Julie Kauer

We are interested in the molecular mechanisms involved in synaptic transmission and plasticity using electrophysiological, optogenetic and behavioral tools in mouse brain and spinal cord. We study brain circuit alterations caused by stress, drugs of abuse, and pain. Our lab focuses on three regions of the central nervous system 1) the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key nucleus in the reward pathway and containing neurons that regulate sleep architechture, and 2) spinal dorsal horn to brain connections that carry pain information, and 3) the lateral hypothalamus, a region critical in regulation of sleep/wake cycles. We have a postdoctoral opening for a highly motivated researcher for a new project in our lab. This project will probe brain circuits controlling sleep, testing for alterations in mice with mutations in bipolar disorder-related genes. The new postdoc will use electrophysiological and optogenetic approaches in mice to examine excitability changes and be part of a vibrant multi-university collaboration that will for the first time study how neuronal circuits, sleep/wake states, and behavior are altered with CRISPR driven bipolar disorder-linked gene mutations.