My graduate research used fast scan cyclic voltammetry to characterize the effects of psychostimulants on dopamine and serotonin dynamics in mouse brain slices, including: description of monoamine detection in mouse midbrain, investigations of mechanisms of somatodendritic dopamine release, comparison of various monoamine uptake inhibitors and releasers on dopamine and serotonin uptake and changes in dopamine and serotonin terminal and cell body dynamics as a result of methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. My post-doctoral position will continue to build on my knowledge in monoamine neuroscience and will develop technical expertise in in vitro electrophysiological recording to probe the function of mesocorticolimbic dopamine systems as they relate to schizophrenia and drug abuse. I am currently using prepulse inhibition measurements to evaluate sensorimotor integration and whole cell recordings to study dopamine effects in the rat prefrontal cortex; both techniques are used to assess changes that occur in schizophrenia- and addiction-like conditions. Ideally, I want to combine voltammetry and electrophysiology to monitor monoamine neurotransmission from a pre- and post-synaptic perspective simultaneously, while correlating these measurements with behavior. Ultimately, I would like to obtain a tenure track position in an academic institution in the field of pharmacology and/or neuroscience that would foster top-notch research and allow opportunities for involvement in student mentoring and teaching.

Electrophysiology - In vitro whole cell electrophysiology, In vivo extracellular electrophysiology

 

Electrochemistry - In vitro fast scan cyclic voltammetry

 

Other skills - Brain tissue slicing (microtome, vibratome, cryostat), neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion, acoustic startle/prepulse inhibition, locomotor behavioral paradigms, rodent perfusion, histology, polymerase chain reaction, Northern and Southern analysis, cell culture, Hoerscht 33342 dye assay, soft agar clonagenicity assay, single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet) assay.

 

1996-1997 Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY; Major: Biology

 

1997-2000 Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

B.S. in Biology and Society, May 2000

 

2000-2006 Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology, December 2005
Dissertation Title: "Dopamine and serotonin dynamics in mouse brain"
Advisor: Sara R. Jones, Ph.D; Committee: Dwayne W. Godwin, Ph.D. (chairman); Michael Aschner, Ph.D.; David C.S. Roberts, Ph.D.; Kent E. Vrana, Ph.D.; Jeff L. Weiner, Ph.D.

 

2006-present Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Baltimore, MD
Advisor: Patricio O'Donnell, M.D., Ph.D.

 

1998, 1999 Summer Research Assistant, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC

Advisor: Azeez A. Aileru, Ph.D.

 

1999-2000 Research Assistant, Cornell University
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Ithaca, NY
Advisor: Barbara J. Strupp, Ph.D.

 

2000-2006 Graduate Student
Wake Forest University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Winston-Salem, NC
Advisor: Sara R. Jones, Ph.D.

2006 Research Fellow, Wake Forest University School of Medicine 
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Winston-Salem, NC
Advisor: Sara R. Jones, Ph.D.

 

2006-present Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Baltimore, MD
Advisor: Patricio O'Donnell, M.D., Ph.D.

 

1. Budygin EA, John CE, Mateo Y and Jones SR (2002) Lack of cocaine effect on  dopamine clearance in the core and shell of the nucleus accumbens of dopamine- transporter knockout mice. J Neurosci 22(10):RC222 (1-4).

 

2. Budygin EA, John CE, Mateo Y, Daunais JB, Friedman, DP, Grant KA and Jones SR (2003) Chronic ethanol exposure alters presynaptic dopamine function in the striatum of monkeys: A preliminary study. Synapse 50(3):266-268.

 

3. Mateo Y, Budygin EA, John CE and Jones SR (2004) Role of serotonin in cocaine effects in mice with reduced dopamine transporter function. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101(1):372-377.

 

4. Budygin EA, Brodie MS, Sotnikova TD, Mateo Y, John CE, Cyr M, Gainetdinov  RR and Jones SR (2004) Dissociation of rewarding and dopamine transporter- mediated properties of amphetamine. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101(20):7781- 7786.

 

5. Mateo Y, Budygin EA, John CE, Banks ML and Jones SR (2004) Voltammetric  assessment of dopamine clearance in the absence of the dopamine transporter: no  contribution of other monoamine transporters in core or shell of nucleus accumbens. J Neurosci Methods 140(1-2):183-187. 

 

6. Erikson EM, John CE, Jones SR and Aschner M (2005) Manganese accumulation in striatum of mice exposed to toxic doses is dependent upon a functional dopamine transporter. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 20(3):390-394.

 

7. John CE, Budygin EA, Mateo Y and Jones SR (2006) Neurochemical characterization of the release and uptake of dopamine in ventral tegmental area and serotonin in substantia nigra of the mouse. J Neurochem 96(1):267-282.
 
8. Mathews TA, John CE, Lapa GB, Budygin EA and Jones SR (2006) No role of  the dopamine transporter in acute ethanol effects on striatal dopamine dynamics.  Synapse 60(4):288-294.

 

9. John CE and Jones SR (2006) Exocytotic release of dopamine in ventral tegmental area slices from C57Bl/6 and dopamine transporter knockout mice. Neurochem Int 49(8):737-745.

 

10. John CE and Jones SR (2007) Voltammetric characterization of the effect of monoamine uptake inhibitors and releasers on dopamine and serotonin uptake in mouse caudate-putamen and substantia nigra. Neuropharmacology 52(8):1596-1605.

 

 

1. John CE and Jones SR (2007) Fast scan cyclic voltammetry of dopamine and serotonin in mouse brain slices. A.C. Michael and L.M. Borland (Volume Ed.) Electrochemical Methods in Neuroscience, S.A. Simon and M.A.L. Nicolelis (Series Ed.) Methods & New Frontiers in Neuroscience. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, LLC.