Mentor

Ryan T. LaLumiere

Program Start

August 2019

PhD Research Concentration

My research in the LaLumiere laboratory focuses on the neurobiology of addiction and relapse. Specifically, I am interested in the mechanisms that regulate opioid seeking behavior. I investigate these mechanisms in a rat model of heroin addiction, wherein rats learn to press a lever to receive heroin infusions. Using this model, we can apply techniques to manipulate activity in brain regions of interest and observe changes in opioid-seeking behavior, thus identifying the structures necessary for promoting or inhibiting drug seeking.

Dissertation Topic

Distinct, Learning-Dependent Neural Mechanisms Regulating Cocaine and Heroin Seeking

Thesis Defense Date

June 2025