Adrianna Kirckof
Neuroscience PhD Student, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Kansas
Education
B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 2021
Research Interest
Adrianna’s research uses traditional behavioral neuropharmacology as well as cutting edge techniques such as endomicroscopy and synaptic tracing tools to study the molecular underpinnings and neurocircuitry of social loss in female prairie voles.
Academic Bio
Adrianna received her B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 2021. She completed the NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program at the University of Kansas in 2022, where she worked on projects examining the interactions between the mesolimbic reward system and partner loss in male prairie voles. As a graduate student, she studies the motivational and social memory circuits of partner and social loss in female prairie voles.
Publications
Gossman KR, Lowe CS, Kirckof A, Vanmeerhaeghe S, & Smith AS (2024) Corticotropin-releasing factor and GABA in the ventral tegmental area modulate partner preference formation in male and female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Front Neurosci. 18: 1430447. [pdf]
Vitale EM, Kirckof A, Smith AS. (2023) Partner-seeking and limbic dopamine system are enhanced following social loss in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Genes Brain Behav. e12861. [pdf]