2018 Rising Star in Neuroscience: Deidre O’Dell

The 2018 Rising Star Award in Neuroscience was awarded to Deidre O’Dell for her outstanding work in Dr. Bernard Schreurs’s lab. According to Dr. Schreurs, Deidre has turned a struggle faced by the lab for several years into a major research project. The physical barrier surrounding most of the neurons in the cerebellum has created a problem when trying to study this area of the brain, which is the main interest of researchers in this lab. Deidre has embraced this challenge and created an opportunity to learn more about brain development, plasticity, and disease.

In order to do this, Deidre has learned several surgical, behavioral, immunohistochemical, and microscopy skills in order to characterize the development and role of perineuronal nets. These perineuronal nets are extracellular matrices that surround brain cells in areas like the amygdala and cerebellum and control critical periods of development. They may also be crucial for learning and memory as well as play a role in disorders of memory including Alzheimer’s disease, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In her work, Deidre has already begun to show how the perineuronal net increases during development and how its interruption may give insights into learning and memory. In addition, Deidre is going to explore how modification to the perineuronal net caused by commonly used antibiotics and antidepressants may be affecting learning and memory using a model of PTSD.

Each year during Graduate Student Appreciation Week, one student from each of the seven Biomedical Research Programs is awarded the Rising Star Award. This award is granted to a student who is at the midway point in their graduate program and exemplifies the characteristics of an exceptional scientist. The faculty in each specific program of study select the recipients of the Rising Star Award.