Michael Johnson, Ph.D.

Background

Dr. Michael Johnson joined Dr. Leggio’s NIDA/NIAAA CPN laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in September of 2026. Dr. Johnson received his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in August of 2026 (PIs: Drs. Andrey Ryabinin and Deena Walker). His dissertation work investigated the relationship between thyroid hormone receptors in the brain and alcohol consumption in mice at the behavioral, endocrine, and molecular levels. In addition to his work on thyroid hormones, Dr. Johnson also authored works on social behavior in rodents and how the social environment influences alcohol consumption. During this time, he was supported by a T32 fellowship from NIAAA and received the Exemplary Future Scientist Award from OHSU in 2024. Dr. Johnson has also given invited presentations at the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) for Alcohol and the Nervous System and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcohol and Addictions (ISBRA). Prior to his doctoral studies, he received a master’s degree in biology in August of 2022 for his work investigating the role of circular non-coding RNAs in cue-induced cocaine seeking behavior in rats (PI: Dr. Janet Neisewander).

Dr. Johnson is currently working with Drs. Lorenzo Leggio and Leandro Vendruscolo to leverage clinical data and pre-clinical rodent models to better understand the relationship between neuroendocrine systems and alcohol use disorders, with a special emphasis on thyroid hormones and the role of the thyroid-brain axis in alcohol addiction.