McLaughlin Lab
(Fall 2023 to Fall 2024)
Principal Investigator
Jay McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Institution/Department
Department of Cellular and Systems Pharmacology at UF
Research Focus
As an intern, I studied different stress mechanisms that contribute to disorders of mood, memory, learning, and drug abuse. The project's results indicate that kappa opioid agonists have the potential to prevent acute narcotic-induced reward. The agonists also show promise for treating drug relapse and depression.
Responsibilities
I ran tests to evaluate different mechanisms and triggers of addiction. First, I would administer our studied therapeutic to test subjects. Then I would run tests like forced swim tests and other behavioral tests to gain insight on the subjects', in this case mice, response to the therapeutic.