Lauren Slosky, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Contact Info
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Faculty, MS and PhD Programs in Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (MPaT)
Faculty, Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke University, 2021
PhD, University of Arizona, 2015
BS, University of Arizona, 2011
Summary
Dr. Slosky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and a member of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, a multidisciplinary initiative within the University of Minnesota’s Medical School to advance research and treatment in the field of drug addiction. Dr. Slosky’s research is focused on understanding how neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors regulate reward, pain, and motivated behavior – and how these receptors can be targeted for therapeutic benefit. She is currently working to identify novel strategies for the treatment of stimulant and opioid addictions, with a focus on the development of allosteric and functionally selective small molecules. Dr. Slosky was awarded a B.S. with honors in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Psychology from The University of Arizona in 2011. She received a Ph.D. in Medical Pharmacology from The University of Arizona in 2015, under the mentorship of Dr. Todd W. Vanderah. Dr. Slosky completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Marc G. Caron at Duke University and joined the Department of Pharmacology as an Assistant Professor in 2021.
Expertise
Addiction, motivated behavior, pain, neuropeptides, G protein-coupled receptors, signal transduction
Awards & Recognition
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Travel Award, 2020 K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award, NIDA, 2018-Present F32 NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Training Grant, NIDA, 2016-2018 Hemsley Scholarship, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2016 Top Data Blitz Presentation, American Pain Society (APS), 2015 TRIF Imaging Fellowship, The University of Arizona, 2015 Hank Yamamura Travel Grant, The University of Arizona, 2014 Travel Grant to 15th World Congress on Pain, International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), 2014 Hank Yamamura Endowed Fellowship in Pharmacology, The University of Arizona, 2011 Graduate College Fellowship, The University of Arizona, 2011 William James Psychology Award, The University of Arizona, 2011
Professional Associations
Society for Neuroscience (SfN) American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN)
Research
Research Summary/Interests
Substance use disorders are complex neurobehavioral pathologies for which there are a lack of effective therapeutics. The long-term goals of our research group are to expand our understanding of the biological basis of stimulant and opioid addictions and to develop mechanism-based pharmacotherapies for their treatment. In pursuit of these goals, we are working at the interface of receptor biology, behavioral pharmacology, and systems neuroscience.
Publications
For a complete list of publications, please see: Pubmed article list