Our lab studies the role dopamine plays in mental health disorders such as substance abuse and depression using a combination of electrophysiological, histological, and behavioral techniques. 

Our research has a particular focus on the interaction between the lateral habenula and circulating gonadal hormones and their combined role in the regulation of dopamine function.

Our goal is to better understand how these hormones modulate the regulation of dopamine activity, and use that knowledge to enhance disease treatment.

The Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, a division of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is located in Catonsville, MD near the University of Maryland Baltimore County. We are an interdisciplinary, translational center with faculty conducting basic neuroscience, neuroimaging, and clinical research.