affects Seizure Propagation and Cognition" spanned both rodent and non-human primate experiments. Evan demonstrated that the mediodorsal thalamus plays a unique role in behavioral flexibility in primates (see: Wicker et al., 2018) , that its projections to a small portion of the frontal cortex are necessary for limbic seizures, and that indirect inhibition of this nucleus through a neighboring site in the thalamus likewise suppressed seizures. While in the laboratory, Evan also contributed to several other projects and lead an investigation on chemogenetic approaches to control seizures (see: Wicker and Forcelli, 2016) and optogenetic manipulation of the substantia nigra for seizure control.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Suhasini Kaushal, M.D.

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Medstar-Georgetown University Hospital

Suhasini joined the laboratory while a Fellow in Neonatal/Perinatal medicine at MedStar-Georgetown University Hospital. Her research in the lab focused on white matter injury following anti-seizure drug exposure (see: Kaushal et al., 2016). After joining the faculty at GUH, we have continued to collaborate on the effects of anticonvulsant drugs on brain development.

Victor Santos, Ph.D.

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Departament of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais

Victor joined the laboratory in the Summer of 2016 after completing his Ph.D. in Physiology at Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Brazil. In the laboratory, Victor worked on several projects: he characterized strain- and dose-dependent effects of gamma butyrolactone (Santos et al., 2018), a common model of absence seizures, evaluated the role of CB1 receptors in the control of seizures originating in forebrain and hindbrain networks, and examined optogenetic and chemogenetic modulation of the major neuronal subtypes in the pedunculopontine nucleus in the control of seizures. Victor started his faculty position in May of 2018, and his papers will be out soon!

Research Assistants and Undergradutes

Greg Danko, MSc - Greg was our lab manager from August of 2017 to August of 2018. While in the lab, Greg optimized the use of the Amino Cupric Silver (degenerative silver) stain for a project examining anticonvulsant drug toxicity in the primate brain. Greg also carried out a large-scale behavioral study examining the effects of early life exposure to levetiracetam, a common drug used to treat seizures in babies. Greg recently took a Research Associate position at Proneurotech, a biotech startup company in San Fransisco. We wish him well!

Veronica Beck (Ph.D. candidate) - Veronica was an undergradute RA in the laboratory from 2014-2016. During her time in the lab, Veronica contributed to several studies of anti-seizure drugs for use against neonatal seizures. Veronica also contributed to our study of anti-seizure effects of optogenetic inhibition of the SNpr. Veronica is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, continuing to study epilepsy (woo!!!) with Dr. Lori Isom.

Sam Gutherz (Ph.D. candidate) - Sam was an undergraduate RA in the laboratory from 2013-2014. After finishing his B.S., Sam worked for a few years as a Research Assistant at University of Pittsburg, and then started a Ph.D. at Ohio U focusing on evolutionary biology.

Robert Hammack (Ph.D. candidate) - Rob was a RA in the lab from 2016-2017. After his time at Georgetown, Rob joined the Ph.D. program in Neuroscience at USUHS.

Catherine Kulick, M.D. - Cathy was a undergraduate RA in the laboratory from 2012-2014. After her time at Georgetown, she went on to complete her MD at New York University. She is currently a Neurology Resident at Columbia. We hope she keeps working in epilepsy research!

Colin Soper (M.D. candidate) - Colin was the first person I hired! He started in the lab as an undergraduate in 2011, and then worked for me as a Research Assistant until 2013. He was essential in our first optogenetic experiments. Colin went on to other RA positions, and most recently has started medical school, where we also hope he continues to study epilepsy!