People
Russell Morton
My lab is interested in the underlying cellular and physiological mechanism that underlie concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries. We often utilize multi-modal approaches like in-vivo electrophysiology, 2P imaging, or miniature microscopes in combination with behavioral tasks in awake and behaving animals.
Natalie Pinkowski
Natalie is a graduate student in my laboratory and is currently investigating the behavioral and cognitive deficits during the acute phase of mTBI injuries. Natalie is establishing in-vivo electrophysiology recordings to further our understanding of how spreading depolarizations affect acute behavior.
Katie McCurdy
Katie established that mTBI induced spreading depolarizations are sensitive to pharmacological inhibition with ketamine and is currently investigating the vulnerable acute period of mTBIs. Katie is currently an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico majoring in Psycology.
Previous Members
Johann Pacheco
Johann was instrumental in establishing the presence of spreading depolarizations following a mild traumatic brain injury in my laboratory. Johann is currently in medical school at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
Sydney Carpentier
Sydney investigated the pathological effects of repeated mild Traumatic Brain injuries. Sydney is currently a undergraduate student at California State University Long Beach majoring in Psycology and is currently applying to graduate schools. Sydney was part of the Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) summer research program.
Claire Stratton
Claire investigated the role of cortical compression as the possible mechanism for spreading depolarization initiation in mild traumatic brain injuries and established that slower impacts do not produce spreading depolarizations or concussion-like behavior. Claire was part of the Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) summer research program.
Ashlyn Hines-Lanham
Ashlyn developed the closed skull impact model in my laboratory and was the first to describe the concussion-like behavior. Ashlyn also did the initial histological analysis of this model. Ashlyn was part of the Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) summer research program.
Shayla Clark
Shayla Clark investigated the role of serotonin in the initiation and propagation of spreading depolarizations. Shayla is currently a graduate student at the University of Virginia. Shayla was part of the Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) summer research program.
New Mexico Spreading Depolarization Consortium
Our Laboratory is part of the New Mexico Spreading Depolarization Consortium. We are a group of clinical and preclinical investigators that are driven to understand the physiological mechanisms of spreading depolarizations and how that translates to patient outcome.