NEWS 2024-08-21T16:42:41+00:00

News

2024

July – Dr. Lujan receives the ACNP Harry June Travel Award. Congrats!

July – Dr. Carlos Cardozo joins the Cheer lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

June – Dr. Lujan wins the 2024 Michael Shipley Postdoctoral Award. Congrats!

March – Dr. Miguel Lujan is awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NIDA/NIH, kudos!

2023

November – Miguel co-chairs a minisymposium at the Society for Neuroscience conference in D.C.

November – Reana, Fiorella, and Sean present posters at the SFN conference.

October – Dr. Miguel Lujan wins the 2023 Postdoctoral Fellow Excellence in Research Award. Congrats!

August – Dr. Lujan chairs a symposium on neural markers of drug addiction at the EBPS conference in Mannheim, Germany.

August – Dr. Fredy Castro Alvarez joins the Cheer Lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome!

July – Dr. Cheer is invited to present a talk at GRC on the role of endocannabinoids in fear avoidance.

July – Dr. Lujan wins best poster at the GRC – Cannabinoid Function in the CNS conference in Castelldefels, Spain.

June – Dr. Cheer becomes a mentor in the CURA program.

June – Antonio publishes a paper in Experimental Neurology.

June – Dr. Lujan is lead author on a paper in Cell Reports with Reana and lab alumni Drs. Engi, Zhang, and Zlebnik.

May – Ms. Erin McDonnell joins the Cheer lab as a research technician. Welcome!

April – Dr. Cheer is an invited speaker in the IBIO Seminar at his alma mater, Universidad de los Andes.

April – Dr. Miguel Lujan wins best poster at the COLNE international seminar in Bogota, Columbia.

March – Dr. Joe Cheer invited to present a symposium at the ACNP conference in December.

2022

September – Mrs. Ella Rocha joins the Cheer Lab as a research technician. Welcome!

March – Dr. Joe Cheer is interviewed by Quanta Magazine regarding a recent study characterizing dopamine as a modulator of movement initiation.

2021

November – Drs. Lujan and Zhang (whose abstract was selected for a talk) present their data at the 2021 Cannabinoid GRCway to go!

October  – Mrs. Rebecca Howell joins the Cheer Lab as a rotation M.D./Ph.D. student; welcome!

August – Drs. Dan Covey and Miguel Lujan publish a paper in the Journal of Neuroscience, congrats!

August – Mr. Antonio Figueiredo officially joins the Cheer Lab as a Ph.D. student. Welcome back Antonio!

July – The Cheer Lab is awarded an exploratory R21 grant with Dr. Alex Medina to establish a new animal model of early life THC exposure.

June – The Cheer Lab is awarded a 5-year competitive renewal R01 from NIDA, in collaboration with Dr. Mary Kay Lobo and Dr. Carlos Paladini.

May – The Cheer Lab recruits Reana Young-Morrison as a research technician. Welcome!

May – The Cheer Lab published a paper with lab alumna Drs Zlebnik and Wenzel as corresponding authors, congratulations!

April – Dr. Natalie Zlebnik accepts a position within the medical school at the University of California, RiversideWay to go!

March – The Cheer Lab publishes a TINS review in collaboration with Dr. Rafaella Tonini.

March – Mr. Cody Scholtens joins the Cheer lab for a 3-month research rotation, welcome!

2020

December – Ms. Jewel White joins the Cheer lab for a 3-month research rotation, welcome!

November – The Cheer Lab recruits a new technician, welcome Sean!

October – Dr. Lan-Yuan Zhang, from Peking University (China), joins the lab as a postdoctoral fellow, welcome!

October – Dr. Miguel Lujan officially re-joins the Cheer Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, welcome back!

October – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper with lab alum Dr. Erik Oleson.

September – Dr. Sonia Aroni from the Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper with Dr. Dennis Sparta.

September – Dr. Miguel Lujan from the Cheer Lab publishes a couple of papers with Dr. Miriam Melis  from the University of Cagliari in Italy

August – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper on social reinforcement learning with Dr. Matt Roesch.

June – Laboratory operations resume as the UMSOM enters phase 1 (25% occupancy).

June – Dr. Dan Covey starts his faculty position at the Lovelace Institute and the University of New Mexico, congratulations!

March – Lab operations close due to COVID-19.

February- Dr. Sheila Engi, from the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), joins the lab for 1 year as a visiting postdoctoral fellow, welcome!

February – Dr. Joe Cheer presents at the AAAS Anual Meeting in Seattle.

January – Dr. Joe Cheer gives an invited seminar at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal, Canada.

January – Mr. Mario Antonazzo, from the University of the Basque Country (Spain), joins the lab for 6 months as a visiting graduate scholar, welcome!

January – Acting as chair of the departmental faculty search committee, Dr. Joe Cheer successfully participates in the recruitment of Drs Marco Venniro (Assistant Professor) and Michy Kelly (Associate Professor).

January – Drs Joe Cheer and Mary Kay Lobo secure Dean’s office funding to establish a center focusing on substance use in pregnancy (SUP; with a focus on cannabinoids and opioids).

2019

October – Dr. Joe Cheer is interviewed by Well+Good with regards to the rise in popularity of the phytocannabinoid product CBD.

OctoberUMSOM issues a press release on our prenatal THC paper.

October – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper on the enduring effects of prenatal THC exposure, with researchers from Italy and Hungary.

October – Dr. Natalie Zlebnik receives the GPILS Postdoctoral Fellow Excellence in Mentorship Award, congratulations!

September – Dr. Joe Cheer serves as the chair of the department’s faculty search committee.

September – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a talk for the program in neuroscience at St Mary’s College of Maryland.

September – Dr. Joe Cheer gives the Distinguished Biomedical Lecture at the Frank Reidy Center of Bioelectrics from Old Dominion University.

August – Dr. Joe Cheer teaches at the CSHL course on addiction in Long Island, NY.

July – Drs Natalie Zlebnik and Joe Cheer present a poster and a plenary lecture, respectively, at the cannabinoid GRC in Casteldefells, Spain.

July – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a talk at the 20th Annual ICRS meeting in Bethesda, MD.

July – Dr. Joe Cheer is interviewed by PBS Newshour with regards to the rise in popularity of the phytocannabinoid product CBD.

July – Dr.  Zlebnik is promoted to Assistant Professor of Neurobiology at UMSOM. Congrats!

July – Dr. Natalie Zlebnik is awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NIDA/NIH, kudos!

June – Dr. Joe Cheer spends a week at PKU in Beijing interacting with members of Dr. Yulong Li’s lab and others, as an invitee from students in the honors program in life sciences.

May – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper with the LoboLab.

May – Mr. Miguel Angel Lujan from Pompeu Fabra University,  joins the Cheer lab for a 3-month research rotation, welcome!

April – Dr. Dan Covey publishes his paper in Cell Reports, congrats!

April – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a seminar at the University of Minnesota.

March – Dr. Jen Wenzel takes a job as PO at NIDA. Congratulations!

March – Dr. Dan Covey is promoted to Assistant Professor of Neurobiology at UMSOM. Congrats!

March – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a seminar at Temple Neuroscience.

March – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a seminar at the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation workshop on medical marijuana in Denver, CO.

February – The Cheer Lab is awarded a 5-year R01 from NIDA, in collaboration with Dr. Mary Kay Lobo.

February – Dr. Dan Covey receives a NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from NIDA,  congratulations!

February – Dr. Natalie Zlebnik publishes her paper in Cerebral Cortex, congrats!

February – The Cheer Lab hires Dr. Kate Peters as a postdoctoral fellow and Miss Kim Cruz as a research technician. Welcome Kate and Kim!

February – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper with UMSOM faculty on striatal dopamine release in the rostral intralaminar thalamus driving reinforcement.

January – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper with NIDA researchers on reward driven by dual dorsal raphe serotonin-glutamate neurons synapsing on VTA mesoaccumbens dopamine neurons.

2018

December – The Cheer Lab recruits two new technicians. Welcome Sam and Lakota!

December – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper on observational learning, conspecific distress and dopamine.

November – The Cheer Lab presents at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, CA.

October – Edith Hernandez wins a SACNAS presentation award, congrats!

October – The Cheer Lab is awarded a 2.5-year contract from CHDI.

October – Dr. Sonia Aroni joins the Cheer Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, welcome Sonia!

October – The Cheer Lab is awarded a 5-year R01 from NIDA, in collaboration with researchers from Italy, Hungary and California.

October – Dr. Dan Covey wins a travel award to attend WCBR2019, congrats!

September – The Cheer Lab publishes a collaborative paper on dopamine and cognitive flexibility.

August – The Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on cannabinoid receptor-1 signaling contributes to sign tracking.

July – Dr. Joe Cheer gives a seminar at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa.

July – Dr. Joe Cheer teaches at the CSHL course on addiction in Cambridge, England.

June – Dr. Dan Covey publishes his paper in Neuropsychopharmacology, congrats!

June – The Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on mGlu1 receptor activity having antipsychotic-like effects.

June – Dr. Joe Cheer presents Edith Hernandez’s poster at University of Maryland School of Medicine PIN retreat at University of Notre Dame.

June – The Cheer Lab recruits a new STAR PREP Scholar. Welcome Antonio!

June – Dr. Joe Cheer receives a certificate of excellence for his mentoring for our STAR PREP scholar, Edith Hernandez.

June – The Cheer Lab recruits a new technician. Welcome Erin!

May – Dr. Jennifer Wenzel publishes her paper in Current Biology. Congrats Jen!

May – Edith Hernandez presents her poster at Duke for the Mid-Atlantic PREP Research Conference.

April – The Cheer Lab is recognized in “Science Daily” for Dr. Jennifer Wenzel’s recent work on fear and avoidance behavior.

April – The Cheer Lab is recognized in “MIND Mente & Cervello” for Dr. Jennifer Wenzel’s recent work on fear and avoidance behavior.

March – The Cheer Lab Recognized in UMB School of Medicine’s “What’s ON! — In Brain Sciences,” for a featured published paper.

February – The Cheer Lab is Recognized in UMB School of Medicine’s Vera Causa Winter Edition for in vivo Calcium Imagine techniques.

February – Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on serotonin receptor signaling in association with goal-directed vigor.

January – Dr. Natalie Zlebnik gets The Notice of Award for her 3-year postdoctoral fellowship from the NIH. Congrats Natalie! 

January – The Cheer Lab welcomes a visiting grad student from Barcelona. Welcome Sami!

2017

December – Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on endocannabinoid modulation of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

November – Dr. Jennifer Wenzel, Dr. Dan Covey and Dr. Natalie Zlebnik present posters at SfN. Good Luck Guys!

November – Dr. Joe Cheer presented with “Postdoctoral Mentor Award” from the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Congrats Joe!

July – Dr. Joe Cheer presents at The Gordon Research Conference on the Neurobiology on Addiction in Hong Kong, China. Good Luck Joe!

July – Dr. Joe Cheer writes an editorial with Dr. Yasmin Hurd on cannabinoid neurobiology for Neuropharmacology.

June – Dr. Jennifer Wenzel publishes her review in Neuropsychopharmacology. Congrats Jen!

June – Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on the cognitive maps of the medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex.

June – Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on the function of calcium channels in the mesolimbic dopamine system.

May – Cheer Lab publishes paper with collaborators on the endocannabinoid system as a target for anxiolytic drugs.

March – Dr. Dan Covey publishes his review in Neuropharmacology. Congrats Dan!