Joanne is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Jerrel Yakel at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Her research as a 2017–2019 CCB Fellow is focused on examining how cholinergic signaling modulates neuronal activity within the basal forebrain and the role that cholinergic neurons play in regulating compulsive and cognitive behaviors. She is especially interested in determining how functionally distinct subpopulations of cholinergic neurons can differentially impact neuronal function and behavior.
Joanne received a B.S. in Neuroscience from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience. Upon graduating, she was given the Graduate Research Excellence Award by the Texas A&M College of Medicine in recognition of her scientific accomplishments and contributions to the graduate program. In addition to her research, Joanne has been actively involved in numerous teaching and outreach efforts at the NIEHS, and enjoys working with high school and college students.