The Women's Center will be opening late Thursday, April 13th at 1PM in preparation for our Take Back the Night. We hope to see you there!

The Women's Center will also be closed all day Friday, April 14th, but staff will be available remotely: email us with any inquiries womenscenter @ umbc.edu.

We will resume our normal hours next Monday, April 17th.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday from 9:30am to 5pm and Fridays from 10am to 3pm.

For any parents who need the lactation room during this time, please contact the Women's Center at womenscenter @ umbc.edu or call us at 410-455-2714 to make arrangements prior to.

Characterizing Zincergic Neuron Projections and Elucidating their Role in Cocaine Mediated Behaviors

Location: Poster #52 from 10-11:30am in the UC Ballroom

Leila Ghaffari
Mentor: Michael Michaelides, NIDA

Zinc (Zn2+) is an essential element of life that regulates neurophysiological homeostasis. Additionally, zinc has been understood to enhance the affinity for cocaine binding of the dopamine transporter (DAT), resulting in the enhancement of cocaine mediated behaviors. Synaptic, or free zinc, has also shown to be an endogenous modulator of dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum. It is not known, however, how zinc affects DAT activity between males and females, and whether such activity differs between the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens, or in regions where zincergic neurons originate. Our project aims to increase understanding of zinc in this context. First, we assess whether zinc affects cocaine related behaviors, known to be modulated by striatal activity following striatal zinc chelation. Our next goal is to study if zinc alters DAT and dopamine D1 receptor binding as a function of sex. Our third goal aims to understand the proportion of zincergic neurons that project to the striatum. Through these research goals, our hope is to characterize zinc as it affects sex-dependent dopamine neurotransmission in striatal circuits.

See the full URCAD schedule at: URCAD.umbc.edu

Morning Session: 10 – 11:30 a.m. UC Ballroom Lounge

Afternoon Session: 1 – 2:30 p.m. UC Ballroom Lounge

Join us on Wednesday at 12 noon in UC 312 for the URCAD Keynote by Alicia Wilson (UMBC, Political Science, '04).

Alicia L. Wilson, Esq. is the Managing Director and Global Head of Philanthropy for the North America Region for JPMorgan Chase. At JPMorgan, Alicia oversees the local philanthropic strategies across 40+ markets in North America, collaborating intentionally with senior leaders across the firm’s corporate responsibility and business units to drive meaningful impact across JPMorgan’s business footprint in the U.S. and Canada. This includes helping to steward the $2 billion philanthropic commitment as part of the firm’s broader Racial Equity Commitment.

Prior to joining JPMorgan, Alicia served as Vice President of Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System and Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland. At Johns Hopkins, Alicia led a core cross-institutional team focused on developing and implementing Hopkins’ institution-wide strategies and initiatives as an anchor institution in and around its campuses both within the United States and abroad. Alicia spearheaded the elevation and expansion of Hopkins signature commitment to its communities through investments in real estate, economic and neighborhood development, healthcare, and education.

Alicia is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC, 2004) and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. At UMBC, Wilson was a Blaustein and Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and, in 2003, was named the Harry S. Truman Scholar for the state of Maryland. She worked closely with Dr. Roy Meyers (retired professor, Political Science). Alicia was named the inaugural 2004 Andrew Levy Leadership Scholar at the University of Maryland School of Law. In late 2004, she was also named the 2004 George L. Russell Scholar at the School of Law. While in law school, Alicia served as the co-captain of the Maryland Law National Trial Team and led her team to be ranked the number one trial team in the country.

Alicia is actively involved in civic and charitable organizations. She is a native of Baltimore City and valedictorian of her class at Merganthaler Vocational-Technical High School and draws on her experiences growing up in inner-city Baltimore for inspiration to help others realize their dreams. She currently serves on the boards of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, the CollegeBound Foundation, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and the France-Merrick Foundation. She is also co-founder of the Black Philanthropy Circle at the Baltimore Community Foundation. Alicia is also Chair of the CollegeBound Foundation and as such is the first CollegeBound Foundation alum, first woman, first African-American and youngest Board Chair in the thirty history of the organization. Alicia also serves as Parliamentarian within the Harbor City Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

For her accomplishments and public service, Alicia has received over fifty professional awards and honors. Most recently, Alicia was recognized as Pro Bono Partner of the Year for 2022 by the Equal Justice Council and was selected as the 2022 Whitney M. Young Award recipient for her service to youth by the Boys Scouts of America, Baltimore Area Council.

Her professional and civic leadership have propelled her to the forefront of local and national media attention. Most recently, Alicia was recognized as one of the 15 Black Marylanders to Watch for 2023 by the Baltimore Sun. In mid-2022, Savoy Magazine recognized Alicia as one of the “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America”. She was also named a 2022 “Women Who Wins” and Newsmaker of the Year for 2021 by the Afro-American Newspaper.