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Division of Intramural Research

Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity

3D reconstruction of central amygdala neuron

Behavioral responses to painful stimuli can be amplified or suppressed by many factors, including expectations, experiences, and context. My lab is interested in identifying brain mechanisms underlying bidirectional modulation of pain and in determining whether these processes are sex dependent. 

We use cellular physiology, molecular genetics, neuroanatomy, and behavioral rodent assays to tackle questions at molecular, cellular, and circuit levels that we then causally link to pain-related behaviors. We have focused on the central amygdala (CeA), a forebrain limbic structure well positioned to link noxious stimuli to defense and affective responses. Our studies uncovered a dual function of the CeA in pain processing, showing that this brain region bidirectionally modulates pain and that the directionality of pain modulation is encoded by cell-type-specific changes in neuronal activity. At the cellular level, we have shown that genetically distinct CeA neurons are also morphologically and electrophysiologically distinct. At the circuit level, we identified and functionally characterized CeA efferent and afferent projections that modulate pain-related behaviors. Our studies have further shown important sex differences in brain mechanisms of pain modulation. 

When studying pain, it is important to recognize that the experience of pain is complex and involves reciprocal interactions between physical pain and affective states. For example, painful stimuli are typically unpleasant and aversive while pain relief is typically rewarding and can induce positive affective states. In contrast, aversive stimuli like acute stress exposure or negative affective states like fear have been shown to result in robust analgesia. Our ongoing efforts are focused on studying brain mechanisms underlying the intersection of physical pain with affective states. 

Lab Chief

carrasquillo yarimar_Lisa Helfert

Dr. Yarimar Carrasquillo joined the Pain and Integrative Neuroscience Branch of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an Investigator in 2014. Her research program is focused on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the physiological sensation of pain as well as the alterations that occur at the cellular and circuit levels that lead to pathological pain states.

Dr. Carrasquillo received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Baylor College of Medicine, followed by postdoctoral training in cellular neurophysiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Her graduate work established a causal link between amygdala plasticity and changes in persistent pain-related behaviors and further demonstrated a hemispheric lateralization of function in amygdala-mediated modulation of pain in mice. Her postdoctoral studies contributed to the molecular and functional characterization of voltage-gated potassium and sodium currents in central neurons. Since joining NIH as a principal investigator, Dr. Carrasquillo’s team has uncovered a previously underappreciated dual function of the amygdala in the modulation of pain, demonstrating that this brain structure functions as a pain rheostat that can amplify or decrease pain.

Dr. Carrasquillo is also strongly committed to and invested in fostering the career development of students and trainees of all backgrounds, particularly underrepresented minorities, trainees with underprivileged and disadvantageous backgrounds and women in science. She is also strongly committed to promoting scientific rigor, transparency and reproducibility in research and in training scientists that understand, value, and exercise scientific integrity throughout their work.

Lab Members

Sarah Chaudhry

Sarah Chaudhry, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Sarah Chaudhry is a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Sarah graduated from Michigan State University in 2020 with a dual degree in neuroscience and Spanish. Sarah is interested in investigating the electrophysiological properties of neurons located in the central nucleus of the amygdala to further understand the mechanisms that direct the brain’s modulation of pain. She is currently contributing to a project focused on characterizing the synaptic and intrinsic membrane properties of neurons in the parabrachial-central amygdala pathway. Sarah can be reached at sarah.chaudhry@nih.gov.

Jonathan Garcia, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Jonathan Garcia is a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Jonathan graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S in cellular and molecular neuroscience. Jonathan is interested in investigating the role of amygdala plasticity in persistent pain sensitization and pain-related behaviors. Jonathan previously worked in the Venniro lab at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he investigated neurobiological mechanisms of motivation in drug-seeking behaviors. He can be reached at jonathan.garcia3@nih.gov.

Benjamin Neugebauer Postbac Carrasquillo Lab

Benjamin Neugebauer, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Benjamin Neugebauer is a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Benjamin graduated from Texas Tech University in 2020 with a B.A. in psychology. Benjamin is interested in studying the amygdala’s role in pain modulation and is currently contributing to electrophysiological studies determining the function of the parabrachial-central amygdala pathway in pain-related behaviors in the context of injury. He can be reached at benjamin.neugebauer@nih.gov.

William Fortun, Carrasquillo Behavioral DIR Lab

William Rosado, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

William J. Fortún Rosado is postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. William earned a B.S. (with honors) in biotechnology from the Universidad Ana G. Mendez Carolina. As an undergrad, he helped conduct research on environmental topics such as microbiological and heavy metal assessment, Discovery Base Research, and microalgae isolation and identification. William also took on leadership roles, including as president of the Honor chapter in his institution and as vice president in different chapters and organizations. He hopes to continue his studies and pursue a Ph.D. in gene therapy and, in the future, would like to take part in new biomedical procedures applications. William was born and raised on the “beautiful island of Puerto Rico.” His hobbies include participating in news and activities in the technology, aerospace, and gaming community. William can be reached at william.fortun@nih.gov.

Nisa Roy Visiting Postdoc Behavioral Carrasquillo Lab

Nisa Roy, Ph.D., Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Nisa Roy, Ph.D., is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Nisa graduated from University of Calcutta with a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s in neuroscience. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Monash University in 2023. Her doctoral work revealed a potential link between a novel orphan G-protein coupled receptor, GPR139, and emotion-related cognitive impairment associated with psychiatric disorders. While in the lab, Nisa is interested in understanding the neural circuitry associated with stress-induced analgesia and the involvement of neuromodulators in alleviating pain-related behaviors. Her long-term goal would be to translate her basic science research to clinical practice, unearthing superior treatment strategies that might offer efficacy for pain management in multiple neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. She is inspired and eager to inspire humanity through her research integrity. She can be reached at nisa.roy@nih.gov.

Sudhuman Singh

Sudhuman Singh, Ph.D., Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Sudhuman Singh, Ph.D., is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. He is interested in understanding the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral outputs and has trained in multidisciplinary research fields in neuroscience, including sleep, reinforcement learning, and pain. While at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Sudhuman is delineating the neural circuitry involved in pain modulation. Sudhuman was a 2020 finalist for the Mitchell Max Award for Research Excellence, NIH Pain Consortium Symposium, for his poster presentation, “Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta.” In 2021, he also earned a Fellowship from the Center on Compulsive Behaviors, NIH Intramural Research Program. He is passionate about science, and his motivation is to serve humanity through his research knowledge and life experiences. He can be reached at sudhuman.singh@nih.gov or 301-594-2477.

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Maxime Thouaye Postdoc Behavioral Lab Carrasquillo

Maxime Thouaye, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Maxime Thouaye is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Maxime graduated from the University of Montpellier in France with a bachelor’s degree in animal physiology and neuroscience, and a master’s degree in neuroscience. In 2022, Maxime received his Ph.D. from the University of Montpellier. There, he worked in the lab of Dr. Cyril Rivat, exploring the interaction between the receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 and the endogenous opioid system in pain sensitization and morphine side effects. He then moved on to a postdoc position in Dr. Ipek Yalcin’s lab, working on the comorbidity between chronic neuropathic pain and anxiodepression. Maxime is interested in studying the link between chronic pain and drug abuse, with a focus on the role of the central amygdala and the endogenous opioid system in these aspects. 

Research Publications:

Tassou A, Thouaye M, Gilabert D, Jouvenel A, Leyris J-P, Sonrier C, Diouloufet L, Mechaly I, Mallié S, Bertin J, Chentouf M, Neiveyans M, Pugniere M, Martineau P, Robert B, Capdevila X, Valmier J, Rivat C. Activation of neuronal FLT3 promotes exaggerated sensorial and emotional pain-related behaviors facilitating the transition from acute to chronic pain. Progress in Neurobiology. 2023;222:102405. 

Jouvenel A, Tassou A, Thouaye M, Ruel J, Antri M, Leyris JP, Paquet A, Mallié S, Sar C, Diouloufet L, Sonrier C, Daubeuf F, Bertin J, Alves S, Ventéo S, Frossard N, Carroll P, Mechaly I, Rognan D, Sokoloff P, Dallel R, Delmas P, Valmier J, Rivat C. FLT3 signaling inhibition preserves opioid analgesia while abrogating tolerance and hyperalgesia. bioRxiv. Posted online March 18, 2023.

Torri Wilson

Torri Wilson, Lab Manager and Biologist

Torri Wilson is lab manager and biologist in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Torri joined the lab in April 2014. She graduated from the Virginia State University in Petersburg in 1995 with a B.S. in animal sciences. Torri has extensive research experience as an animal biologist and is interested in expanding her knowledge of the amygdala and its role in modulating pain. While in the lab, Torri received the Director’s Merit Award for exemplary performance in the completion of the experiments that demonstrated the dual and opposite function of the central amygdala in pain. Torri has a passion for conducting surgeries and behavioral testing and assists with animal colony maintenance and laboratory management. Torri is currently working on parabrachial-central amygdala intersectional studies in the lab. She can be reached at torri.wilson@nih.gov.

Research Publications:

Francis-Malave AM, Martinez Gonzalez S, Pichardo C, Wilson TD, Rivera LG, Brinster LR, Carrasquillo Y. Sex differences in pain-related behaviors and clinical progression of disease in mouse models of visceral pain. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 12, 2022. 

Rivera-García LG, Francis-Malavé AM, Wilson TD, Ferchmin PA, Eterovic V, Carrasquillo Y. 4R-Tobacco-cembranoid is a positive allosteric modulator of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that modulates inflammation-induced thermal hypersensitivity in mice. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 23, 2022. 

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of painCell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Lab Alumni

Anisha Adke

Anisha Adke, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Anisha Adke was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2018 to 2020. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2018 with a major in biology. While in the lab Anisha contributed to the characterization of different cell types in the central amygdala, the parabrachial-to-central amygdala circuit, and the zona incerta-to-central amygdala circuit. She is currently an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota.

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Helena Hyesook Ahn

Helena Hyesook Ahn, Biologist

Helena Ahn was a biologist in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2015 to 2017. She received her master’s degree in molecular immunology at the University of Seoul in Seoul, South Korea and received her Ph.D. degree in neurobiology at the Graduate School of Medical Science, The Catholic University of Korea, in Seoul, South Korea. While in the Carrasquillo Lab, Helena examined how the intrinsic excitability of amygdala neurons is modulated by persistent pain using electrophysiology. In addition, she investigated the role of amygdala neurons in anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in mouse models of neuropathic pain. Helena is currently the operations coordinator at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Research Publications:

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Simon

Simon Arango, Summer Student Trainee and Special Volunteer

Simon Arango was a summer student and special volunteer in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in 2015. He graduated from the Magnet Program at Poolesville High School in 2017. While in the lab, Simon worked on characterizing ERK activation in the brain using a model of inflammatory pain. He also mapped brain regions that receive projections from the PKCδ-expressing neurons using a cre-dependent anterograde tracer in PKCδ-cre mice. Simon is currently a rising senior at Harvard College majoring in neuroscience and East Asian studies, and a research data specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His work contributed to the publication “Dual and Opposing Functions of the Central Amygdala in the Modulation of Pain,” as mentioned in the acknowledgments.

Yonatan Arnold

Yonatan Arnold, Summer Student Trainee and Special Volunteer

Yonatan Arnold joined the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in January 2015. He received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and history in 2011 from Mars Hill University in North Carolina. While in the lab, Yonatan assisted with histological experiments and quantification of images. He is currently in an Amazon Web Service (AWS) re/Start course through Per Scholas, which is an intense and thorough course in gaining experience in using the AWS cloud service. After this course, he aims to pursue a position to help those who need to improve their tools in the health care field.

Jordan Becker

Jordan Becker, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Jordan Becker was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2018 to 2019. He graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in psychology. While in the lab, he studied the morphology of specific cell types in the central amygdala, if different central amygdala cells modulate affective outcomes during formalin-induced pain, and how environmental conditions impact the expression of comorbidities during chronic pain. While at the National Institutes of Health he won an outstanding poster award and gained acceptance to the Brown-Graduate Partnership Program (GPP). He is currently a second-year graduate student in the Brown-GPP.

Research Publications:

Becker JJ, Carrasquillo Y. Projections, where art thou: the state and future of the central amygdala. Journal of Physiology. 2019;597(2):365-366.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Barbara Benowitz

Barbara Benowitz, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Barbara Benowitz was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Barbara graduated from Gettysburg College in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is interested in studying the role of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain-related behaviors as well as the neurocircuitry associated with reward behaviors and motivation. She is currently contributing to a project looking at the central amygdala–zona incerta pathway specifically and its involvement in chronic pain modulation.

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Ana Danko, Special Volunteer

Ana Danko was a special volunteer in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. She joined the lab in summer 2021 as a summer intern. Ana currently attends the University of Southern California and will be graduating in December 2021 with a major in human development and aging. During the summer, Ana worked on quantification of mCherry, cfos, and PKCδ cells in the central amygdala (CeA) and zona incerta (ZI) for a project examining pain modulation via the CeA to ZI pathway. She is currently contributing to histological experiments for a project studying pain-related maladaptive aversion in this circuit.

Adela Francis-Malave

Adela Francis-Malavé, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Adela Francis-Malavé was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Adela graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, in 2020 with a B.S. in biology with an emphasis in cellular and molecular biology. She is interested in understanding the brain circuits that underlie pain-related behaviors and the different pharmacologic approaches that can produce antinociception in mouse models of inflammatory pain. Other research topics of interest to Adela are neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases of the nervous system. Adela is currently working on evaluating the potential antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effect of 4R-cembranoid, a novel positive allosteric modulator type 2 of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, in a mouse model of inflammatory pain. Adela is a recipient of the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education Travel/Meeting Award. 

Research Publications:

Francis-Malave AM, Martinez Gonzalez S, Pichardo C, Wilson TD, Rivera LG, Brinster LR, Carrasquillo Y. Sex differences in pain-related behaviors and clinical progression of disease in mouse models of visceral pain. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 12, 2022. 

Rivera-García LG, Francis-Malavé AM, Wilson TD, Ferchmin PA, Eterovic V, Carrasquillo Y. 4R-Tobacco-cembranoid is a positive allosteric modulator of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that modulates inflammation-induced thermal hypersensitivity in mice. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 23, 2022. 

Butler-Fernández KM, Ramos Z, Francis-Malavé AM, Bloom J, Dharmawardhane S, Hernández E. Synthesis, anti-cancer and anti-migratory evaluation of 3,6 dibromocarbazole and 5-bromoindole derivativesMolecules. 2019;24(15):2686.

Michelle Guevara

Michelle Guevara, Summer Student Trainee and Special Volunteer

Michelle Guevara was a summer student and a special volunteer as a junior in high school in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2018 to 2020. She graduated in 2020 from the Academy of Health Professions at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland. While in the lab, her project was to identify the efferent projection of somatostatin-expressing (Som) cells and cortical releasing hormone (CRH)-expressing cells in the central amygdala using the anterograde tracer AAV8-DIO-mCherry and immunostaining to determine the unknown anatomical circuit involved in the cell-type specific modulation of pain in the central amygdala. Michelle is currently a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a major in neuroscience.

Sara Hong

Sara Hong, Summer Student Trainee

Sara Hong was a summer student in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in 2016 and 2017. She graduated from Poolesville High School in 2017. While in the lab, she studied spontaneous nociceptive responses and changes in affective behaviors in a mouse model of neuropathic pain as well as the effects of inhibitory Gi-DREADDs in pain processing and their relationship with ERK activation in the amygdala. She is currently a student at Wake Forest University pursuing a double major in health and exercise science and politics and international affairs.

Aleisha Khan

Aleisha Khan, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Aleisha was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2016 to 2018. She graduated from Duke University in 2015 with a B.S. in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree in physiology in 2019 from Georgetown University. While in the lab, she examined the bidirectional modulation of pain in the central amygdala. She conducted electrophysiology experiments, examining the firing properties of genetically distinct populations of neurons in the central amygdala in the context of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Aleisha also assisted with immunohistochemistry experiments and anatomical mapping. Furthermore, she conducted electrophysiology experiments examining the baseline properties of genetically distinct cells in the central amygdala. During this time, she received the Clinical and Basic Science Data Blitz Presentation Award from the American Pain Society in 2018 at the Scientific Summit in Anaheim, California. She also received the $500 Poster Presentation Award in 2018 at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Intramural Scientific Retreat in Bethesda, Maryland. Aleisha will pursue her medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia beginning in fall 2021.

Research Publications:

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Jon MacLeod

Jon MacLeod, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Jon MacLeod joined the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in June 2014. He received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Jon used anatomical and histological approaches to determine the molecular identity of nociceptive-responsive neurons in different regions along the pain neuraxis.

Santiago Martinez Gonzalez

Santiago Martinez Gonzalez, Postdoctoral Fellow

Santiago Martinez Gonzalez joined the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in September 2016, working part-time as a special volunteer, and transitioned to a postdoctoral fellow in June 2017. He received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park and completed a medical degree at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia. While in the lab Santiago worked on a project that aimed to establish the underlying brain mechanisms by which chronic visceral pain develops and persists in the absence of measurable pathology in the viscera and its relationship with maladaptive changes in affective behaviors. He conducted experiments designed to optimize dextran sodium sulfate as a model of colitis in mice to produce measurable disease, pathology, and mechanical visceral hypersensitivity. In addition, he studied the modulation of heat and cold hypersensitivity by Som and PKCd neurons in the central amygdala and the parabrachial-central amygdala circuit in a mouse model of neuropathic pain. He received the Neuroscience Scholars Program (NSP) Professional Development Award and the US-Canada Regional Committee of International Brain Research Organization Fellowship Award in 2019, and was a Society for Neuroscience NSP Associate in 2018–2019. He is currently pursuing admission to a medical residency program.

Research Publications:

Francis-Malave AM, Martinez Gonzalez S, Pichardo C, Wilson TD, Rivera LG, Brinster LR, Carrasquillo Y. Sex differences in pain-related behaviors and clinical progression of disease in mouse models of visceral pain. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 12, 2022. 

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Caren Pichardo

Caren Pichardo, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow

Caren Pichardo was a pediatric gastroenterology fellow at Children's National who worked in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2016 to 2018. She received her medical degree in 2008 at Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) and completed her pediatric residency in 2015 at Miami Children’s Hospital. While in the lab, Caren examined the modulation of pain-related behaviors by the amygdala in a rodent model of visceral pain. Caren is currently a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric gastroenterologist at Unity Healthcare in Washington, D.C.

Research Publications:

Francis-Malave AM, Martinez Gonzalez S, Pichardo C, Wilson TD, Rivera LG, Brinster LR, Carrasquillo Y. Sex differences in pain-related behaviors and clinical progression of disease in mouse models of visceral pain. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 12, 2022. 

Luis Rivera

Luis Rivera, Predoctoral Fellow

Luis Rivera was a predoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Luis graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, in 2014 with a B.S. in chemistry. He is currently studying how 4R-cembranoid, a compound found in tobacco leaf, positively modulates the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor allosterically using electrophysiology in vitro. In addition, he is also examining how this modulation ameliorates inflammatory pain-related behaviors in vivo. 

Research Publications:

Francis-Malave AM, Martinez Gonzalez S, Pichardo C, Wilson TD, Rivera LG, Brinster LR, Carrasquillo Y. Sex differences in pain-related behaviors and clinical progression of disease in mouse models of visceral pain. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 12, 2022. 

Rivera-García LG, Francis-Malavé AM, Wilson TD, Ferchmin PA, Eterovic V, Carrasquillo Y. 4R-Tobacco-cembranoid is a positive allosteric modulator of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that modulates inflammation-induced thermal hypersensitivity in mice. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online January 23, 2022. 

Omar Soler-Cedena

Omar Soler-Cedeno, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow

Omar Soler-Cedeno, Ph.D., was a National Institute of General Medical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Omar earned his Ph.D. at the Ponce Health Sciences University in the laboratory of James T. Porter, where he studied the ventral hippocampus and prefrontal cortex connectivity using animal models of post-traumatic stress disorder and exposure therapy. His long-term goal is to become an independent investigator and establish a research program that will combine state-of-the-art neurocircuitry tools and behavioral approaches to study chronic pain and mental health comorbidity. He currently combines ex vivo and in vivo approaches to study the synaptic dynamics of the parabrachial nucleus-to-central amygdala ascending pathway using rodent models of neuropathic and inflammatory pain. 

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Gary Soroosh

Garshasb (Gary) Soroosh, Summer Student Trainee

Garshasb (Gary) Soroosh was a summer student in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity in 2014 and 2015. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, with a concentration in physiology and neurobiology. While in the lab, Gary contributed to projects analyzing the molecular characterization of nociceptive neurons in the amygdala and their anatomical projections. In addition, he also studied the anatomical localization of a molecular signal for pain in the mouse brain, as well as time-dependent expression of molecular signals in the amygdala in mouse models of inflammatory pain. Gary is currently a medical student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and will be pursuing residency training in internal medicine after graduating in May 2021.

Yae Sugimura Carrasquillo Lab Alumni

Yae Sugimura, Special Volunteer

Yae Sugimura was a special volunteer in the Carrasquillo Lab from 2017-2018. She graduated from Hiroshima University in 2007 with a Major in Health Sciences. She received her PhD in Neuroscience in 2016 from the Jikei University School of Medicine. While in the lab, she examined the synaptic plasticity in the brain pain network.

Research Publications:

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Jeitzel Rodriguez Torres

Jeitzel Torres, Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Jeitzel Torres was a postbaccalaureate fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. Jeitzel graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, in 2020 with a B.S. in biology. Jeitzel is interested in studying pain at the behavioral and circuit levels using mouse models, with the goal of obtaining a M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. Also, she would like to assess lateralization of these circuits and compare female and male data. Currently, Jeitzel is working on determining the function of the parabrachial-central amygdala pathway in pain-related behaviors in the context of injury. Jeitzel won the Outstanding Poster Award, NIH Postbac Poster Day, 2021. She also recently won an “Outstanding Poster Presentation Award” at the 2021 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). 

Maria

María Luisa Torruella Suárez, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow

María Luisa Torruella Suárez is a postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. María Luisa graduated from Yale University in 2015 with a B.S. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021 in the lab of Dr. Zoe McElligott. Her doctoral work investigated the role of neurotensin neurons in the central amygdala in alcohol consumption. She is currently exploring the role of plasticity of parabrachial inputs to the central amygdala in neuropathic pain. She is interested in the role of experience-dependent plasticity in affective disorders. She can be reached at marialuisa.torruellasuarez@nih.gov.

Research Publications:

Torruella-Suárez ML, Vandenberg JR, Cogan ES, Tipton GJ, Teklezghi A, Dange K, Patel GK, McHenry JA, Hardaway JA, Kantak PA, Crowley NA, DiBerto JF, Faccidomo SP, Hodge CW, Stuber GD, McElligott ZA. Manipulations of central amygdala neurotensin neurons alter the consumption of ethanol and sweet fluids in mice. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2020;40(3):632-647.

Spring Valdivia Torres

Spring Valdivia Torres, Ph.D., Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Spring Valdivia Torres was a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity from 2016 to 2018. She received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry in 2010 at the National University of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). She received her Ph.D. in 2015 from the same university. While in the lab, Spring contributed to several projects analyzing visceral pain, the zona incerta’s role in pain modulation, central amygdala projections, and more. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Cellular and Molecular Neurophysiology Lab at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE) in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Adke AP, Gonzalez SM, Sugimura YK, Carrasquillo Y. Dual and opposing functions of the central amygdala in the modulation of pain. Cell Reports. 2019;29(2):332-346.

Adke AP, Khan A, Ahn H-S, Becker JJ, Wilson TD, Valdivia S, Sugimura YK, Gonzalez SM, Carrasquillo Y. Cell-type specificity of neuronal excitability and morphology in the central amygdala. eNeuro. 2021;8(1):ENEURO.0402-20-2020.

Daniela Velasquez

Daniela Velasquez, Summer Student Trainee and Special Volunteer

Daniela Velasquez was a special volunteer in 2015 and a summer student in 2016 and 2017 in the Section on Behavioral Neurocircuitry and Cellular Plasticity. She graduated in 2019 from Towson University with a degree in biology. While in the lab, Daniela analyzed the efferent projections of PKCδ+ and Sst cells in the central amygdala and also designed a 3D reconstruction of the mouse brain pertaining to pain “on” and pain “off” cells. Daniela is currently pursuing a master of biological sciences at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, planning to graduate in 2021. Afterward, she plans to attend medical school. Prior to applying to master’s programs, she worked as a medical scribe for a year at a gastroenterology office in hopes of gaining first-hand medical experience while obtaining clinical hours.

Research Publications:

Singh S, Valdivia S, Soler-Cedeño O, Adke AP, Benowitz B, Velasquez D, Wilson TD, Carrasquillo Y. Bidirectional modulation of pain-related behaviors in the zona incerta. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online March 12, 2021.

Publications

Full list of publications for Yarimar Carrasquillo, Ph.D. on PubMed.

News and Openings

Postdoctoral positions are currently available to study cellular, synaptic, and circuit mechanisms of pain processing in the central amygdala (CeA) using mouse behavioral models in combination with chemogenetic, optogenetic, electrophysiological, and histological approaches. Projects are currently focused on exploring CeA mechanisms for bidirectional modulation of pain as well as the reciprocal interaction between pain-related changes in somatosensation and affective states.  

Qualifications/Eligibility: Applicants should have less than 3 years of relevant research experience since their receipt of a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent degree in the biomedical sciences and at least 1 year of experience performing behavioral experiments, in vivo imaging, or in vivo electrophysiology in rodents. Expertise using neuroanatomical tracers or chemogenetic or optogenetic approaches would be a plus. Other requirements include strong laboratory, analytical, and organizational skills; strong verbal and written communication skills in English; and the ability to work independently, as well as part of a team. Consistent with our inclusive lab culture and strong commitment towards diversity, equity, and inclusion, we welcome and encourage applicants from all backgrounds, including men, women, and people of all ages, sexual orientations, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and beliefs.

How to Apply: Applicants must submit a current CV, a brief statement of research interests (one paragraph), and the names and contact information of three references to Yarimar Carrasquillo (Yarimar.carrasquillo@nih.gov).

Videos

Session #1 at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Health and Medicine Division

Dr. Yarimar Carrasquillo and her colleagues at NCCIH are studying a brain structure called the...

Facebook Live Q&A: Mentorship and Women of Color in Science

NCCIH at 20: Dr. Yarimar Carrasquillo Presents Neural Circuits of Chronic Pain and Analgesia