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FACULTY

Peter Winsauer, PhD

Assistant Dean for Basic Science Research and Professor

Pharmacology, Biochemistry & Experimental Therapeutics

Academic Office:

LSUHSC School of Medicine 
Interim Department Head of Biochemistry
Department of Pharmacology
CSRB 533 Bolivar Street
New Orleans, LA 70112

Bio

Dr. Winsauer has excelled in research, teaching, and institutional service.  In 2018 he was awarded the endowed L. Allen Barker Professorship in Pharmacology. He has been funded by the NIH for more than 20 years, has 78 peer-reviewed publications and over 130 published abstracts.  He has taught in the Medical, Nursing, Dental, Allied Health, and Graduate schools, and he has mentored numerous graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.  He won the Copping Award for teaching excellence in 2010.  He has served as a leader in the Faculty Assembly, and Faculty Senate, and he has served on numerous committees and workgroups including the Appointments and Promotions Committee.   In 2013, he received the Alumni Excellence Award in recognition of his many contributions to the School of Medicine.  In 2019, Dr. Winsauer was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).  Currently, Dr. Winsauer also serves as Interim Department Head of Biochemistry. 

Education

PhD from American University

Associations

American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Behavioral Pharmacology Society

Publications, selected

Erwin LL, Nilges MN, DeLarge AF, Weed PF, Winsauer, PJ. (2018). Effects of Noncontingent Ethanol, DHEA, and Pregnanolone Administration on Ethanol Self-Administration in Outbred Female Rats. Alcohol. May 9, 2018. In Press.

DeLarge AF, Erwin LL, Winsauer PJ. Atypical binding at dopamine and serotonin transporters contribute to the discriminative stimulus effects of mephedrone. Neuropharmacology. 2017 Jun;119:62-75.

Maxi JK, Dean M, Zabaleta J, Reiss K, Bagby GJ, Nelson S, Winsauer PJ, Peruzzi F, Molina PE. Chronic Binge Alcohol Administration Dysregulates Hippocampal Genes Involved in Immunity and Neurogenesis in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques. Biomolecules. 2016 Nov 9;6(4). pii: E43.

Ketchum MJ, Weyand TG, Weed PF, Winsauer PJ. Learning by subtraction: Hippocampal activity and effects of ethanol during the acquisition and performance of response sequences. Hippocampus. 2016 May;26(5):601-22.

Weed PF, Filipeanu CM, Ketchum MJ, Winsauer PJ. Chronic Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol during Adolescence Differentially Modulates Striatal CB1 Receptor Expression and the Acute and Chronic Effects on Learning in Adult Rats. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2016 Jan;356(1):20-31.

Winsauer PJ, Filipeanu CM, Weed PF, Sutton JL. Hormonal status and age differentially affect tolerance to the disruptive effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC) on learning in female rats. Front Pharmacol. 2015 Jul 2;6:133.

Hulin MW, Lawrence MN, Amato RJ, Weed PF, Winsauer PJ. Comparison of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and pregnanolone with existing pharmacotherapies for alcohol abuse on ethanol- and food-maintained responding in male rats. Alcohol. 2015 Mar;49(2):127-38.

Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography

Research

Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory
For the past fifteen years, my research projects have focused primarily on the behavioral pharmacology of all classes of drugs of abuse, including alcohol, in a variety of animal species.  Recently, in collaboration with Louisiana State University's Alcohol Research Center, my laboratory began studies aimed at evaluating the neuropsychological deficits produced by alcohol and marijuana in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys.  By participating in these studies, I also became interested in how drug abuse during adolescence can produce long-term deficits in brain function.  Drug abuse during adolescence, a significant period of maturation, may enhance an individual's vulnerability to the central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction and could produce persistent changes in the brain that could set the stage for a lifetime of mental health issues such as drug taking or abuse.  To enhance our understanding of these complex issues, my laboratory is now collaborating with several of my colleagues interested in molecular biology in order to enhance the breadth of the research conducted by my laboratory. The primary reason for this is that I believe the future of pharmacology lies in the study of the interface between specific molecular and behavioral mechanisms.