Presenting Author
University of Texas Health Science Center SA
My research focuses on the serotonin system and its wide range of impact on social behavior and a variety of different human disorders. Past projects I have worked on during graduate school focused on selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and their effects on social dominance and courting behavior. Currently I am focusing on developmental disorders with abnormalities associated with the serotonin system and finding comprehensive drug therapies to ameliorate core symptoms of disorders like autism. I use a behavioral and physiological approach to study the efficacy of a variety of different pharmaceutical therapies with current projects focusing on metformin as a treatment to counteract autism behavioral deficits by increasing serotonin levels in the brain and decreasing androgen hormones in the blood. Future projects I have underway include expanding on current projects by investigating other mechanisms of action for metformin in the brain and other therapeutic treatments for both developmental and mood disorders.