Current Lab Members

Joe Lonstein - Principal Investigator

I received my undergraduate degree in Biology and Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton (now Binghamton University), where I gained my first research experience through an independent study in the laboratory of Dr. Skip Spear examining the effects of ethanol on learning and memory in juvenile rats.

I then attended graduate school in Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers University and became fascinated with behavioral neuroendocrinology and development. My graduate research in the laboratory of Dr. Judy Stern focused on the role of the midbrain periaqueductal gray as a sensorimotor integration site for maternal caregiving, aggression, and anxiety in postpartum rats.

I conducted post-doctoral training with Dr. Geert De Vries in the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies at the University of Massachusetts investigating how perinatal and adult hormones influence parental behaviors in the biparental prairie vole. My interests in how hormones and other neurochemicals induce neurobehavioral change, particularly related to mother-infant interactions and postpartum affective behaviors, continue in our ongoing work.

I've also been very fortunate to have long-standing collaborations with my MSU colleagues Drs. Alytia Levendosky & Anne Bogat studying how the timing of prenatal stress affects later maternal and infant social, emotional, and stress biology outcomes in humans (https://www.msubaby.com/); and also with my MSU colleague Dr. Lily Yan studying the effects of low daytime light intensity on neurochemsitry and affective behaviors in a diurnal rodent (https://yanlab.psy.msu.edu/).

For more information, see my vita or email me at lonstein@msu.edu.

Taryn Meinhardt - Graduate Student

I received my Bachelors degree in Psychological Science from California State University at San Marcos in 2019. While there, I worked in the lab of Dr. Kimberly D'Anna-Hernandez studying the role of hypocretin (i.e., orexin) and maternal experience on maternal caregiving and the susceptibility to affective disorders. In the Lonstein lab, I am currently studying the role of CRH receptors 1 and 2 in the midbrain serotonin system on maternal caregiving and affective behaviors.

Hanna Dobson - Graduate Student

I attended Grand Valley State University graduating as an honors student in 2024 with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience and a minor in Anthropology. In my undergrad, I worked in Dr. Xandra Xu's lab looking at the effects of lead and mercury exposure on learning and memory in zebrafish. In the Lonstein Lab, I am investigating changes in perineuronal nets in the insular and somatosensory cortices in response to the reproductive cycle of female rats and how this relates to maternal behaviors.

Brenna Hammond - Graduate Student

I received a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience from Centre College in 2024. While there, I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Melissa Burns-Cusato studying the role of endogenous opiates in the mating and nesting behaviors of ringneck doves. I also participated in Dr. Kelly O’Quin's lab studying the health of the Belizean coral reef system. In the Lonstein Lab, I am studying how pregnancy lays the groundwork for the onset of maternal behavior, in particular how exogenous hormones influence perineuronal nets in the somatosensory and insular cortices.

Katrina Linning-Duffy - Laboratory Manager

Katrina attended Claflin University on an academic scholarship and while there was accepted to summer research internships at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating summa cum laude from Claflin in 1995, Katrina enrolled in the graduate program in Microbiology at Michigan State University. She began working as a Research Technologist in Dr. L. Karl Olson's laboratory in MSU's Physiology Department studying pancreatic epithelial cells. Katrina was later a Research Assistant in Dr. Puliyur S. MohanKumar's laboratory in the MSU Department of Pathobiology studying the effects of estrogen on brain monoamines. For over 10 years, Katrina has been the Laboratory Manager of the Lonstein Lab investigating the neurobiology of postpartum behaviors.

Radhika Talreja - Undergraduate Research Assistant

I am currently a senior honors student at Michigan State University, majoring in Physiology and minoring in Business and IT. In the Lonstein Lab, I have been studying the role of corticotropin-releasing factor receptors (CRFRs) in maternal caregiving and affective behaviors.

Christina Xenos - Undergraduate Research Assistant

I'm an MSU undergraduate with a triple major in Human Biology, Neuroscience, and Psychology. I assist on projects examining the role of corticotropin-releasing factor receptors (CRFRs) in postpartum behaviors.

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