Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- PhD Student, PhD Program in Pharmacology & Physiology
Thesis Advisor: Pre-Thesis
Research Interests: Neurodegenerative diseases, neurotoxicity, neurodevelopment, drug addiction, electrophysiology, and cell morphology
Education:
Michigan State University, B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2022
Georgetown University, M.S. Pharmacology, 2023
About: Gabrielle’s research experience began in Dr. Forcelli’s laboratory during her time in the master’s program, where she investigated the neurotoxicity of multiple anti-seizure medications (cenobamate, brivaracetam, and perampanel) on the developing rat brain. Following graduation, she continued in the lab as a research technician, primarily focusing on the neurotoxicity of lacosamide. Then she shifted into in vivo optogenetic research, working on several projects. Using a virus with light-sensitive proteins, she modulated GABAergic neurons in the striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats for absence (GBL) and for generalized tonic-clonic (kindling) seizure models. Additionally, she worked on modulating the same neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus, in the WAG/Rij model, a genetic rodent model of absence epilepsy that mirrors humans. This work in the optogenetic research aimed to determine if light could reduce the duration and severity of these seizures, and be used as a possible treatment opposed to deep brain stimulation.
Rotations:
Dr. Kathryn Sandberg