Principal Investigator
Kimberly Nixon
Dr. Kimberly Nixon is an Associate Professor and James T. Doluisio Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology and member of the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research. Dr. Nixon received a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin under the mentorship of the late Dr. Abram Amsel and Dr. Steven W. Leslie. She then went on to the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Fulton Crews. While at UNC, she was the first to discover the effect of alcohol on neurogenesis in adult organisms, an area where her lab continues to lead the field today. Dr. Nixon joined the faculty as an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2005 where she rose through the ranks to Full Professor before returning to her alma mater in 2018.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Natalie Nawarawong
I received my B.A. in Neuroscience from Vassar College in 2008. Upon completion of my degree, I worked in the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Drs. Beatriz Luna and Miya Asato, where I studied adolescent brain development in pediatric patients and typically developing populations. Following my tenure in Pittsburgh, I moved to the Medical College of Wisconsin to pursue my Ph.D. In 2019, I completed a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Olsen. My dissertation research utilized transgenic mouse models to investigate neuronal ensembles implicated in addiction vulnerability and relapse. I then joined the laboratory of Dr. Kimberly Nixon at the University of Texas at Austin as a Postdoctoral Fellow. My research focuses on understanding the role of reactive neurogenesis within the hippocampus in alcohol use disorders. When not in the lab, I enjoy reading, ice skating, and exploring new places.
Graduate Students
Ryan Thompson
I attended the University of Kentucky where I received a B.S. in Psychology. My interest in how alcohol affects the nervous system took me from Kentucky to the University of Texas at Austin to join the laboratory of Dr. Kimberly Nixon and the Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology and Toxicology) Ph.D. program in 2018. Outside of lab, I enjoy the music and food Austin has to offer, along with caring for my lawn.
Steven Guerin
I am originally from Albuquerque, where I received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of New Mexico. I then did a year of post-bac research in the laboratory of Dr. Dawn Delfín, investigating mechanisms to improve stem cell therapy for heart disease. I moved one state over to the University of Texas at Austin in 2018, and soon joined the laboratory of Dr. Kimberly Nixon as part of the Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology and Toxicology) Ph.D. program. I am currently studying how alcohol use disorder alters the phenotype of astrocytes. In my spare time, I love exploring the city of Austin on bike, trying out the many food trucks, restaurants, and nightlife spots ATX has to offer. A couple fun facts about me: I know how to juggle and I can speak a small amount of Chinese not very well (你好).
Erika Carlson
I joined the lab in 2022 as a Ph.D. student in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology and Toxicology). I am currently interested in alcohol-induced neuroimmune system reactivity and how microglia, brain-resident immune cells, are involved in alcohol-related damage and recovery in abstinence across age and sex. Prior to my studies at UT, I earned a B.S. in Integrative Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2018, where I studied cognitive plasticity and parenting behavior of fish with Dr. Alison Bell. I stayed on as Dr. Bell’s laboratory manager for 1 year, while also probing mechanisms of adolescent vulnerability to methamphetamine in rats in the laboratory of Dr. Joshua Gulley. I then left the cornfields behind for a 2-year post-bacc at the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in Baltimore, Maryland in the laboratory of Dr. George Koob, where I explored the respiratory effects of opioids in rats, as well as the role of the dynorphin-kappa opioid receptor system in fentanyl self-administration in mice. I am an avid biker, food enthusiast, and reader.
Stephen Collins
I come from El Paso, Texas, where I earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2020. During my undergraduate studies, I worked in Dr. Edward Castañeda’s laboratory of neural and behavioral plasticity exploring the underlying mechanisms that cause craving and drug-seeking behaviors during substance abuse. I am now a Ph.D. student in the Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology and Toxicology) program and joined the laboratory of Dr. Kimberly Nixon in 2022. My research interest lies in the endocannabinoid system and its potential neuroprotective effects in the context of alcohol toxicity. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy listening to live music, going to the park to fly kites, and playing with my two pups.
Pharmacy and Undergraduate Students
Kate Adams
I am a Student Pharmacist who joined the lab for the summer of 2022, working on the role of neurogenesis in alcohol abstinence. I am originally from Tyler, Texas and earned an A.S. in Chemistry from Tyler Junior College, then attended the University of Texas at Tyler before entering the Pharm.D. program at the University of Texas at Austin. Within the College of Pharmacy, I serve as Historian for the Kappa Epsilon women’s health fraternity and enjoy museums, bouldering, and uploading drum covers to YouTube.
Former UT Lab Members
Chinchusha Anasooya Shaji
Lab Manager
Lauren Peacoe
Undergraduate Researcher
Huy Dang
(post-bacc) -> M.D. Student at Baylor College of Medicine
Jenni Melbourne
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jessica Wooden
Postdoctoral Fellow