School of Medicine

Postdoctoral Fellows

Hannah Jarrell, PhD

Degree: PhD, Lousiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
Mentor: Michael Salling, PhD
Research: Mechanisms of Amygdala Plasticity in Alcohol Self-Administration
Department: Neurobiology
Email: hjarr1@lsuhsc.edu

I have set up and optimized operant condition paradigms for alcohol self-administration in mice and optimized imaging and analysis conditions for studying changes from chronic binge alcohol (CBA) use in rhesus macaque. Future research includes contiued analysis of neuronal morphological changes and changes in neuron excitability in rhesus macaques in the context of SIV and CBA administration.

Alejandro Lopez, PhD

Degree: PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Medicine
Mentor: David Welsh, MD and Robert Siggins, PhD
Research: TBD
Department: Pulmonary/Critical Care & Physiology
Email: alop13@lsuhsc.edu

My current research focuses on understanding how alcohol exposure contributes to immune dysfunction, cellular senescence, and chronic inflammation. I am particularly interested in how alcohol alters cellular signaling, protein interactions, and inflammatory mediator production. This work also explores how these pathways may be targeted therapeutically to reduce alcohol-associated inflammation and immune aging.

Predoctoral Fellows

Meagan Donovan

Degree: BS, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Mentor: Janos Paloczi, PhD
Department: Cardiovascular Center
Email:  mdono2@lsuhsc.edu

I am currently investigating potential therapeutics to target the mitochondrial changes that occur in cardiomyocytes following alcohol exposure.

Eric Eymard

Degree: MS, University of Cincinnati
Mentor: Charles Wood, PhD
Department: Interdisciplinary Oncology
Email: eeymar@lsuhsc.edu

I am investigating how alcohol use disorder disrupts humoral immunity and its role in preventing oncogenesis mediated by EBV and KSHV, and how HIV co-infection may compound this effect.