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News from the Blakely Lab

Lorena Areal
Congrats to Hannah Phelps who completed her BS degree in Biological Sciences through the FAU-Max Planck Honors Program, successfully defending her thesis entitled Impact of an Autism and ADHD Associated Mutation in the Dopamine Transporter on in vivo Dopamine Release Arising from a Naturalistic Reward, working with Dr. Felix Mayer.
Osama Refai
Congrats to Tiffany Zhang, who completed her B.S. degree in Cellular Neuroscience at the Wilkes Honors College and in the Max Planck Honors Program. She successfully defended her thesis entitled Assessment of a New Mouse Model for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Studies of the Viral Mimetic Poly I:C on Biochemical Measures of Brain Inflammation and Serotonin Signaling, working with Dr. Paula Kurdziel. 
Lorena Areal
Congrats to Vuong Tran, for completion of his B.S. in Biology from the Wilkes Honors College, pursuing studies of synaptic plasticity in the brain of the DAT Val559 mouse model of ADHD/Autism/BPD.
Osama Refai
Congrats to Steven Shatkhin for receiving a grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry to pursue research under Dr. Adele Stewart on the sex-dependence of behavioral changes associated with the DAT Val559 mouse model of ADHD/Autism/BPD.
Osama Refai
Congrats to Melainie Hart for receiving an appointment to the 2022 NAMBU Summer Research Program at FAU to pursue her research on the serotonergic plasticities associated with the DAT Val559 mouse model of ADHD/Autism/BPD.
Lorena Areal
Congrats to Lorena Areal, Ph.D, postdoctoral fellow, for winning the third annual Art of Science contest. View the photo and other winners.
Faakhira Diljohn
Congratulations to Faakhira Diljohn for being awarded the Outstanding Thesis Award at the 2021 Harriet Wilkes Honors College Medallion Ceremony.
Felix Mayer
Congratulations to Dr. Felix Mayer for receiving a prestigious fellowship from the Max Kade Foundation for his proposed research on the impact of kappa opiate receptors on the function and rescue of mutant dopamine transporters identified in ADHD, Autism and Bipolar Disorder.
Lorena Areal
Congratulations to Dr. Lorena Areal in receiving a pilot grant to pursue functional brain imaging studies in genetically altered mice at the Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging & Spectroscopy Facility or the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, UF McKnight Brain Institute. Read More.
Paula Kurdziel
Congratulations to Dr. Paula Kurdziel for being awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health. The award provides three years of funding in support of her investigations of the role of serotonergic IL-1b receptors in modulating physiological and behavioral responses to peripheral inflammation.
Dr. Adele Stewart
Congratulations to Dr. Adele Stewart in her promotion to Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Science in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU.