Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin Medical College of Wisconsin
Research Group Lab Hall
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Constanza Garcia Keller, PhD

Constanza Garcia Keller, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology

Locations

  • Pharmacology and Toxicology
  • Office: BSB6235; Lab: BSB6355

Contact Information

Education

Postdoctoral Training, Neuroscience, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 2014-2019
PhD, Pharmacology, National University of Cordoba, Argentina, 2014
BS, Major: Chemical Sciences; Minor: Biochemistry, School of Chemical Sciences, National University of Cordoba, Argentina, 2007

Biography

Dr. Garcia Keller joined the Medical College of Wisconsin as assistant professor in July of 2022. Prior to her arrival at MCW, she joined the Kalivas laboratory at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she completed her post-doctoral training and then held the position of research assistant professor. Dr. Garcia Keller graduated from National University of Cordoba, Argentina in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry. She continued her studies there, and later earned her PhD in Chemical Sciences, with specialization in neuropharmacology under the mentorship of Dr. Liliana Cancela at Institute of Experimental Pharmacology Cordoba (IFEC-CONICET). For her doctoral studies, she was awarded first place in Best Argentinian Neuroscience Thesis 2014. Dr. Garcia Keller’s research program focuses on the neurobiology of stress, motivated behaviour and addiction.

LinkedIn

Honors and Awards

2022 - URM Travel Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
2019 - Travel Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
2017 - Travel Award to attend the course in Cellular Biology of Addiction, Cold Spring Harbor
2014 - Best Doctoral Thesis in Neuroscience from the Argentinian Neuroscience Society
2013 - Fellowship from International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN), Category 1A; support for training in the laboratory of Dr. Kalivas at the Medical University of South Carolina
2013 - Fellowship from International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN); support for attendance at the XIIth Advanced School on Neurochemistry in Chichen Itza, Mexico
2008-2012 - Doctoral Fellowship, National Research Council (CONICET), Cordoba, Argentina

Research Interests

  • Trauma and Stress-Related Disorder/Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Addiction/Substance Use Disorder (Cocaine, Heroin, Nicotine, Cannabinoids)
  • Extracellular Matrix (ECM)
  • Synaptic Plasticity/Pentapartite Synapsis (pre and postsynaptic neurons, astrocyte, microglia, ECM)
  • NeuroImmunoEndocrinology
  • Neuropharmacology
  • System Neuroscience

The long-term goal of the Garcia Keller laboratory is to identify the neurological mechanisms underlying stress-induced vulnerability in the development of substance use disorders (SUDs), and in doing so, rationally design pharmacotherapeutic treatments. Converging epidemiological studies indicate that a history of acute life threatening events increases the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a diagnosis for PTSD carries 30-50% comorbidity with SUDs. Such comorbidity results in greater drug use and poorer treatment outcomes. The lab uses a preclinical rodent model to understand how an acute stressful event can lead to addiction, not only facilitating drug self-administration but also precipitating relapse.

Current ongoing projects aimed to 1) understand the neurocircuitry and cell-type specificity involved in stress and addiction, 2) study the role of the pentapartite synapse in stress and addiction, and 3) study novel therapeutic treatments for PSTD and SUD using an oligonucleotide technology to target key gene of interest.


Publications

Publications of Constanza Garcia Keller PhD from the Faculty Collaboration Database