Faculty

Alcohol Research Training Grant in Epigenetics and Pathophysiology (ARTEP) | About Us

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Alcohol Research Training Grant in Epigenetics and Pathophysiology (ARTEP)
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Faculty

Subhash C. Pandey PhD

  • Joseph A. Flaherty MD, Endowed Professor of Psychiatry
  • Director, Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics
  • Professor of Biochemistry in Psychiatry
  • Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology
  • Director, Neuroscience Alcoholism Research
  • Senior VA Career Research Scientist
  • Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Subhash Pandey is a nationally and internationally well-known neuroscientist in the alcohol addiction field and has contributed significantly towards a better understanding of the neurobiology of alcoholism. Two striking features of alcohol addiction are the rapid onset of tolerance to the acute effects of alcohol and the development of ethanol withdrawal symptoms after cessation of protracted ethanol consumption.

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Subash C. Pandey

Olusola Ajilore MD, PhD

  • Associate Head for Faculty Development
  • University of Illinois Center for Depression and Resilience (UI CDR) Professor of Psychiatry
  • Director, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program
  • Director, Clinical Research Core/Center for Clinical and Translational Science
  • Director, Adult Neuroscience Residency Research Track
  • Co-Director, UICOM Medical Scientist Training Program
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois-Chicago
Dr. Ajilore's research goal is to understand the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder in the context of medical co-morbidities and late life using novel magnetic resonance imaging techniques. His group focuses on using structural and functional brain connectivity to study the brain as a network.

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Olusola Ajilore

Tory Eisenlohr-Moul PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology
  • Associate Director of Translational Research in Women’s Mental Health
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UIC, and holds an additional courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized fellowship training in the pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of hormone-related psychiatric disorders-- particularly premenstrual disorders.

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Tory Eisenlohr-Moul

Erin C. Berenz PhD

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Psychology, UIC
Dr. Berenz completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Vermont in 2011, a predoctoral internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center/G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics.

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Erin Berenz

Elizabeth Glover PhD

  • Assistant Professor
  • Director of the CARE Behavior Core
  • Department of Psychiatry, UIC
Dr. Glover completed her BS in Zoology at Arizona State University in 2001 and subsequently worked as a research assistant studying nonhuman primate behavior at the Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio, TX. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience in 2012 from Wake Forest University School of Medicine where she investigated the effects of chronic alcohol self-administration on the serotonin system in nonhuman primates under the mentorship of Dr. David Friedman.

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Elizabeth Glover

Mark Rasenick PhD

  • Distinguished Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Psychiatry
  • Director, Biomedical Neuroscience Training Program
  • Research Career Scientist, Jesse Brown VAMC
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine

Dr. Rasenick’s work has focused on G protein signaling in the nervous system and the relationship of neurotransmitter activation to rapid modification of the cytoskeleton.  He has been particularly interested in how G proteins and the cytoskeleton work in concert to modify synaptic shape and to form a molecular basis for depression and the action of antidepressant drugs.

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Mark Rasenick

Mark Brodie PhD

  • Professor
  • Department of Physiology & Biophysics
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • Director: Master of Science in Medical Physiology Program
Dr. Brodie has studied the effects of acute and chronic alcohol on neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) for many years, and his work has helped elucidate how alcohol acts to increase dopamine neurotransmission in the brain. In conjunction with the CARE, Dr. Brodie is interested in examining epigenetic factors in the VTA that are altered by chronic alcohol exposure and produce sustained changes in the physiology of the VTA during withdrawal. The goal of this work is to understand the neurobiological basis of alcohol effects on the reward and reinforcement systems of the brain.

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Mark Brodie

Emma Childs PhD

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Emma Childs is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of The Human Addiction Psychopharmacology laboratory. Dr Childs’ research is dedicated to improving our understanding of addictive disorders. One of her primary areas of interest is studying how powerful associations are formed between abused drugs and cues (i.e., the people, places and paraphernalia) surrounding drug use.

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Emma Childs

Natania Crane PhD

  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Director of the UIC Recovery Clinic
  • Department of Psychiatry, UIC
Dr. Crane is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Associate Director of the UIC Recovery Clinic. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Her research utilizes multiple methods (i.e., fMRI, EEG, cognitive, clinical, and self-report measures) to examine the brain and behavioral risk factors and consequences of Substance Use Disorders, especially Cannabis Use Disorder. An important aspect of her research is studying the relationship between clinical mental health factors and substance use, particularly between depression and cannabis use. Dr. Crane received her PhD in Clinical Psychology, completed her Clinical Internship and T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship at UIC, with an emphasis in Neuropsychology. She has received Early Career Travel Awards from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the American Psychological Foundation, as well as a K23 Early Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Natania Craine

Douglas Feinstein PhD

  • Research Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, UIC
  • Research Career Scientist, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
Doug Feinstein, Ph.D. (Professor, Anesthesiology; Bioengineering; Cell Biology and Anatomy; Biopharmaceutical Science) studies novel approaches to reduce damage and inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases. Studies include analysis of disease progression in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS), in vitro studies using primary cultures of neurons and glial cells from wild type and transgenic mice, and analysis of the molecular events involved.

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Dennis R. Grayson PhD

  • Professor of Molecular Neuroscience
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Grayson is interested in epigenetic mechanisms associated with psychiatric disease. We study DNA methylation and other repressive epigenetic marks. In addition, we are currently investigating abnormal patterns of gene expression following chronic alcohol use and withdrawal. The overall goals are to identify new drug targets in each paradigm to establish new therapeutic approaches for treatment. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Biochemistry and obtained the PhD in Biochemistry from Wayne State School of Medicine.

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Dennis R. Grayson

Robin Mermelstein PhD

  • Distinguished Professor of Psychology
  • Director, Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP)
  • Co-Director, UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS)
  • Clinical Professor of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Robin Mermelstein, PhD. is Distinguished Professor, Psychology Department, Director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), and Co-Director of UIC’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science.  Dr. Mermelstein has been active in health-behavior research for over 25 years, with continuous NIH funding as a Principal Investigator on grants since 1986. Dr. Mermelstein’s research focuses on understanding the development of health-compromising and health-promoting behaviors and developing interventions to reduce health risks. Much of her work has focused on the role of mood regulation in the development, progression, and change in tobacco use behaviors in adolescents and young adults.

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Mermelstein Robin

Natalia Nieto PharmD, MSc, PhD

  • Visiting Professor

Dr. Natalia Nieto's laboratory has longstanding interest and demonstrated expertise in identifying the molecular mechanisms driving the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. During my Ph.D., She acquired solid knowledge on the role of oxidative stress, inflammation and fatty acid metabolism in disease progression.

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Natalia Nieto

Graziano Pinna PhD

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Psychiatry
  • University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine
Graziano Pinna, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UIC. He earned his undergraduate degree and a Laurea of Doctor at University of Cagliari (Italy) and obtained a PhD in Neuroendocrinology at the Free University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany) before being appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, UIC. Dr. Pinna focuses his research on PTSD, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and their comorbidities using a translational approach. His work spans metabolomics and molecular biology studies of the neurosteroid and endocannabinoid systems in animal models of stress-induced PTSD and depression, and of chronic intermittent alcohol exposure and withdrawal. Bridging preclinical with clinical studies, his studies on neurobiological mechanisms underlying PTSD and AUD aim to suggest novel therapeutic targets, through a biomarker-driven precision medicine approach.

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Graziano Pinna

Jamie D. Roitman PhD

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Psychology
Jamie D Roitman

Mitch Roitman PhD

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Psychology, UIC
Mitchell Roitman

Rajiv P. Sharma MD

  • Research Professor of Psychiatry, Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Neuroscience
  • Director of the Psychosis Program
Dr. Rajiv P. Sharma is a Research Professor of Psychiatry. Over the past 30 years, he has examined multiple aspects of the schizophrenia illness, including clinical presentations, biochemical studies (hormones, immune molecules, monoamine metabolites, neuropeptides), as well as molecular studies in living subjects, postmortem brain samples, and cell studies. His research is funded by NIH. He is currently focusing on the dissection of epigenetic gene regulation in schizophrenia, pertaining to immune function, cognition, treatment response.

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Rajiv Sharma

Kuei Y. Tseng MD, PhD

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology
  • University of Illinois Chicago, College of Medicine
Kuie Y. Tseng

Zaijie (Jim) Wang PhD

  • Professor of Pharmocology and Pharmaceutics, Biopharmaceutical Sciences
  • College of Pharmacy
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Z Jim Wang

Pingwen Xu PhD

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Medicine
  • Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism
  • University of Illinois Chicago
Pingwen Xu