A lot has happened since the pandemic. I will update soon but right now I want to let you know that we are hiring at least 2 technicians. Animal handling experience in some capacity would be beneficial or at least a comfort handling rodents. We also conduct a lot of surgeries! Feel free to contact me if you are interested in a temporary or permanent position.
Pandemic Mayhem
It has been quite the year for all of us! The pandemic shut us down completely for a while and all interactions were via Zoom. I missed the face-to-face with my lab dearly during those months. Working from home and home-schooling was a juggling act but we got through it. I hope it doesn’t come to that again.
We had a phenomenal Medical Student in the lab for the summer. Jentre Hyde is intelligent, incredibly hard working, and a pleasure to be around. We loved having her join us. She made a hug dent in the backlog of work that grew over the lockdown.
The great news is that Christopher Walker and I got a book chapter out the door and we are working on some really exciting data that should come out at the end of the year. Moreover, the lab secured a Veterans Affairs Merit Award that started in July 2021. This provides us the security to continue with our amazing work. I am very grateful for the Veterans Affairs continued support!
Summer Is Here...
And that means that the Summer Interns have arrived. They have been in the lab for less than two weeks and are working hard. Brittani Greene has joined us from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Her major is Biochemistry and she is a pretty impressive long-distance runner. She comes in with a great attitude and has already demonstrated that she’s a hard worker and meticulous in her work. Here’s a little more information on the program: https://jcesom.marshall.edu/news/musom-news/students-find-hands-on-summer-research-experiences-at-marshall-university/?fbclid=IwAR395C8QR-zv-aN-T71agNEIvsJ6n7gDsjpbhg2Jgn1xiaw9x0-uvEPGH4E
Brittani Greene (upper row, far left).
Marshall University Research Day (March 22nd, 2019)
Research Day was a huge success. Christopher got his first ever poster presentation under his belt and did a great job - well done! And, Taylor Boggess won first prize for his presentation in the oral presentation category. The Dr’s Risher couldn’t be more proud of their enthusiasm, energy, and hard work.
BrainExpo April 4th 2019
Christopher Walker spent the day at the Marshall University BrainExpo teaching Elementary School children about the brain and providing demonstrations. The children, students, and faculty had a blast!
Media Relations
Two of our publications from 2015 published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research attracted a great deal of media attention. Over 100 news outlets reported on our findings from this year, these include:
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/news-events/news-noteworthy/adolescent-alcohol-activates-hippocampal-astrocytes-adulthood
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/dumc-yab042215.php
http://www.scienceupdate.com/2015/04/alcohol-the-adolescent-brain/
https://ssri.duke.edu/news/your-adolescent-brain-alcohol-changes-last-adulthood
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/science-news/binge-drinking-brain-damage
https://www.wsj.com/articles/adolescents-drinking-takes-lasting-toll-on-memory-1430173521
https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-adolescent-alcohol-brain-adulthood-20150427-story.html