Erin Calipari

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Erin Calipari
Erin-Calipari-resized (1).jpg
Born (1987-02-18) February 18, 1987 (age 37)
Alma mater White Station High School
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Scientific career
FieldsPharmacology
Institutions Vanderbilt University
Wake Forest University
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Doctoral advisor Sara Jones
Website Calipari Lab

Erin S. Calipari (born February 18, 1987) [1] is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences. Calipari looks to understand the brain circuitry that is used for adaptive and maladaptive processes in reward, associative learning and motivation.

Contents

Early life and education

Calipari was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the oldest daughter of basketball coach John Calipari and Ellen Calipari. [2] Calipari took part in athletics while attending White Station High School. She played softball, basketball and hockey. She was part of the first generation in her family to intend to become an academic. [3] Calipari attended University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she studied biology and played basketball for the UMass Minutewomen. [4] Her contribution in her freshman season was signified by her debut, when she played one minute of game action against Siena in November. She then used the next two months to double her playing time, successfully playing one minute against Xavier in February of 2006. Her sophomore season reflected vast improvement, when she totaled 13 minutes, three points, two rebounds, and one assist over several months. Her most impactful moment was hitting a desperation three-point shot against Rhode Island with only 8 seconds left, clinching a 79-49 victory. [5] Calipari was a graduate student at Wake Forest University, where she earned a doctorate in neuropharmacology under the supervision of Sara Jones. [6] She used analytical chemistry and operant behavior studies to understand how dopamine kinetics are impacted by drug self-administration. [3] Calipari was a postdoctoral research associate in a genetics laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. [7] [8] She focused on how to understand neural circuit activity and transcriptional programs. [3]

Research and career

Calipari joined Vanderbilt University in 2017 as part of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research. [9] [10] She works on the brain circuitry that is used for adaptive and maladaptive neurological processes including reward, associative learning and motivation, and how these are associated with psychiatric disease. [7] [11] [10] In Tennessee, where Calipari grew up, there are more prescriptions for opioids than there are people living in the state. [7]

Calipari believes that drug addiction is a decision-making disease: people make decisions to choose to invest in drugs over other expenses. She looks at which parts of the brain are involved with making decisions, and how to reprogram them to make other choices. [7] Her lab uses fibre photometry which monitors neural activity via changes in calcium (calcium imaging) and neurotransmitter activity, in subpopulations of neurons using an optical fiber. [12] They also employ other neurophotometric and neurochemical methods such as optogenetics, and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. [12] She is interested in why women are vulnerable to drug addiction, and how the immune system could be used to fight the opioid epidemic. [13] [14] She believes that through the platform of sport it is possible to communicate the dangers of drug addiction. [15] [16]

While women are more susceptible to drug addiction, the majority of addiction studies are focused on men. [17] This means that medication development has focused on correcting addiction in men, and may explain why women do not respond to treatment in the same way as men. [17] Calipari found that when hormones related to fertility are high, women make stronger associations to clues in their environment and more likely to seek rewards, which makes them more prone to drug addiction and relapse. [7] [17] [18] Her research can be used by treatment centers to educate women about their decision-making mechanisms. [17]

Selected publications

Personal life

Calpari’s father is John Calipari, a college basketball coach. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedball (drug)</span> Combination of narcotics

Speedball, powerball, or over and under is the polydrug mixture of a stimulant with a depressant, usually an opioid. The most well-known mixture used for recreational drug use is that of cocaine and heroin; however, amphetamines can also be mixed with morphine and/or fentanyl. A speedball may be taken intravenously or by nasal insufflation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opioid use disorder</span> Medical condition

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Opioid withdrawal symptoms include nausea, muscle aches, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, agitation, and a low mood. Addiction and dependence are important components of opioid use disorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buprenorphine</span> Opioid used to treat pain & opioid use disorder

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Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has developed within the individual from psychoactive substance consumption that results in the experience of withdrawal and that necessitates the re-consumption of the drug. A drug addiction, a distinct concept from substance dependence, is defined as compulsive, out-of-control drug use, despite negative consequences. An addictive drug is a drug which is both rewarding and reinforcing. ΔFosB, a gene transcription factor, is now known to be a critical component and common factor in the development of virtually all forms of behavioral and drug addictions, but not dependence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18-Methoxycoronaridine</span> Chemical compound

18-Methoxycoronaridine, also known as zolunicant, is a derivative of ibogaine invented in 1996 by the research team around the pharmacologist Stanley D. Glick from the Albany Medical College and the chemists Upul K. Bandarage and Martin E. Kuehne from the University of Vermont. In animal studies it has proven to be effective at reducing self-administration of morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine and sucrose. It has also been shown to produce anorectic effects in obese rats, most likely due to the same actions on the reward system which underlie its anti-addictive effects against drug addiction.

κ-opioid receptor Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens, named for ketazocine

The κ-opioid receptor or kappa opioid receptor, abbreviated KOR or KOP for its ligand ketazocine, is a G protein-coupled receptor that in humans is encoded by the OPRK1 gene. The KOR is coupled to the G protein Gi/G0 and is one of four related receptors that bind opioid-like compounds in the brain and are responsible for mediating the effects of these compounds. These effects include altering nociception, consciousness, motor control, and mood. Dysregulation of this receptor system has been implicated in alcohol and drug addiction.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric J. Nestler</span> Neuroscientist of addiction and depression

Eric J. Nestler is the Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Director of the Friedman Brain Institute, and Dean for Academic Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Chief Scientific Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. His research is focused on a molecular approach to drug addiction and depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Substance use disorder</span> Continual use of drugs (including alcohol) despite detrimental consequences

Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite the substantial harm and adverse consequences to one's own self and others, as a result of their use. In perspective, the effects of the wrong use of substances that are capable of causing harm to the user or others, have been extensively described in different studies using a variety of terms such as substance use problems, problematic drugs or alcohol use, and substance use disorder.The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) states that "Substance use disorder (SUD) is a treatable mental disorder that affects a person's brain and behavior, leading to their inability to control their use of substances like legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Symptoms can be moderate to severe, with addiction being the most severe form of SUD".Substance use disorders (SUD) are considered to be a serious mental illness that fluctuates with the age that symptoms first start appearing in an individual, the time during which it exists and the type of substance that is used. It is not uncommon for those who have SUD to also have other mental health disorders. Substance use disorders are characterized by an array of mental/emotional, physical, and behavioral problems such as chronic guilt; an inability to reduce or stop consuming the substance(s) despite repeated attempts; operating vehicles while intoxicated; and physiological withdrawal symptoms. Drug classes that are commonly involved in SUD include: alcohol (alcoholism); cannabis; opioids; stimulants such as nicotine (including tobacco), cocaine and amphetamines; benzodiazepines; barbiturates; and other substances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addiction</span> Disorder resulting in compulsive behaviours

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark S. Gold</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Hart</span> American neuroscientist (born 1966)

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References

  1. "Erin Calipari - Women's Basketball". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. Dwyer, Danielle (April 4, 2015). "Erin Calipari, John's Daughter: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Lindsley, Craig W. (June 19, 2019). "NeuroChat with Professor Erin Calipari". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 10 (6): 2623–2624. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00181 .
  4. "2019-20 Women's Basketball Roster". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  5. "2006-07 Women's Basketball Roster". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  6. "Calipari Defended Dissertation on 9/30 – Congrats! | Neuroscience PhD at Wake Forest University - News Archive". neuroscience.graduate.wfu.edu. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
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  8. "Neuroscience Department - Nestler's Team". neuroscience.mssm.edu. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  9. MacMillan, Leigh. "New faculty: Erin Calipari, assistant professor of pharmacology". Vanderbilt University. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Vanderbilt University School of Medicine". wag.app.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
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  12. 1 2 "Techniques". Calipari Lab. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
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  18. Johnson, Amy R.; Thibeault, Kimberly C.; Lopez, Alberto J.; Peck, Emily G.; Sands, L. Paul; Sanders, Christina M.; Kutlu, Munir Gunes; Calipari, Erin S. (January 23, 2019). "Cues play a critical role in estrous cycle-dependent enhancement of cocaine reinforcement". Neuropsychopharmacology. 44 (7): 1189–1197. doi:10.1038/s41386-019-0320-0. ISSN   0893-133X. PMC   6785030 . PMID   30728447.
  19. Dwyer, Danielle (April 4, 2015). "Erin Calipari, John's Daughter: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  20. Calipari, Erin. "@UKCoachCalipari may not be perfect, but at least he doesn't blame me and @MeganCalipari when he's bad at his job". Twitter. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.