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Meaghan C. Creed
Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator
Washington University Pain Center
Departments of Anesthesiology, Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering


​Honours Bachelor of Science (2004-2008)
University of Toronto - Scarborough

Doctor of Philosophy (2008-2012)
University of Toronto - Center for Addiction and Mental Health
Supervisor: Dr. José N. Nobrega

Post-doctoral Fellow (2012-2016)
University of Geneva - Department of Basic Neuroscience
Supervisor: Dr. Christian Lüscher

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Background 
I obtained my HBSc and PhD at the University of Toronto in Canada.  During my graduate work with Dr. José Nobrega, I studied deep brain stimulation (DBS) applied to the basal ganglia in models of movement disorders.  Using molecular biology, neuroimaging, neurochemistry and behavioral pharmacology, I investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the adverse psychiatric effects and therapeutic motor effects of DBS.

For post-doctoral training, I moved to the lab of Dr. Christian Lüscher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.  Here, I used optogenetics and electrophysiology to understand how cocaine drives adaptations in the ventral basal ganglia circuitry, and how these adaptations contribute to the diverse symptoms of addiction.  Using this insight, I developed a novel protocol for DBS that reversed cocaine-evoked synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens and abolished maladaptive behavior induced by cocaine exposure.

In order to treat any condition, we must first understand its underlying pathology.  To this end, my research interest seeks to integrate a variety of approaches to understand how plasticity in the ventral basal ganglia mediates behaviors such as reward-seeking, risk tolerance and hedonic valuation of rewards. My ultimate goal is to develop neuromodulation strategies that would regulate basal ganglia circuit function in models of mood, chronic pain and substance-use disorders, and could be used to treat symptoms of these conditions.


Selected Honors 
2019
Lecturer: Cold Spring Harbor Ion Channels Course
Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award in Pain

2018
CEBRA - Cutting Edge Basic Research Award - Ad Hoc Reviewer
Travel Award, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

2017

Editorial Board: International Journal of Neuromodulation
Molecular Neuropharmacology and Signaling (MNPS) Study Section - Ad Hoc Reviewer

Science AAAS-PINS Inaugural Prize In Neuromodulation

2016
Travel Award, International Dopamine Meeting
Prix Pfizer de le Recherch / Pfizer Research Prize for Outstanding Translational Research



Current Funding 
Whitehall Foundation Research Grant
A non-canonical population of ventral pallidal neurons mediates aversion learning

NIDA Cutting Edge Basic Research Award (CEBRA)
A novel deep brain stimulation protocol to prevent relapse driven by negative reinforcement

NARSAD Young Investigator Grant, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Cellular adaptations underlying learned helplessness behavior

Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, American Pain Society
Synaptic adaptations underlying affective symptoms of chronic pain


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