Damian
Zuloaga

Dr. Zuloaga is an Associate Professor in Psychology (Behavioral Neuroscience) and Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research at the University at Albany with expertise in sex differences in the brain and behavior. A primary focus of his research is on determining how sex hormones (e.g., estrogen and testosterone) interact to affect brain neurobiology, behaviors associated with anxiety and depression, and cognition/memory. In the past few years Dr. Zuloaga has expanded this research into the Alzheimer’s field. In collaboration with Co-PI Kristen Zuloaga, he is exploring how stress and sex hormones interact to affect behaviors and neuropathology associated with AD. Dr. Zuloaga also has extensive experience in determining how pregnancies and hormones associated with pregnancies can modify the brain to ultimately impact the development of disorders related to the postpartum period, such as postpartum depression. This expertise translates well into our BrightFocus grant, in which we are exploring how pregnancies and menopause interact to affect memory/cognition, anxiety, depression, and neuropathological markers of AD using a mouse model.