Cowan Laboratory

Dr. Chris Cowan’s research lab, also known as the Integrative Neurobiology Lab, focuses on two thematic research areas: (1) molecular and circuit mechanisms of substance use disorders and (2) brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders. The Cowan lab team uses preclinical models to examine genes, molecular mechanisms, and neural circuit adaptations in the young and adult brain under both healthy and pathological conditions. The lab employs a broad array of experimental approaches to gain a better understanding about the underlying regulation, or dysregulation, of healthy brain function, and they take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to address these important topics for human mental health.




Research:
Substance and Alcohol Use Disorders
The lab employs a range of molecular, genomic, physiologic, and behavioral techniques to understand how illicit substances hijack brain function to promote addiction-related behaviors. Through identification of new genes and molecules involved in addiction risk and relapse vulnerability, the lab to gain new insights into how drug-cue and drug-environment associations create triggers of drug craving and relapse in individuals seeking to control problem drug and alcohol use. The lab studies multiple molecules that are recruited by illicit drug use and support, or sometimes limit, maladaptive brain circuit changes underlying relapse-related behavior in animal models.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs)
The Cowan Lab has uncovered key cortical development roles for several genes linked to risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia. These molecules function during typical brain development to control the proper establishment and remodeling of excitatory and inhibitory connections in the brain. Abnormalities in these genes in humans often produce intellectual disability and autism-associated symptoms, and the lab observes similar “symptoms” in mice engineered to have disruptions in these same genes. By understanding the role of these NDD-linked genes during development, the lab seeks to leverage this information to develop novel therapeutics that might help mitigate debilitating symptoms in affected individuals to increase their quality of life.

Team:

Christopher Cowan, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience
SmartState Endowed Chair in Brain Imaging
Director, COBRE in Neurodevelopment and its Disorders (CNDD) – NIGMS P20
Scientific Director, Charleston Opioid Center on Addiction (COCA) – NIDA P50

Biography: Dr. Chris Cowan is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, and he holds the SmartState Endowed Chair in Brain Imaging. Dr. Cowan is also the Director of the NIH-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence on Neurodevelopment and Its Disorders (CNDD), and the Scientific Director of the NIDA-funded Charleston Opioid Center on Addiction (COCA). He is also the co-founder of NeuroEpigenix, LLC, a company advancing a novel therapeutic treatment for alcohol use disorder. Dr. Cowan earned his BA from Wesleyan University (CT) and his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital in the area of molecular neurobiology. Prior to joining MUSC in 2016, Dr. Cowan was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical School and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital. Dr. Cowan’s NIH-funded research program focuses on molecular mechanisms of developmental brain wiring and syndromic forms of autism spectrum disorder, as well as epigenetic mechanisms of relapse behavior in substance use disorders. His preclinical research lab utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to study these disorders, including genomics, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, electrophysiology, complex behavioral analyses, and therapeutic development.


Cowan Lab Members:
 
Jessica Huebschman, Ph.D.
Degree(s): B.S. in Neuroscience, Baylor University; Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Texas A&M University
Biography: Jessica is interested in the molecular mechanisms of drug-induced plasticity that underlie the development of drug-related behavior and substance use disorders (SUDs). For her doctoral work, she studied FMRP’s unique striatal function and its implications for striatal synaptic plasticity, FXS, and SUDs. Her work included investigation of potential mechanisms by which FMRP facilitates cocaine-conditioned place preference and susceptibility to cocaine self-administration. As a postdoc in the Cowan Lab, she is investigating the role of NPAS4 in regulating drug-seeking behavior.


 
Evgeny Tsvetkov, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist II
Degree(s): Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry
Biography: Evgeny studies cellular mechanisms of neuronal transmission at central nervous system synapses. In previous studies in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala, Evgeny described basic properties of long-term potentiation, long term depression, and established the nature of interactions between LTP and learned fear mechanisms. As an electrophysiologist in the Cowan Lab, Evgeny studies the effects of neurodevelopment genes on synaptic transmission and plasticity in multiple brain regions, including the cortex and hippocampus. He also studies the role of drug-regulated genes on synaptic plasticity in brain reward regions, including the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.


 
Alain Greige, B.S.
MD, PhD Student
Degree(s): B.S. in Biology from the American University of Beirut, 2019
Biography: Alain is interested in understanding the role of neuroimmunity in neurodevelopmental disorders. During his undergraduate years, he worked on characterizing the involvement of Syndecan-1 in the pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. In the Cowan lab, Alain is investigating the role of microglial synaptic refinement in the mouse model of MEF2C Haploinsufficiency Syndrome.


 
Testimony Ajibade, MSc
PhD Student
Degree(s): B.S. in Anatomy, Babcock University; MSc in Anatomy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Biography: Testimony is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders. During her undergraduate years, she studied the role of caffeine on postnatal hippocampal structure and function in rat models. In her master’s program, she studied the possible therapeutic effects of omega-3 oil on aluminum-chloride-induced neurotoxicity in the hippocampus of female Wistar rats. In the Cowan Lab, she is studying neuron-microglia interactions in Mef2c transgenic mouse models.

Michelle Bloyd, B.S.
MD, PhD student
Degree(s): B.S. dual major in Anthropology, Physiology and Neurobiology from the University of Maryland, College Park, 2020
Biography: Michelle has always been interested in understanding how people develop into who they are going to be. From understanding the evolution of human physiology and behavior through the lens of Darwinian Medicine, to studying motivational reward behavior in basic science labs, her ultimate goal is to dissect human physiology to develop novel treatment interventions. Michelle spent several years studying the role of PKA, specifically the regulatory IIa subunit (PKAR2A), in diet-induced obesity, alcohol use disorder, and nicotine dependence and withdrawal. In the Cowan Lab, Michelle is investigating the role of microglia in opioid use disorder as well as NPAS4 regulation of drug-related behaviors.

Eleanor Kunitz-Levy, B.S.
Research Specialist
Degree(s): B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Brandeis University, 2023
Biography: Ellie is deeply interested in understanding the neurological corollaries of our senses, thoughts, and behavior. As an undergraduate, Ellie worked in the Jadhav Lab, studying deficits in social foraging behavior in FXS rats. In the Cowan Lab, she is helping Jessica Huebschman to investigate how NPAS4 (Neuronal PAS domain protein 4) modulates drug-seeking behavior in cocaine self-administration tasks for mice. She also conducts routine PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis for the laboratory at large.

 
Benjamin Zirlin, MMSc
Lab Manager
Degree(s): BS in Biology, University of North Texas; MMSc in Anesthesiology, Emory University
Biography: Ben received his Bachelor of Science in 2007 and Master of Medical Science in 2013. Ben has worked for the Cowan Lab since 2008 and assists with multiple facets of daily lab operation.

Cowan Lab Alumni
Michael Robichaux, PhD
Graduate Student (2008-2013)

Carly Hale, PhD
Graduate Student (2008-2014)

Jaswinder Kumar, MD, PhD
MSTP student (2012-2014)

Maria Carreira, PhD
Graduate Student (2009-2015)

Laura Smith, PhD
Postdoc & Instructor (2008-2015)

Aram Raissi, PhD
Postdoc (2014-2016)

Makoto Taniguchi, PhD
Postdoc and Assistant Professor (2007-2019)

Adam Harrington, PhD
Postdoc & Staff Scientist (2012-2021)

Catherine Bridges, MD, PhD
MSTP student (2017-2021)

Ahlem Assali, PhD
Postdoc & Assistant Professor (2015-2022)

Brandon Hughes, PhD
Graduate Student (2017-2022)

Ethan Anderson, PhD
Postdoc & Assistant Professor (2017-2023)

Jennifer Cho, MD, PhD
MSTP student (2019-2023)

Rachel Penrod-Martin, PhD
Postdoc & Assistant Professor (2012-2023)

Daniel Wood, PhD
MSTP student (2019-2025)

Rose Marie Akiki, PhD
MSTP student (2020-2025)

Karim Al Hasanieh, MD
Postdoc (2023-2025)


Cowan Laboratory Recent Publications (2020-current):