Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – identifying synaptic and circuit deficits in the CNTNAP2 mouse model of Autism• Utilized whole-cell patch clamp of pyramidal cells and interneurons, as well as field recording techniques in acute hippocampal slices to perform extensive assessment of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic function, neuronal excitability, and synaptic plasticity of an animal model of Autism;• Prepared immunohistochemistry samples and performed confocal imaging analysis of synaptic markers; • Managed and maintained the colony of CNTNAP2-/- mice, including breeding, genotyping, etc.;• Wrote several fellowship and grant applications (funded - RFK-IDDRC pilot grant 30k);• Wrote a manuscript that was published at The Journal of Neuroscience;• Presented this work orally (nanosymposium) during the 2014 SfN Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.Development and Plasticity of Neural Systems – elucidating the role of the serotonin transporter (SERT) expressed transiently during brain development by glutamatergic neurons.• Used conditional knockout mice carrying a deletion of the SERT gene (5-HTT) exclusively in glutamatergic neurons expressing vglut2 to show that SERT plays a critical role transiently expressed by thalamic neurons during the critical period for mouse somatosensory cortex development; • Implemented the technique for obtaining thalamocortical slices containing the barrel cortex, and recorded thalamically-induced synaptic responses in layer-IV barrel cortex using patch clamp;• Wrote two grant applications

Peripheral Nerve Degeneration and Regeneration – investigating mechanisms of nerve degeneration, and testing therapeutic strategies to accelerate recovery after peripheral nerve injury.• Showed that combining Schwann-cell transplantation in a biodegradable conduit with physical exercise significantly improves the rate of functional and morphological recovery after sciatic nerve transection in mice;• Showed that the absence of galectin-3 speeds up nerve degeneration;• Employed survival surgery techniques in mice, such as sciatic nerve transection, and implantation of a biodegradable nerve conduit;• Prepared and embedded fixed tissue for electromicroscopy analysis;• Analyzed immunofluorescence in fixed tissue using a confocal microscope;• Prepared dorsal root ganglion explants culture from newborn mice for use in neurite-outgrowth assays;• Prepared primary Schwann-cell cultures from mouse sciatic nerve for use in fagocytosis and proliferation assays;• Wrote and authored two research papers

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Neurodegeneration – investigating pathological mechanisms and testing novel therapeutic strategies in AD.• Showed that the activation of D1/D5-like dopamine receptors is able to prevent synapse dysfunction caused by soluble oligomers of the Amyloid-beta peptide in cultured neurons and acute hippocampal slices;• Participated on a project that showed that NMDA receptors are not the sole binding targets of Amyloid-beta oligomers on the neuronal membrane;• Demonstrated that Amyloid-beta oligomers increase the levels of cellular prion protein (PrPc) on the neuronal surface;• Performed biochemical experiments, such as immunolabeling proteins on the neuronal surface (e.g. glutamate receptors), used fluorescence microscopy, western blotting, and imaging analysis (Image J) to quantify changes in protein levels;• Performed field recordings and long-term potentiation (LTP) experiments in acute slices from rat hippocampus; • Prepared primary neuronal cultures from rat embryos’ hippocampi on a weekly basis;• Developed a protocol for feeding low-density neuronal cultures with conditioned media from higher-density plated dishes to optimize long-term survival of hippocampal neurons in culture at a low density;• Wrote a review article about nicotinic receptors and their involvement in synaptic dysfunction in AD;• Wrote a first-author manuscript that was published on Journal of Biological Chemistry, and designed the image that was selected for cover art illustration;• Used cell-viability assays, like the MTT assay, in neuronal cultures to assess the neuroprotective effect of 2,4-dinitrophenol and oxindolic alkaloids from Uncaria tomentosa against an excitotoxic insult with glutamate.

Pain and Natural Product research – characterizing the analgesic effect of natural products isolated from Brazilian medicinal plants. • Utilized rodent models of pain to characterize the analgesic effect of purified extracts and its subfractions obtained from two medicinal plants from Brazil;• Used a broad array of pharmacological tools to dissect the mechanism of action of the subfractions as centrally-active analgesics; • Wrote three manuscripts – one as first author and two as second author – which are published in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior and the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.