Start-Up Award: Brittany Smith
- Institution: Northern Kentucky University
- Department: Psychological Science
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Rank: Lecturer
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About the project: This project will assess how exposure to opioid drugs during the prenatal period affects offspring brain function. We will use a mouse model to study cognitive behaviors and identify changes in brain tissue, along with the use of noninvasive human biosamples.
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Intended outcomes: We hope to discover patterns of biological changes that are responsible for cognitive deficits observed after prenatal opioid exposure.
- How KY INBRE will help accomplish these goals: KY INBRE funding will provide resources to help identify neurobiological pathways that are affected by prenatal opioid exposure in order to explore these pathways in greater depth with future NIH proposals.
- Outside of the classroom/lab: I enjoy spending time outdoors with my husband and three children, home-cooked meals, and doing CrossFit at our family-owned gym.
