Summary of Current Research
My research is focused on understanding how new memories form and how, once formed, these memories can be modulated or weakened through environmental and pharmacological interventions.  Research in my lab investigates memory at three different levels of analysis.  At the behavioral level, we are interested in how different environmental experiences can cause memories to be formed or suppressed.  At the neurobiological systems level, we focus on how brain circuits that mediate memory are altered by behavioral experience.  At the molecular level, we investigate whether manipulating epigenetic processes can modulate long-term memories.  Recent work has focused on the control of gene expression by pharmacological modulation of chromatin, the protein complex that packages genomic DNA.  Relaxing chromatin structure by administering a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor can promote gene expression by facilitating interactions between transcription factors and DNA.  We have found that HDAC inhibitors promote the development and persistence of different kinds of memories.  At a molecular level, these findings reinforce the idea that regulation of gene expression via chromatin modification is critical for memory.  At a clinical level, these findings suggest that modulating chromatin modification during an episode of learning may lead to a persistent form of memory.

Previous Positions
2010-2016  Associate Professor, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU

2005-2010  Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU

1998-2004 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania (Advisor: Ted Abel)