BIOGRAPHY

Following the completion of my B.S., I was employed for 2 years at The Scripps Research Institute as a Research Assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Katja Lamia studying circadian biology. While this was a departure from behavioral research, I became proficient in many valuable molecular techniques and gained skills relevant to laboratory management. I defended my dissertation June 2025, I trained in the laboratory of Dr. David Morilak in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences program at UT Health San Antonio. From this study, I developed my dissertation project focusing on thalamic afferents to the OFC and the role these circuits play in reversal learning and the effects of chronic stress on reversal learning. I utilized pathway-specific chemogenetics and chronic unpredictable stress to target and manipulate central medial and paraventricular projections to the OFC during reversal learning to test the hypothesis that these inputs have opposing effects on reversal learning. Additionally, I was successfully appointed to the Translational Science Training (TST) T32 Training Grant (T32 TR004545), which expanded my training to include translational science procedures which provided insight into the laborious process of translating findings from animal models to humans. My training support from the two Training Grants and my dissertation committee (Drs. Morilak, Jason Pugh, Kelly Berg, Rita Ghosh, and Kate Wassum) has provided valuable experience and knowledge that I believe sets me up to be a successful post-doctoral researcher.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Tuite, K.M.,Ouellette, M.C., Girotti M, Morilak, D.A. (submitted).Central medial and paraventricular thalamic afferents to the orbitofrontal cortex have differential effects on reversal learning. Neurobiology of Stress

Girotti, M., Boehmer-Cortez, M. G., Tuite, K.M., Morilak, D. A. (2025). Involvement of a stress-responsive orbito-striatal projection in impulsive action in male rats. Neuropsychopharmacology