Graduate student Sydney Lee and colleagues published a new preprint on anxiety-like behaviors

We published a new preprint: “Anxiety-like behaviors in mice unmasked: Revealing sex differences in anxiety using a novel light-heat conflict test.” We have also submitted the manuscript for publication. The study was led by graduate student Sydney Lee. Thanks also to contributors Emily Greenough, Paul Oancea, and Laura Fonken.

Anxiety is twice as prevalent in women than men - yet tests for anxiety in rodents fail to consistently reveal sex differences. New preclinical approaches are required to unmask sex differences in anxiety.

Here, we reveal a new heat-light conflict test - the Thermal Increments Dark-Light (TIDAL) conflict test. In TIDAL, female (vs. male) mice exhibit strongly amplified anxiety behavior, recapitulating gender differences in human anxiety

The TIDAL test apparatus consists of two heat-controlled plates. One plate is illuminated and maintained at a "comfy" temperature. The other plate is dark - but its temperature increases incrementally to aversive temperatures..

Rodents can move freely between the plates. We found that females persist on the heated, dark plate to higher temperatures than males.

Thus, our novel TIDAL conflict test reveals robust anxiety behavior in females. Future studies should integrate TIDAL or other conflict tests to identify mechanisms and treatments for anxiety.

The Gaudet lab has been awarded a grant!

Dr. Gaudet and his lab have been awarded a grant from Mission Connect, a program of the TIRR Foundation! Mission Connect is a group that connects and funds spinal cord injury research in Texas. The group holds monthly meetings, and organizes a top-notch research meeting in Houston every November.

Gaudet’s grant will explore the role of neuroinflammation and phagocytosis after spinal cord injury. The proposal combines complementary transgenic and pharmacologic approaches. We are excited to proceed with this study, with an aim to identify novel neuroprotective therapies that improve SCI outcomes.

Warm welcome to our new graduate student, Ashley Scheinfeld!

The Gaudet Lab is excited to welcome a new graduate student to the lab! Ashley Scheinfeld is from El Paso, TX. She has been in the Gaudet lab for 3 years as an undergraduate - she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience at UT-Austin last year. She has been honing her technical skills by working in clinical labs prior to starting graduate school. We are delighted she’s joining the lab, and can’t wait to see what Ashley will contribute to the field of neuroscience!

The Gaudet lab will contribute to a new grant on circadian rhythms and aging from the National Institutes of Health

Our collaborator, Dr. Laura Fonken, has been awarded an R01 titled, “Disrupted Circadian Regulation of Cell Migration at CNS-Immune Interfaces in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease.” Gaudet is a Co-I on the grant. Congrats to Dr. Fonken and her team!

Gaudet is awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin

Gaudet was awarded a Raymond Dickson Centennial Endowed Teaching Fellowship “in recognition of exemplary performance and commitment to teaching.” This award is through the University of Texas at Austin and the College of Liberal Arts.

At UT-Austin, Gaudet teaches an upper-level undergraduate course, “Biological Clocks and Behavior,” and a graduate course titled “Neuroinflammation in Health and Pathology.” Gaudet is honoured to receive this award. He is thankful for extensive training in teaching from coursework and mentors at the University of British Columbia, and for the support of colleagues and teaching experts at UT-Austin and in the Department of Psychology.

New paper: Aging and miR-155 affect survival and neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

We published a new paper in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity!

“Aging and miR-155 in mice influence survival and neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury.”

The average age at spinal cord injury is increasing, and people are living longer with improved treatment after spinal cord injury - yet there remain important questions about how spinal cord injury affects the geriatric population. How does age at SCI affect pain symptoms? Can pain symptoms after SCI be quenched using strategies that reduce inflammation?

In this paper, we assessed spontaneous pain symptoms and evoked pain in adult and aged mice. We also sought to reduce pain symptoms by using mice lacking a key pro-inflammatory microRNA, miR-155. Aged mice showed increased spontaneous pain symptoms and death after injury, which were dampened in mice lacking miR-155.

At baseline, aged mice had increased heat hypersensitivity. After SCI, both adult and aged mice displayed pain symptoms, which were partially alleviated by miR-155 deletion.

These results highlight the importance of studying SCI and neurologic disorders across the lifespan. Identifying age-related deficits and immunomodulatory treatments after SCI could help improve clinical approaches for pain management.

For more, see our related Twitter thread.

Virtually tour the G-Lab and campus!

Wonder what it’s like on campus at University of Texas at Austin? What’s a campus without a turtle pond, a world-class art gallery, or a canoe sculpture? UT has it all! Our lab made a video - check it out here.

For the research inclined, we also made a tour of the Gaudet lab. The Health Discovery Building was completed in 2017 and features open-concept research areas and beautiful open spaces for lunch and meetings. Check out our video here.

Special thanks to G-Lab members Sydney, Emily, and Kate for helping with the video, and to Emily Greenough for producing these edits!

Welcome to our new graduate recruits to UT-Austin's Department of Psychology

The Gaudet lab is excited to welcome this week @UTPsychology graduate recruits! We hope everyone has virtual fun over the next two days. Austin, UT, and Psychology are great places to exist!

 This picture is #BTS of our campus tour video - if this were an album cover, our band would be called D.A.T.A.: Definitely Awkward, Totally Analytic. #scientists

Happy Hour fun with the lab

We prepared party favors to celebrate a Happy Hour (pandemic distancing style) with Fonken-Gaudet lab members. It was great hanging out with everyone - even virtually! Wishing everyone a great 2021.

The Gaudet Lab welcomes a new rotating graduate student, Kate Davis!

Kate Davis will be joining the Gaudet Lab as a rotating graduate student! Kate completed her B.S. in Psychology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. She is in her first year in the Institute for Neuroscience (INS) Graduate Program at UT-Austin. Welcome, Kate!

Covid-19 vaccine is coming to Austin!

The Covid-19 vaccine administration setup was just completed in our building at UT-Austin’s Dell Medical School! Health care workers have had a difficult year, so it is exciting to see this development - particularly before the holidays. Thank you to all essential workers.

We’re looking forward to widespread administration of these remarkably effective vaccines after extraordinarily speedy creation and testing. Go Science!

Welcome to our new Research Technician, Emily Greenough!

We’ve hired a new Research Technician! Emily Greenough joins us, soon after completing her Bachelor of Science at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. We look forward to working with you. Welcome, Emily!

Syndey (left) and Emily maintain distance while planning Science.

Andrew visits Baylor University

Andrew took a virtual trip up I-35 to Waco, TX - he was invited to present a seminar at the Department of Psychology at Baylor University. Andrew made sure to take a virtual Google tour of the Baylor campus! Andrew also had the pleasure of visiting with an intelligent group of graduate students and engaged PIs.

Andrew "visits" University of Kentucky

Andrew was invited by Meifan (Amy) Chen to visit and present Gaudet Lab work at the University of Kentucky on September 28th. Andrew had a great time meeting with other neuroscientists, SCI researchers, and chronobiologists at UK. Kentucky researchers asked some tough questions and are doing top-notch research! We’re looking forward to seeing our UK colleagues in person again at post-pandemic conferences.

Gaudet Lab: Graduate student recruitment - Fall 2021

The Gaudet Lab is recruiting! We plan to hire a graduate student for Fall 2021. Applications are due November 15, 2020 through UT-Austin’s Department of Psychology. Applicants can also apply through UT-Austin’s Institute for Neuroscience. Questions? Reach out to Andrew!

The Gaudet Lab welcomes its first graduate student!

Sydney Lee presenting data at the 2019 Mission Connect meeting in Houston, TX.

We are delighted to welcome our first graduate student! Sydney Lee has been working with us as a Research Technician, and aims to complete her PhD in the lab. She has already made remarkable progress on several projects. First, she is using a new thermal preference approach to decipher the relative salience of anxiety vs. pain. Second, she is exploring new approaches to improving repair after spinal cord injury. Welcome, Sydney! Wishing you good research karma on the journey to your PhD.

Visiting UT's Health Discovery Building today was exciting!

Andrew visited his office at the Health Discovery Building today! It was an exciting change of pace and break from life around the neighbourhood. Hopefully, the phased reopening at University of Texas at Austin and the Dell Medical School will enable effective research, while maintaining safe and healthy staff, faculty, and students.

View from the Health Discovery Building of Waller Creek and Dell Seton Medical Center.

Andrew presents neuroinflammation and circadian research at the Online Spinal Cord Injury Seminar Series.

Andrew was honoured to present an overview of work from his postdocs at Ohio State and CU-Boulder, and from his new lab at University of Texas at Austin. He discussed the role of miR-155 in driving neuroinflammation, functional deficits, and pain after SCI. He showed new data using the TIDAL test for relative salience of pain vs. anxiety. Finally, he discussed how SCI may disturb circadian clocks - and how chronotherapies could help improve metabolic and neurologic recovery. Thanks so much to Warren Alilain for organizing this superb online series!

Gaudet Lab participates in the Wings for Life World Run!

Wings for Life Foundation supports the Gaudet Lab! We were excited to have the opportunity to give back. Andrew ran in Wings for Life’s fundraiser, the World Run. This occurred at the same time across the world - which was 6 am here in Austin! Over 77,000 runners participated across the globe. Andrew ran from home to campus at UT-Austin to compile photo evidence :) Thanks for your support, Wings for Life!

Gaudet Lab pauses for the pandemic.

This is no ordinary year. Covid-19 is ravaging the world, and is now having an impact in Austin. The Gaudet Lab has entered pause mode for the next few months, as we do our part to flatten the curve. Be safe and healthy, friends!