Christine Konradi, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
VKC Member
Overview of Interests
Konradi’s laboratory works on the molecular correlates of typical and atypical brain function in an effort to elucidate how environment and experience influence the molecular properties of the brain and brain development, with the aim of defining the molecular events associated with learning, behavioral adaptation, and brain disorders. The approach used is translational, spanning from neurons in culture to rodent models and the human brain. Konradi uses pharmacological paradigms such as exposure to drugs; behavioral models of learning, anxiety, and addiction; and pathological models of human diseases. Techniques applied in the lab include molecular biology and pharmacology techniques to characterize signal transduction pathways in neurons, and gene array technologies to examine altered gene expression. These methodological approaches are supplemented with animal behavior studies. Konradi’s research is geared toward understanding pathological conditions such as bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s’ disease; the therapeutic action of drugs in the developing and adult brain; and drug abuse and its effect on the developing and adult brain.
Website
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=konradi
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