Holly Hunsberger, PhD
Behavioral Neuroscientist (she/her)
Holly Hunsberger, PhD
Behavioral Neuroscientist (she/her)
Curriculum vitae
hh2694@cumc.columbia.edu
646-774-7316
Psychiatry/Systems Neuroscience
Columbia University/ New York State Psychiatric Institute
1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 87
736 KOLB Annex
About
I am a postdoctoral research scientist with a dual appointment at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI/RFMH). I received my PhD from West Virginia University under the mentorship of Dr. Miranda Reed. There, I studied glutamate’s role in Alzheimer’s disease pathology using novel microelectrode array technology. I am now in Dr. Christine Denny’s laboratory, where I recently received a K99/R00 to study the sex-specific impact of anxiety on Alzheimer’s disease progression. Additionally, I have a fellowship with the Columbia Technology Ventures office where I work on early stage technology assessments, writing marketing abstracts, and preparing marketing campaigns. More recently, I was awarded SfN’s trainee development award and was one of the top 15 candidates in the first SfN leadership development program. When I'm not in the laboratory (pre COVID), I enjoy teaching cycling classes or singing for sporting events as fitness and music are my longtime hobbies.
ON THE JOB MARKET!
Publications
Anacker C, Sydnor E, Chen BK, LaGamma CC, McGowan JC, Mastrodonato A, Hunsberger HC, Shores R, Dixon RS, McEwen BS, Byne W, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Bockting W, Ehrhardt AA, Denny CA
Neuropsychopharmacology, 2020
Divergence in the metabolome between natural aging and Alzheimer's disease
Hunsberger HC, Greenwood BP, Tolstikov V, Narain NR, Kiebish MA, Denny CA
Scientific Reports, vol. 10(1), 2020
Prophylactic (R,S)-ketamine selectively protects against inflammatory stressors
Mastrodonato A, Cohensedgh O, LaGamma CT, McGowan JC, Hunsberger HC, Denny CA
Behavioral Brain Research, 2020
The role of APOE4 in Alzheimer's disease: strategies for future therapeutic interventions
Hunsberger HC, Pinky PD, Smith W, Suppiramaniam V, Reed MN
Neuronal Signaling, vol. 3(2), 2019
Hunsberger HC, Konat GW, Reed MN
Journal of Neurochemistry , vol. 141(3), 2017, pp. 341-346
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Projects

The sex-specific impact of anxiety on Alzheimer's disease progression
Anxiety and sex represent major risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with females being more susceptible than males. This K99/R00 identifies the impact of anxiety and sex on the neural ensembles mediating memory loss in a mouse model of AD.

Divergence in the metabolome between natural aging and Alzheimer's disease
Here, we used an untargeted metabolomics analysis to define system-level alterations following cognitive decline in aged and APP/PS1 (AD) mice

Sundowning in Alzheimer's disease
Many Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients exhibit agitation in the evening or nocturnal hours, often referred to as sundowning. This project uses our activity-dependent tagging line to better understand the circuitry mediating sundowning.

Using "education" to enhance cognitive reserve
I will examine how education (training) affects cognitive reserve in aging mice.
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Posts
Cognitive training to enhance cognitive reserve in aging mice
(Link)
Alzheimer's Trainee Happy Hour #4, Holly Hunsberger
Alzheimer's Afternoons seminar series. Every Tuesday and Thursday 3pm EDT. On Friday they have happy hour with two talks from trainees. (Link)
Holly Hunsberger Shares Insight about SfN’s TPDA
The Leadership Development Program (LDP) is a pilot initiative focused on building the skills, knowledge, and confidence in trainees so that they can effectively perform as leaders. Participants are selected from the highest-ranking graduate students a... (Link)
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ADDF - Holly Hunsberger - 2017 ADDF Young Investigator Scholar
Holly Hunsberger, 2017 ADDF Young Investigator Scholar, introduces her work to be presented at the 18th International Conference on Alzheimer's Drug Discovery (September 11-12, 2017, Jersey City, NJ) - review additional information at alzdiscovery.org/... (Link)
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Using Enzyme-based Biosensors to Measure Tonic and Phasic Glutamate in Alzheimer's Mouse Models
Here, we describe the setup, software navigation, and data analysis for a spatially and temporally precise method of measuring tonic and phasic extracellular glutamate changes in vivo using enzyme-linked microelectrode arrays (MEA). (Link)
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