Debra Bangasser, Ph.D. Temple University Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program 1701 North 13th Street 873 Weiss Hall [email protected] Philadelphia, PA 19122 (215)-204-1015 EDUCATION Doctor of Philosophy, Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, January 2007 Dissertation: The modulation of learning by stress: Identification of critical circuitry Master of Science, Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, January 2005 Thesis: The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is necessary for the persistent enhancement of conditioning after stress Bachelor of Arts, Majored in Psychology, Minored in Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, May 2001 Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa FACULTY APPOINTMENT Assistant Professor (tenure track), Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 2012–Present. RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Postdoctoral Fellow, Stress Neurobiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, Laboratory of Dr. Rita J. Valentino, 2006–2012 Investigated sex differences in corticotropin releasing factor receptor structure and function as a mechanism underlying sex differences in vulnerability to psychiatric disorders Graduate Student, Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, Laboratory of Dr. Tracey J. Shors, 2001–2006 Investigated the neuroanatomy underlying sex differences in the effects of stress on learning Summer Intern, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Laboratory of Dr. Jordan Grafman, 2000 Assessed participants and designing visual stimuli for an fMRI study on the effects of cognitive processing on emotionally charged images Research Assistant, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, Laboratory of Dr. Phillip J. Langlais, 1999–2001 Investigated deficits in attention and cognition in a thiamine deficiency model of Wernickie- Korsakoff’s syndrome in rats Debra Bangasser, Ph.D. — [email protected] page 2 of 8 GRANTS NIH Pathway to Independence Award, K99/R00, National Institute of Mental Health, Sex differences in stress receptors underlie female vulnerability to stress, MH092438, K99 2011– 2012, R00 2012-2015 NRSA Postdoctoral Individual Fellowship, F32, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, Individual Training Grant, National Institute of Mental Health. Sex differences in the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor, MH084423, 2008–2011 NRSA Postdoctoral Training Grant, T32 (listed as Debra Waxler), Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, Institutional Training Grant, National Institute of Mental Health, MH014654, 2008 NRSA Predoctoral Training Grant, T32, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, Institutional Training Grant, National Institute of Mental Health, T32-MH019957, 2003–2004 RESEARCH INTERESTS My research goal is to identify neurobiological mechanisms that mediate vulnerability to stress and stress-related mental illnesses, like post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Because women are twice as likely as men to suffer from these disorders, my research program uses animal models, behavior, endocrine, and molecular techniques to identify sex differences in stress-susceptibility. My ongoing studies investigate sex differences in the structure and function of stress receptors in brain arousal systems and the behavioral consequences of these molecular sex differences. AWARDS AND HONORS (Since 2001) Science Undergraduate Research Grant, LI-COR Biosciences 2013 Co-Chair, Presidential Pipeline Initiative, American Psychological Association 2013 Workshop Participant, Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), Arousal-Regulatory Systems 2012 National Institute of Mental Health Poster Award, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Poster Day 2012 Associate Faculty Member, Faculty of 1000 Post-Publication Peer Review 2011-Present Proteomics Course, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2011 Distinguished Research Trainee Award, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 2011 Poster Award, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Poster Day 2011 Workshop Participant, Sex Differences in Brain, Behavior, Mental Health and 2011 Mental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health Julius Axelrod Travel Award, Society for Neuroscience Meeting 2010 Poster Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Meeting 2010 Travel Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Meeting 2010 Young Investigator Award, Gordon Research Conference Catecholamines 2009 Young Investigator Award, Workshop on Steroid Hormones and Brain Function 2009 Young Scientist Travel Award, American Society for Pharmacology and 2009 Experimental Therapeutics Conference Travel Awardee Breakout Session, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2008 Conference Young Investigator Memorial Travel Award, American College of 2008 Neuropsychopharmacology Conference Postdoctoral Scientist Award, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental 2008 Therapeutics Conference, Neuropharmacology Division Hot Topic, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Conference 2007 Poster Award, Biomedical Postdoctoral Research Symposium, University of Pennsylvania 2007 Poster Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Meeting 2006 Debra Bangasser, Ph.D. — [email protected] page 3 of 8 Graduate Fellow, Rutgers Women in Neuroscience 2004 National Honor Society, Sigma Xi 2003 Research Scholarship, Western Psychological Association Meeting 2001 Research Award, Psi Chi, San Diego State University 2001 Research Award, College of Science Symposium, San Diego State University 2001 Poster Award, Psi Chi Poster Day, San Diego State University 2001 Commencement Speaker, San Diego State Psychology Department 2001 Graduate School Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa’s Epsilon Association 2001 Graduate School Scholarship, Mortar Board 2001 RESEARCH PAPERS Valentino, R.J., Van Bockstaele, E., & Bangasser, D.A. Sex biased corticotropin-releasing factor signaling: A mechanism for sex differences in stress-related disease. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Epub ahead of print. Bangasser, D.A., Lee, C.S., Cook, P.A., Gee, J.C., Bhatnagar, S., & Valentino, R.J. (2013). Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) of acute stress responses in rats with a history of repeated social stress. Physiology & Behavior, Epub ahead of print. Bangasser, D.A. (2013). Sex differences in stress-related receptors: “Micro” differences with “macro” implications for mood and anxiety disorders, Biology of Sex Differences, 4, 2-15. BioMed Central designation "Highly Accessed.” Valentino, R.J., Bangasser, D.A., & Van Bockstaele E. (2013). Sex biased stress signaling: the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor as a model, Molecular Pharmacology, 83, 737-45. Bangasser, D.A., Reyes, B., Piel, D., Rarach, V., Zhang, X., Van Bockstaele, E.J., Beck, S.G., & Valentino, R.J. (2013). Increased vulnerability of the brain norepinephrine system of females to corticotropin-releasing factor overexpression, Molecular Psychiatry, 18,166-73. Image from the paper was the February 2013 Journal Cover. Bangasser, D.A., & Valentino, R.J. (2012).Sex differences in molecular and cellular substrates of stress. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 32, 709-23. Valentino R.J., Reyes B., Van Bockstaele E., & Bangasser D. (2012). Molecular and cellular sex differences at the intersection of stress and arousal, Neuropharmacology, 62,13-20. Carroll, J.C., Iba, M., Bangasser, D.A., Valentino, R.J., James, M.J., Brunden, K.R., Lee, V. M.-Y., & Trojanowski, J.Q. (2011). Chronic stress exacerbates tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and cognitive performance through a corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-dependent mechanism in a transgenic mouse model of tauopathy, Journal of Neuroscience, 40, 14436-14449. Featured in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12, 704 Research Highlights section. Bangasser, D.A., Zhang, X., Garachh, V., Hanhauser, E., & Valentino, R.J. (2011). Sexual dimorphism in locus coeruleus dendritic morphology: A structural basis for sex differences in emotional arousal, Physiology and Behavior, 103, 342-351. Bangasser, D.A., Curtis, A., Reyes, B., Bethea, T.T., Parastatidis, I., Ischiropoulos, H., Van Bockstaele, E.J., & Valentino, R.J. (2010) Sex differences in corticotropin-releasing factor receptor signaling and trafficking: potential role in female vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology, Molecular Psychiatry, 15, 877, 896-904. Featured in Nature, 465, 988 Research Highlights section and Faculty of 1000 Biology Debra Bangasser, Ph.D. — [email protected] page 4 of 8 Bangasser, D.A., & Shors, T.J. (2010) Critical brain circuits at the intersection between stress and learning, Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 34, 1223-33. Carr, G., Bangasser, D.A., Bethea, T.T., Young M., Valentino, R.J.,& Lucki, I. (2010) Antidepressant-like effects of kappa-opioid receptor antagonists in Wistar Kyoto rats. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35, 752-63. Bangasser, D.A., & Shors, T.J. (2008). The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis modulates learning after stress in masculinized but not cycling females, Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 6383–6387. Faculty of 1000 Biology. Waddell, J., Bangasser, D.A., & Shors T.J. (2008). The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala is necessary to induce the opposing effects of stressful experience on learning in males and females, Journal of Neuroscience,