Dr. Karkhanis received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2010 in the laboratory of the late Prof. Ralph Siegel at Rutgers University where she studied neuronal encoding of sensorimotor representation for reaching in the parietal lobe of macaques. Her growing interest in neuropharmacology led her to complete her post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Sara Jones at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In Dr. Jones' lab, she studied the effects of early-life stress and chronic intermittent ethanol exposure on voluntary self-administration of ethanol and alterations in mesolimbic dopamine transmission. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and a member of the Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center at Binghamton University. Her independent work combines cutting-edge techniques to elucidate and modulate neural circuits involved in affective and addictive disorders. 

e-mail: akarkhan@bignhamton.edu 

twitter: @ankarkhanis

Gavin graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Sciences in May 2021. He officially joined the Behavioral Neuroscience program and the Karkhanis lab in July 2021. He seeks to investigate the neural mechanisms of intravenous opioid self-administration in rats, while also researching how the nucleus accumbens plays a role in ethanol self-administration. As a researcher, Gavin hopes to aid in the understanding of how and why substance use disorders manifest, especially in the face of the opioid epidemic. He hopes to further pursue these research interests beyond graduate school as a principal investigator. Outside of the lab, Gavin loves to read, watch movies with friends, and play chess!  

e-mail: gvaugha1@binghamton.edu 

Maddi graduated from Miami University with a B.A. in Psychology and co-major in Neuroscience in May 2022. At Miami, she researched stress, social relationships, and health outcomes, as well as possible interactions between fluctuating levels of estrogen and psilocybin efficacy. She began in Karkhanis lab in July 2022. At Binghamton she will work with Dr. Karkhanis to study the impact of adolescent alcohol exposure on pain sensitivity and risks of developing comorbidities later in life. She hopes to gain insight into the neural mechanisms behind these changes and work to further understand substance use disorders to work to have better treatments and outcomes for those affected. Outside of academics she loves to listen to music, hike, cook, and is always ready for a coffee break.

e-mail: mheitka1@binghamton.edu 

Abby graduated from Binghamton University with a B.S. in Integrative Neuroscience with Honors in December 2021. Her Honors Thesis in Karkhanis Lab during undergraduate studies focused on discovering the relationship between adolescent alcohol, pain sensitivity, and dopamine changes in the nucleus accumbens shell. She joined the Karkhanis lab as a graduate student in August 2023. Her current project focuses on the underlying mechanisms that promote heightened pain sensitivity and overexcitable dopamine transmission in adulthood following adolescent ethanol exposure. Abby hopes to aid in finding more efficacious and less addictive treatments for pain. Outside of lab, Abby likes to go thrifting, listen to music, and go on walks with her dog Winston. 

e-mail: amkelley@binghamton.edu