Current Lab Members
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Principal Investigator
Jen received her Bachelor of Science in Biology & Psychology from Western Michigan University in her hometown of Kalamazoo, MI. She went on to get her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at American University in Washington, DC with Dr. Tony Riley. Jen completed postdoctoral fellowships at UNC-Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) and here at MUSC, before transitioning to faculty and officially opening her lab in July 2021 in the Department of Neuroscience. She is also a member of the Charleston Alcohol Research Center.
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PhD Student
Krysten is a 5th year doctoral candidate in the BMS PhD program and is co-mentored by Dr. Patrick Mulholland. Krysten is originally from Long Island, NY, but went to Elon University in North Carolina, where she majored in Psychology. She received her Master of Science from SUNY Upstate in Biomedical Sciences. Her graduate research focuses on incorporating deep machine learning and behavioral neuroscience approaches to parse the role of the dorsal peduncular cortex in stress-related behaviors.
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PhD Student
Katie is from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and received her Bachelor of Science from Elizabethtown College in Central Pennsylvania. She’s always found the brain fascinating so double majoring in neuroscience and psychology was a no brainer for her in undergrad. Through the different research opportunities she’s had she realized a passion for research in the neurobiological mechanisms that are permissive of addiction, and she is especially interested in examining sex differences alcohol use disorder that might impact treatment strategies.
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MS Student
Chant’e is working on understanding the role of the Mediodorsal Thalamus and its reciprocal connections with the medial Prefrontal Cortex in regulating excessive alcohol consumption in a model of alcohol dependence.
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MINDS Program Fellow
College of Charleston
Cynara is a senior Biology major at CofC and a fellow in the Dept. of Neuroscience’s distinguished MINDS Program. Her project focuses on determining the functional role of Parvalbumin Interneurons in the Nucleus Accumbens in regulating alcohol-seeking behavior. Cynara plans to pursue an MD.
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PhD Student
Heyam is a 6th year doctoral candidate in the BMS PhD program here at MUSC and is co-mentored by Dr. Judson Chandler. She is originally from Baton Rouge, LA and got her Bachelor of Science from Southeastern Louisiana University in Environmental Science. The opioid epidemic piqued her interest in understanding addiction neuroscience and thus she decided to pursue her PhD at MUSC. Heyam’s research focuses on characterizing CRF neurons in the lateral septum and their role in fear-related behaviors.
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PhD Student
Amy is originally from Myrtle Beach, SC, but graduated in 2021 from Washington and Lee University in Virginia. In undergrad, she worked on pesticide-induced neuronal degeneration in frog spines and is excited to continue pursuing neuroscience at MUSC. Her research is a collaborative effort between the Rinker and Otis labs focusing on the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) → nucleus accumbens (NAc) pathway and how chronic alcohol exposure alter synaptic inputs onto parvalbumin interneurons in the NAc to promote alcohol seeking.
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MD/PhD Student
Marcus is a MSTP student entering the first year of his PhD training. He is jointly mentored by Dr. Rinker and Dr. Jim Otis. Originally from Minnesota, Marcus attended the University of Minnesota for undergrad and started here at MUSC in the summer of 2021. He is interested in advanced neuroscience techniques that could be applied in the clinical population to treat addiction (e.g., focused ultrasound mediated drug delivery). He is also passionate about peer-to-peer and community recovery approaches and affordable therapies for individuals with substance use disorders.
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Undergrad Research Assistant
College of Charleston
Savanna is a senior Biology major at CofC. She is tackling a new line of research in the lab exploring the role of Calretinin-expressing neurons in the ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in regulating negative affective states related to stress and alcohol-related behaviors. Savanna also plans to pursue an MD.
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Undergrad Research Assistant
College of Charleston
Mattie is a Biochemistry major at CofC. Currently her project in the lab focuses on using immunohistochemistry to characterize the molecular phenotype of CRF neurons in both the medial Prefrontal Cortex and the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Thalamus. Mattie plans to pursue graduate school in the future.
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Undergrad Research Assistant
College of Charleston
Sydney is a senior Psychology major at CofC. Her project In the lab is focused on determining the critcal role of CRF in the medial Prefrontal Cortex in driving stress-enhanced excessive alcohol consumption in a model of alcohol dependence. Sydney plans to pursue her PhD in Neuroscience in the fall.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Lab Alumni
Andrew de Arellano
University of South Carolina
DART Fellow - Summer 2022
Cat Bowman
College of Charleston
Undergraduate Researcher
Janiah Davis
College of Charleston
Undergraduate Researcher
Grace Joyner
University of South Carolina
SURP Fellow - Summer 2022
Jayden Martin
Presbyterian College
SURP Fellow - Summer 2023
Sam Stea
Bucknell University
Undergrad Intern - Summer 2022
TJ Wukitsch
Kansas State University
Lab Manager - 2021 to 2023
The Rinker lab is located in beautiful downtown Charleston, SC in the Gazes Biomedical Research Building on the main MUSC campus in the Medical District.
Come work with us!
Email rinker@musc.edu!