Erika Carlson

Research Interests

Erika Carlson graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Biology with High Distinction. Her undergraduate research focused on paternal care, aggression, and cognition in three-spined stickleback. After taking a course on neuropsychopharmacology, her research interests expanded to the neurobiology of addiction and she joined a second lab working on methamphetamine extinction learning and anxiety-like effects of THC in rats. In her current position at NAS, she is involved in research projects under the mentorship of Dr. Renata Marchette and Dr. Leandro Vendruscolo. She is investigating potential new treatments to reverse opioid-induced respiratory depression as well as using genetically modified mouse models of opioid dependence to elucidate mechanisms of addiction. When not in lab, Erika enjoys baking, reading, and hiking.