Certain psychiatric medications, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be harmful during pregnancy and the postnatal period, having been shown to lead to birth defects and reduce helpful maternal behaviors. These factors may require birthing parents to temporarily stop taking such medications, but ceasing them may pose a risk to the parent. This presents […]
C08: Literature Review of Interprofessional Education in Psychology
Interprofessional Education, IPE, is a method of improving the way that healthcare professionals can offer treatment to their patients by teaching them how to work together in a more collaborative and effective way. Specifically, this review is looking at interprofessional education that includes psychology professionals working with other fields of healthcare. This project consists of […]
C07: Inject Money into Harm Reduction: The Life and Cost Saving Powers of Syringe Services Programs (SSPs)
For this research project, I interned at Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) throughout Butler County in collaboration with the Butler County General Health District. SSPs help provide people in need with sterile syringes, injection equipment, naloxone, and fentanyl test strips. They also help link people in need to rehabilitation facilities and reduce the spread of infectious […]
C06: Bridging The Gap: The Importance of Innovation Specific and General Capacities in After-School Programming
This project is a result of my global health immersion experience that I completed in the after-school program at the Oyler School in Cincinnati. After School programs are developed in the early 1900s as a result of social concerns for the safety and care of children living in unsafe neighborhoods, and as a result of […]
B55: Hungry for More: Food Insecurity Programs at Miami University
This project was a part of my global health capstone project, which I completed through an immersion experience this spring at TOPSS food pantry in Oxford, Ohio. During this time, I observed that no college students had used the pantry while I was there. I learned in previous coursework that food insecurity in college students […]
B49: The Relation Between Sensory Input and Alcohol Drinking Patterns in College Students
According to a national survey, almost 53% of full-time college students ages 18 to 22 drank alcohol in the past month and about 33% engaged in binge drinking during that same time frame. Unhealthy drinking habits are on a rise and despite the efforts implemented by schools, just under 2,000 college students die a year […]
B25: Effects of Adolescent Lorazepam Exposure on Alcohol Drinking Behavior in Adulthood
My general research area is adolescent drug exposure and its long-term consequences. For this study, I investigated the effects of adolescent exposure to benzodiazepines (BZDs) on alcohol intake, preference, and neural response to alcohol in adulthood. This is important for the field because although adolescent alcohol exposure has been thoroughly researched, the long-term effects of […]
B21: Persistent Effects of Early Life Acute Versus Chronic Footshock Stress on Fear and Anxiety Behaviors in Adulthood.
Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States affecting nearly 1 out of 4 Americans and is a major cause of mortality. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the fifth most common psychiatric disorder diagnosis in the United States. Women are 2-3 times more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety disorders. […]
B20: Role of Mu-Opioid Receptor expression on FoxP2 neurons in Aversion-Resistant Drinking
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is an issue facing many Americans, and many neural mechanisms can lead to the development of this disorder. The present study aimed to characterize the development of AUD behaviors using a new transgenic line of mice with their mu-opioid receptors (MORs) genetically deleted on intercalated (ITC) cells. MORs are the most […]
B19: Examining Sex Differences in Ethanol Consumption Using the Four Core Genotypes Model
Previous research has shown that female rodents have higher rates of alcohol consumption than males, but the mechanisms underlying these behavioral differences have yet to be uncovered. Here, we used the Four Core Genotype mouse model along with Intermittent Access to evaluate the effects of gonadal hormones and sex chromosomes on drinking habits. Four Core […]