Welcome to the Kentner ENRICHED
Neurodevelopmental Brain & Behavior Laboratory
ENRICHED
[Environmental Neuroprotection from Immune Challenges in Early Development]
Lab Rats
Contact Information
School of Arts & Sciences
Massachusetts College of
Pharmacy and Health Sciences
179 Longwood Avenue
Boston Massachusetts 02115
email: amanda.kentner@mcphs.edu
Those interested in working in the lab (i.e. postdoc, graduate or undergraduate positions) should contact Dr. Kentner by e-mail (amanda.kentner@mcphs.edu) and include a current curriculum vitae along with a description of their research interests. Potential postdocs should also include a statement about their interest in student mentorship. Preferred undergraduates include those who have taken (and done well in!) at least one of Dr. Kentner's courses: BEH341 (Biological Psychology), BEH457 (Drugs & Behavior), or BEH454 (Stress & Illness)
Amanda (Mandy) Kentner, Ph.D., is a Full Professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts. In this role, she directs a behavioral neuroscience focused laboratory examining how exposure to infection during early development imparts long-term disruptions in social and cognitive functioning. Her laboratory is also interested in factors that offer protective or rehabilitative potential, for example environmental enrichment, maternal care, and pharmacological agents.
Dr. Kentner serves on the editorial board of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and is a Senior Editor for Neuroscience. Additionally, she is actively engaged in the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS) on both the Executive Board and the Education & Training Committee. Dr. Kentner has sat on multiple National Science Foundation panels and is a standing member for the Developmental Brain Disorders study section for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is also an elected Council Member of NeuroBoston, the local Society for Neuroscience Boston Chapter. She served as an elected USA Councilor representative for the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS) from 2018-2021 and was the inaugural Chair of the IBNS Ethics & Diversity Committee. Dr. Kentner has received multiple MCPHS Excellence in Research Mentorship awards and support from NIH R15 AREA grants.
Awards/Recognition:
2025 - Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
2022 - Faculty-Wide Scholarship Award for Research Based “Discovery” Paper (MCPHS)
2021 - Fellow of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS)
2021 - Associate Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
2018 - Gail P. and Edward A. Bucher Trustees' Award for Excellence in Student-Faculty
Research Collaboration (MCPHS)
2017 - Faculty-Wide Scholarship Award for Research Based “Discovery” Paper (MCPHS)
2013, 2014, 2016 - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Faculty Mentor Award
Current Lab Rats
Jailyn Merengueli
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Health Psychology Major, Minor in Public Health
I am currently working in the Kentner Laboratory learning about animal behavior using an animal model of maternal inflammation. In the future I hope to earn a doctorate or a masters degree in developmental psychology focused on the effects of harmful childhood events on childhood brain development and behavioral outcomes.
*******Winner of a 2024 MCPHS Center for Research & Discovery Grant
Tristen Langen
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Chemistry Major - Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
Neuroscience Minor - Emmerson College (via Colleges of the Fenway program)
I’m Tristen Langen, I’m a first generation college student and Navy Veteran pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a minor in neuroscience. I am studying the effects of environmental stressors on parental communication signals and offspring’s cognitive and behavioral development. I intend to apply my lab skills and what I’ve learned about neurodevelopment in this lab to create new compounds and pharmaceutical therapies for individuals with neurological impairments and disorders.
*Winner of a 2023 MCPHS Center for Research & Discovery Grant and Best Poster Award at the 2024 MCPHS Center for Research and Discovery Conference
2024 MCPHS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow
Martz J, Shelton MA, Langen TJ, Srinivasan S, Seney ML, Kentner AC. (2025). Peripubertal antagonism of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 results in sustained, sex-specific changes in behavioral plasticity and the transcriptomic profile of the amygdala. Neuroscience, 16:567:261-270. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.01.007.
Pando P, Langen TJ, Kentner AC. (in press). Neighborly Influence: Intrauterine position accounts for individual variability in a mouse model of maternal immune activation. Brain Behav Immun. 2024 Jul 21;121:72-73. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.029.
Giovanna Braga
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bachelor ofHealth Psychology (PreMed Track)
I’m Giovanna Braga, a Health Psychology student on the premedical track. I’m passionate about investigating how early life stressors can impact a child’s development and I hope my journey in medicine will allow me to be an advocate for health equity, especially for minority group individuals.
Sakhi Srinivasan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Medical and Molecular Biology Major
My name is Sakhi Srinivasan and I am an undergraduate student majoring in Medical and Molecular Biology at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. I joined the Kentner laboratory in February 2023, and have been studying the protective effects of environmental enrichment in a lactational model of maternal immune activation. In the lab I have been running and analyzing behavioral experiments and I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge and skill set in the wet lab this fall as our study progresses. I aspire to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology.
2023 MCPHS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow
*Winner of a 2023 MCPHS Center for Research & Discovery Grant and Best Poster Award at the 2024 MCPHS Center for Research and Discovery Conference
Martz J, Shelton MA, Langen TJ, Srinivasan S, Seney ML, Kentner AC. (2025). Peripubertal antagonism of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 results in sustained, sex-specific changes in behavioral plasticity and the transcriptomic profile of the amygdala. Neuroscience, 16:567:261-270. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.01.007.
Penelope Pando
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bachelor of Science in Medical and Molecular Biology
My name is Penelope Pando and I am an undergraduate student majoring in medical and molecular biology with a minor in nutrition. I am examining pharmacological interventions to prevent against lipopolysaccharide-induced maternal immune activation. In Dr. Kentner’s laboratory, I have been learning new techniques such as the isolation and characterization of extracellular vesicles, animal behavioral research, and expanding my mechanistic understanding of physiological systems. I aspire to pursue a Ph.D. in Developmental Toxicology following the completion of my undergraduate degree.
Pando P, Langen TJ, Kentner AC. (in press). Neighborly Influence: Intrauterine position accounts for individual variability in a mouse model of maternal immune activation. Brain Behav Immun. 2024 Jul 21;121:72-73. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.029. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39043343.
Hanna Vuong
Undergraduate Research Assistant
PharmD Program '28
My name is Hannah Vuong and I am a candidate in the MCPHS Doctor of Pharmacy program. I am working in the laboratory learning about animal behavior and how early life infection programs the developing brain. I intend on working in drug development to create/perform in vivo testing during preclinical development phases.
Dr. Julia Martz
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Julia Martz joined the Kentner Laboratory in 2022 as a postdoctoral fellow after completing her doctorate in behavioral neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin. Julia studied how exposure to maternal immune activation during the lactational period affects mothers and their offspring. One line of questioning was focused on identifying the molecular communication signals transferred through milk and how they impact neural and behavioral development. Julia is now a Senior Research Manager with Dr. Datta in the Neurobiology Department at Harvard Medical School, but still helps out occasionally as we continue to collaborate to complete her projects.
Martz J, Shelton MA, Langen TJ, Srinivasan S, Seney ML, Kentner AC. Peripubertal antagonism of corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 results in sustained, sex-specific changes in behavioral plasticity and the transcriptomic profile of the amygdala. [preprint]. 2024 August. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.14.607957.
Martz, J., Shelton, M.A., Geist, L., Seney, M.L., Kentner, A.C. (2024). Sex differences in offspring risk and resilience following 11β-hydroxylase antagonist in a rodent model of maternal immune activation. Neuropsychopharmacology, 49, 204, 2078-2090. Paper available at: https://rdcu.be/drZRD.
Wijenayake, S., Martz, J., Lapp, H.E., Storm, J.A., Champagne, F.A., Kentner, A.C. (2023). The contributions of parental lactation on offspring development: it's not udder nonsense! Hormones and Behavior, 153: 105375. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105375.
Escapees
Escapees
Escapees
Eric Connors
BS Health Psychology '14
Clinical Neuropsychologist, Instructor in Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston MA
My name is Eric Connors and was a first generation college student who graduated from MCPHS in 2014 with a BS in Health Psychology. I was also the first student to conduct research in the Kentner Laboratory. Using an animal model of behavior, we investigated the impact of environmental enrichment on potentially reversing the effects of prenatal stressors, that can hinder neurological development. During my time in the lab, I was able to present my research at international neuroscience conferences and published two peer-reviewed publications. In addition, Dr. Kentner and I obtained the SURF Supervisor of the Year Award and the SURF Scholar of the Year Award, which are accomplishments that I am still proud of today.
Training in the laboratory fueled my interest in the clinical implications of neurorehabilitation, among individuals who endured an acquired brain injury (ABI). This fascination influenced me to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, with a focus in both health psychology and neuropsychology.
Connors, E.J., Migliore, M.M., Pillsbury, S.L., Shaik, A.N., Kentner, A.C. (2015). Environmental enrichment models a naturalistic form of maternal separation and shapes the anxiety response patterns of offspring. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 52, 153-167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.021.
Connors, E.J., Shaik, N.A., Migliore, M.M., Kentner, A.C. (2014). Environmental enrichment mitigates the sex-specific effects of gestational inflammation on social engagement and the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis-feedback system. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 42, 178-190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2014.06.020.
Escapees
Heading 2
Urma Khan
BS Health Sciences '16
Nurse - Cardiology Unit, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston MA
I’m Urma Khan, and I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Premedical and Health Studies with a minor in Health Psychology. When working in the Neurodevelopmental Brain and Behavior Laboratory, I had the opportunity to collaborate with other students and learn about research methods and conduct data processing. The research experience sparked my interest in neurosciences, as a nursing specialty, and inspired me to work towards a preceptorship on a Neurosciences Intermediate Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as I completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing at Northeastern University. I worked on a Neurosciences Unit as a Patient Care Technician at BIDMC for several years. I then obtained a Registered Nurse licensure, and now work on in cardiology a BIDMC.
Kentner, A.C., Khan, U., MacRae, M., Dowd, S.E., Yan, S. (2018). The effects of antibiotics on social aversion following early life inflammation. Physiology & Behavior, 194, 311-318.
Escapees
Heading 2
Tiffany Macrina
BS Health Psychology '16
Occupational Therapist - VA Hospital, Aberdeen, Washington
My name is Tiffany Macrina. I am currently working as an occupational therapist in Aberdeen Washington, providing both inpatient and outpatient services in addition to providing care to children at some of the surrounding elementary schools. I learned many skills from my experience in the lab that I have carried with me through graduate school. I learned to read research articles, how to observe and evaluate behavior, and how to apply myself to learn outside of the classroom. I learned that the interactions between the environment and other physical, psychological and social factors are important to consider when evaluating a patient's condition, prognosis, and treatment.
MacRae, M., Macrina, T., Khoury, A., Migliore, M.M., Kentner, A.C. (2015). Tracing the trajectory of behavioral impairments and oxidative stress in an animal model of neonatal inflammation. Neuroscience, 298, 455-466. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25934038.
Jenny Nguyen
PharmD '20
Clinical Pharmacogenomics Specialist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA
Stephanie Scalia
BS Pharmacology and Toxicology '18
Research Scientist, Hematology/Oncology Laboratory at Tufts Medical Center
Junyoung Shin
BS Pharmacology and Toxicology '18
Research Technician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
My name is Stephanie Scalia and in the Summer of 2017, I was fortunate enough to work as a Research Fellow under the direction of Dr. Kentner through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program at the University. During my 10 weeks, I learned how a research project is conducted, several behavioral testing procedures, and how extensive research projects are in laboratory settings. Through SURF, I was awarded the Research Scholar Award, which recognizes the excellence of the research scholar during the 10-week program. Stephanie graduated with a Masters in Pharmacology from the University of Vermont in 2020.
Kentner, A.C., Scalia, S., Shin, J., Migliore, M.M., Rondon-Ortiz, A.N. (2018). Targeted sensory enrichment interventions protect against behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of early life stress.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 98, 74-85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.029.
Kentner, A.C., Lima, E., Migliore, M.M., Shin, J., Scalia, S. (2018). Complex environmental rearing enhances social salience and affects hippocampal corticotropin releasing hormone receptor expression in a sex specific manner. Neuroscience, 369, 399-411, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.035.
My name is Junyoung Shin, in the Kentner Laboratory, have learned several laboratory techniques such behavioral analysis, BCAs and ELISAs. I had an opportunity to attend a Neuroscience conference for a poster presentation, had a paper that I collaborated on published, and I was chosen to be interviewed on my work in the laboratory (based on my 2017 Summer Center for Professional Development Grant Award).
Kentner, A.C., Scalia, S., Shin, J., Migliore, M.M., Rondon-Ortiz, A.N. (2018). Targeted sensory enrichment interventions protect against behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of early life stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 98, 74-85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.029.
Kentner, A.C., Lima, E., Migliore, M.M., Shin, J., Scalia, S. (2018). Complex environmental rearing enhances social salience and affects hippocampal corticotropin releasing hormone receptor expression in a sex specific manner. Neuroscience, 369, 399-411, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.035.
My name is Jenny Nguyen and a first generation college student. I became a part of the Kentner Laboratory as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) during my second year and have been a part of the lab since then. Within the past few years, I have participated in research evaluating bisphenol A degradation from laboratory plastic water bottles, the protective mechanisms of environmental enrichment following maternal stress, and social preferences following enrichment. I have learned a lot of different lab techniques such as RNA extraction, qPCR, assays, behavioral testings etc., that I know will be very valuable in the future for my pursuit in Pharmacogenomics. I was awarded the SURF Research Scholar Award, our bisphenol-A research is published, and I have been able to present our other projects at the Boston Area Neuroscience Group Symposium. Besides working in the Kentner Laboratory, I’m also a pharmacy intern at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a peer tutor for Chemistry, and a manager for the center of campus life at MCPHS University.
Núñez Estevez, K., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Nguyen, J., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Environmental influences on placental programming and offspring outcomes following maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 83, 44-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2019.08.192.
Honeycutt, J., Nguyen, J., Kentner, A.C., Brenhouse, H.C. (2017). Effects of water bottle materials and filtration on Bisphenol-A content in laboratory animal drinking water. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 56, 269-272, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28535862.
Morgan Sullivan
Pre-Medical and Health Studies Major '20
Distal Extremities Sales Associate, Kairos Surgical, Boston MA
While working in the lab, I had my eyes opened up to on-going research in the neuroscience community, been able to work with colleagues from different academic and professional backgrounds, learned better time management skills, in addition to different lab techniques and analysis procedures. It has been a great learning opportunity, to be able to learn about different areas of science - from being in the classroom, the research lab, and even in the Boston Area Neuroscience Group Symposium where I was able to present my own research. I now specialize in sports medicine and distal extremities (e.g., hand, wrist, foot and ankle) at Kairos Surgical.
Hieu Tran
Pre-Medical and Health Studies Major & Health Psychology Minor '23
Research Scientist - Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA
***Starting at UMass Chan Medical School Program in Fall 2024
Zhao, X., Tran, H., DeRosa, H., Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2021). Hidden Talents: Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation improves mouse visual discrimination performance and reversal learning in a sex-dependent manner. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 20, e12755, doi: 10.1111/gbb.12755.
Zhao, X., Mohammed, R., Tran, H., Erickson, M., Kentner AC. (2021). Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation modifies ventral hippocampal regulation of stress reactivity: prevention by environmental enrichment. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 95, 203-215, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.03.018.
***Winner of the Best Undergraduate Student Poster at the 2020 & 2021 NeuroBoston (Boston Chapter of SfN) Annual [Virtual] meetings!!!!
Emily Tran
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Medical and Molecular Biology Major '27
My name is Emily Tran, and I am an undergraduate student majoring in Medical and Molecular Biology. In the Kentner Laboratoty, I studied the physiological and behavioral changes of offspring as a result of maternal immune activation from environmental stressors. I aspire to become a physician scientist with a focus in immunology.
Dr. Xin Zhao
Assistant Professor of Psychology (tenure-track) at Texas Christian University (starting Fall 2025)
Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at Cornell University, Ithaca NY
Zhao, X., Tran, H., DeRosa, H., Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2021). Hidden Talents: Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation improves mouse visual discrimination performance and reversal learning in a sex-dependent manner. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 20, e12755, doi: 10.1111/gbb.12755.
Zhao, X., Mohammed, R., Tran, H., Erickson, M., Kentner AC. (2021). Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation modifies ventral hippocampal regulation of stress reactivity: prevention by environmental enrichment. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 95, 203-215, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2021.03.018.
Zhao, X., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Lima, E.P., Puracchio, M., Roderick, R., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Therapeutic efficacy of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrine, and synaptic alterations in an animal model of maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 3, 100043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100043.
Alejandro Rondón-Ortiz
MS Pharmacology '19 - Worked as a part-time summer graduate research assistant in our lab
Currently in the PhD Neuroscience Program at Boston University, Boston MA
Strzelewicz, A.R., Vecchiarelli, H.A., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Raneri, A., Hill, M.N., Kentner, A.C. (in press). Interactive effects of compounding multidimensional stressors on maternal and male and female rat offspring outcomes. Accepted for publication in Hormones & Behavior on May 28 2021, HB-D-21-00108R1.
Núñez Estevez, K., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Nguyen, J., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Environmental influences on placental programming and offspring outcomes following maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 83, 44-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2019.08.192.
Zhao, X., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Lima, E.P., Puracchio, M., Roderick, R., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Therapeutic efficacy of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrine, and synaptic alterations in an animal model of maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 3, 100043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100043.
Strzelewicz AR, Sanchez EO, Rondón-Ortiz AN, Raneri A, Famularo ST, Bangasser DA, Kentner AC. (2019). Access to a high resource environment protects against accelerated maturation following early life stress: A translational animal model of high, medium and low security settings. Hormones and Behavior, 111, 46-59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.01.003.
Kentner, A.C., Scalia, S., Shin, J., Migliore, M.M., Rondon-Ortiz, A.N. (2018). Targeted sensory enrichment interventions protect against behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of early life stress.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 98, 74-85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.029.
Madeline Puracchio
BS Pre-Medical and Health Studies Major '20
Clinical Research Associate at ActivMed, Methuen MA
Zhao, X., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Lima, E.P., Puracchio, M., Roderick, R., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Therapeutic efficacy of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrine, and synaptic alterations in an animal model of maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 3, 100043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100043.
Amanda Speno
BS Pre-medical and Health Studies '20
Currently doing a Master of Science in Clinical Research at MCPHS
Kentner, A.C., Speno, A.V., Doucette, J., Roderick, R.C. (2021). The contribution of environmental enrichment to phenotypic variation in mice and rats. eNeuro, 8(2):ENEURO.0539-20.2021, https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0539-20.2021.
Speno, A.V. Kentner, A.C. (2018). Do gut reactions to antibiotics lead to sex dependent changes in behavior following neonatal immune challenge? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 73, 165-166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.08.007.
Arielle Strzelewicz
MS Clinical Research '18
Instructor of Biology and Biomed Sciences, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI
Strzelewicz, A.R., Vecchiarelli, H.A., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Raneri, A., Hill, M.N., Kentner, A.C. (in press). Interactive effects of compounding multidimensional stressors on maternal and male and female rat offspring outcomes. Accepted for publication in Hormones & Behavior on May 28 2021, HB-D-21-00108R1.
Strzelewicz AR, Sanchez EO, Rondón-Ortiz AN, Raneri A, Famularo ST, Bangasser DA, Kentner AC. (2019). Access to a high resource environment protects against accelerated maturation following early life stress: A translational animal model of high, medium and low security settings. Hormones and Behavior, 111,46-59
Anthony Raneri
BS Pre-Medical and Health Studies '19
Research Assistant, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston MA
Strzelewicz, A.R., Vecchiarelli, H.A., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Raneri, A., Hill, M.N., Kentner, A.C. (in press). Interactive effects of compounding multidimensional stressors on maternal and male and female rat offspring outcomes. Accepted for publication in Hormones & Behavior on May 28 2021, HB-D-21-00108R1.
Strzelewicz AR, Sanchez EO, Rondón-Ortiz AN, Raneri A, Famularo ST, Bangasser DA, Kentner AC. (2019). Access to a high resource environment protects against accelerated maturation following early life stress: A translational animal model of high, medium and low security settings. Hormones and Behavior, 111,46-59
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.01.003.
Karen Núñez
MS Pharmacology
Clinical Research Associate at Alliance Research Centers, San Diego, CA
Núñez Estevez, K., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Nguyen, J., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Environmental influences on placental programming and offspring outcomes following maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 83, 44-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2019.08.192.
Siyang Yan
MS Pharmaceutics '16
Researcher in Pharmacokinetics at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge MA
Yan, S., Kentner, A.C., (2017). Mechanical allodynia corresponds to Oprm1 downregulation within the descending pain network of male and female rats exposed to neonatal immune challenge. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 63, 148-159, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2016.10.007.
Erika Queiroz
MS Pharmacology '16 -Worked as a part-time summer graduate research assistant in our lab
Scientific Associate at Novartis (Ophthalmology Department), Cambridge MA
Kentner, A.C., Lima, E., Migliore, M.M., Shin, J., Scalia, S. (2018). Complex environmental rearing enhances social salience and affects hippocampal corticotropin releasing hormone receptor expression in a sex specific manner. Neuroscience, 369, 399-411, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.035.
Zhao, X., Rondón-Ortiz, A., Lima, E.P., Puracchio, M., Roderick, R., Kentner, A.C. (2020). Therapeutic efficacy of environmental enrichment on behavioral, endocrine, and synaptic alterations in an animal model of maternal immune activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 3, 100043, https://doi.org/10.1016.
Shelby Pillsbury
PharmD '15
Pharmacist at Pillpack, MA
Connors, E.J., Migliore, M.M., Pillsbury, S.L., Shaik, A.N., Kentner, A.C. (2015). Environmental enrichment models a naturalistic form of maternal separation and shapes the anxiety response patterns of offspring. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 52, 153-167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.021.
Sahith Kaki
Pre-Medical and Health Studies Major;
currently at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA
Kaki, S., DeRosa, H., Timmerman, B., Brummelte, S., Hunter, R.G., Kentner, AC. (2023). Developmental Manipulation-Induced Changes in Cognitive Functioning. Curr Top Behav Neurosci, 63, 241-289. doi: 10.1007/7854_2022_389.
Jie Yi Tan
Doctor of Pharmacy Student
My name is JieYi (Sara) and I am a Doctor of Pharmacy student at MCPHS University. I became part of Kentner Laboratory in Spring 2019. I am currently working as a research assistant collecting articles and analyzing them for a literature review. By reading and collecting data for this project, I have been developing my analytic skills.
***Winner of an American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Student Travel Award (2021) and an ACCP Professional Leadership Rotation (for 2022).
Mary Erickson
Pre-Medical and Health Studies Major with a Health Psychology Minor '21; Northeastern University's Master of Biomedical Science Program
Zhao, X., Tran, H., DeRosa, H., Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2021). Hidden Talents: Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation improves mouse visual discrimination performance and reversal learning in a sex-dependent manner. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 20, e12755, doi: 10.1111/gbb.12755.
Ada Cheng
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Health Psychology Major with a minor in Pre-Medical Health Studies 2024
My name is Ada Cheng and I am in Health Psychology Major also completing a minor in Pre-medical Health Studies. In the Kentner laboratory, I am diving into the field of research and learning about maternal immune activation in mice by participating in various ongoing projects within this group of researchers. Currently, I am working on enhancing my skills as a research assistant by counting cells and completing different tasks in order to help my peers in their projects. I am pursuing a career in medicine, with my main interest being endocrinology, and the vast effects that hormones have on human organs.
DeRosa, H., Smith, A., Geist, L., Cheng, A., Hunter, R.G., Kentner, A.C. (2023). Maternal immune activation alters placental histone-3 lysine-9 tri-methylation, offspring sensorimotor processing, and hypothalamic transposable element expression in a sex-specific manner. Neurobiol Stress, 24:100538. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100538.
Ruqayah Mohammed
Pre-Medical and Health Studies
Major '21
Zhao, X., Tran, H., DeRosa, H., Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2021). Hidden Talents: Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation improves mouse visual discrimination performance and reversal learning in a sex-dependent manner. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 20, e12755, doi: 10.1111/gbb.12755.
***Winner of a Best Undergraduate Student Poster at the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology 2021 Annual [Virtual] meeting!!!!
Laurel Geist
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Health Psychology Major on the Physical Therapy Pathway 2024
My name is Laurel Geist, and I am majoring in Health Psychology on the Physical Therapy pathway. I joined the Kentner Laboratory in the fall of 2021, and have been learning about lipopolysaccharide-induced maternal immune activation and the induced physiological and behavioral deficits in offspring. I am investigating pharmacological interventions and their protective effects against these deficits in addition to inflammatory induced disruptions in the placenta. I plan to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy and I am interested in pediatrics.
*Winner of a 2022 MCPHS Center for Research & Discovery Grant
Martz, J., Shelton, M.A., Geist, L., Seney, M.L., Kentner, A.C. (2024). Sex differences in offspring risk and resilience following 11β-hydroxylase antagonist in a rodent model of maternal immune activation. Neuropsychopharmacology, 49, 204, 2078-2090. Paper available at: https://rdcu.be/drZRD.
DeRosa, H., Smith, A., Geist, L., Cheng, A., Hunter, R.G., Kentner, A.C. (2023). Maternal immune activation alters placental histone-3 lysine-9 tri-methylation, offspring sensorimotor processing, and hypothalamic transposable element expression in a sex-specific manner. Neurobiol Stress, 24:100538. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100538.
Ryland Roderick
Pre-Medical & Health Studies Major '20; currently completing a
Fellowship in Cardiac
Electrophysiology at Stanford University, CA
Some example papers:
Zhao, X., Tran, H., DeRosa, H., Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2021). Hidden Talents: Poly (I:C)-induced maternal immune activation improves mouse visual discrimination performance and reversal learning in a sex-dependent manner. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 20, e12755, doi: 10.1111/gbb.12755.
Roderick, R.C., Kentner, A.C. (2019). Building a framework to optimize animal models of maternal immune activation: Like your ongoing home improvements, it's a work in progress. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 75, 6-7, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.10.011.
Kentner Lab Collaborators
A thank you to all other undergraduate students past and present who are part of our lab but do not wish to be featured on social media. Thank you!