The Barker Lab

In this review, lead by Laura Giacometti, we discuss our current understanding of sex differences in the glutamate system, implications for substance use disorders and treatment, and gaps in knowledge. 

We can't wait to get started on our recently funded CNAC Pilot Award "Sex differences in HIV- and cocaine-induced changes in astrocyte function and reactivity", with Dr. Giacometti as Co-I!

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We're grateful to welcome three funded summer fellows, Kelsey Chandran, Brianna Hamilton, and Briana Johnson! Learn more about their funding, research plans, and career interests below. 

Qiaowei Xie successfully defended her Master's in Drug Discovery and Development today! Her thesis work on sex differences in compulsive-like ethanol seeking was recently published at ACER - learn more here.

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Qiaowei will start her PhD in Pharmacology and Physiology this fall, and we're sure many great things are yet to come!

We're very excited to have received a NOA for our NIDA A-START Award investigating aberrant corticostriatal circuit function in a mouse model of HIV infection. This research, in collaboration with the Gaskill Lab, will assess infection-induced alterations in compulsive-like drug seeking and underlying neurobiological substrates. 

Congratulations to Qiaowei for receiving a poster award at the Drexel Sex and Gender Research Forum. Her research identifies sex-specific effects of chronic ethanol exposure on reward seeking despite aversive experiences. 

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https://drexel.edu/medicine/Community-Engagement/Institute-for-Womens-Health-and-Leadership/programs/sex-gender-research-forum/

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Our new paper published in Learning and Memory discusses a role for ventral hippocampus projections to the nucleus accumbens shell in supporting habitual behaviors that persist despite changes in contingency.

Fangyi Huang is completing her Master's in Drug Discover & Development Program as part of an undergraduate-graduate cooperation between Drexel University and China Pharmaceutical University.