People

Photo Credit: C. Lüscher

Education and Training

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

Meaghan Creed, PhD
Assistant Professor
Principal Investigator

meaghan.creed@wustl.edu

I obtained my BSc ad 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 re-wires the brains' reward circuitry, and developed a novel protocol for DBS that reversed cocaine-evoked synaptic plasticity and abolished maladaptive behavior induced by drug exposure.

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

Chris Stander - Lab Manager

Born and raised in the Greater Cincinnati area, Chris Stander has been in St. Louis since 2001. With a bachelor’s degree in biology from University of Dayton, and a master’s degree in zoology from Indiana University, she has chosen to focus her energies on lab management, while maintaining an interest in cell biology. Chris joined the Creed lab in December 2018. When not tending to the needs of the lab, Chris spends time with her dogs and volunteers at a local animal shelter.

Jessica Tooley - Research Technician

Jessica Tooley is from southern Wisconsin and attended St. Norbert College. She graduated with a BA in Psychology before joining the Creed Lab in June 2016. Jessica has been performing behavioral assays with in vivo electrophysiology recordings in the lab, and plans to go on to graduate school to study neuroscience.

Elizabeth Godynyuk - Visiting Master's Student

Elizabeth was born in Hartford, CT, and moved to Europe at a young age. She obtained her B.Sc in Liberal Arts and Sciences at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. She is now working on her M.Sc in Neuroscience at the University of Amsterdam. During her Masters internship, in the lab of Ingo Willuhn, she utilised viral neuronal tracing to understand how dopamine signalling projects between the striatum and the midbrain.

Upon joining the Creed lab in January 2019, she will use fiber photometry and neuronal tracing to investigate the role of non-canonical ventral pallidal neurons in reward-related behavior.

Yvan Vachez - Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Yvan Vachez is from Grenoble, France, where he graduated with a license in biology, a master degree in Neurosciences and Neurobiology. Yvan obtained his PhD from the Grenoble Institute for Neuroscience under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina Boulet and Dr. Sebastian Carnicella in 2018. In his thesis work, he studied the involvement of the dopamine system in the neuropsychiatric side effects of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease.

In the Creed lab, Yvan plans to use electrophysiology, optogenetic manipulations and behavioural assays to optimize deep brain stimulation protocols for affective and addictive disorders. When he’s not in the lab, Yvan loves watching movies and playing tennis.

Lab Alumni

Lauren Marconi - Laboratory Technician

Lauren Marconi was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and received a BA in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College. Her undergraduate research involved understanding the photosensitive properties and physiology of ion channels in adult sea urchin tube feet by using patch-clamp electrophysiology.

Upon joining the Creed lab in June 2016, Lauren performed stereotaxic surgery and molecular biology approaches to understand the role of sub-populations of ventral pallidum neurons in reward-related behavior. Lauren moved back to Philadelphia where she is a technician in the Corder lab at the University of Pennsylvania.