Fellowship supports study into stress

Tuesday, 26 April 2016

The Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP), an Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence led by the University of Adelaide, has announced Dr Michael Baratta, Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, as the successful recipient of the CNBP-American Australian Association (AAA) Fellowship for 2016.

The Fellowship, coordinated by the AAA and funded by the CNBP, provides US$30,000 to support an American PhD or early career Postdoctoral Fellow who wishes to conduct one year of research at a CNBP research node in Australia.

Dr Baratta, a specialist in brain function and behaviour, will explore the use of novel CNBP biophotonics to examine in real-time neuro-circuitry activity related to stress.

The research will help inform therapeutic efforts focused on instilling stress resilience – a key way in which the body is able to deal with adverse events, situations or environments.

Based at CNBP’s administrative headquarters at the University of Adelaide, Dr Baratta will also collaborate extensively with CNBP researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney.

"The full promise of an all-optical interrogation of neural circuitry can only be realised with the development of new technologies that integrate approaches from material science, biochemistry, genetics, and neuroscience," said Dr Baratta.

"This Fellowship is an excellent opportunity that will bring together the diverse expertise required to help meet this exciting challenge."

Mark Hutchinson, CNBP Director and Professor at the University of Adelaide, welcomed the Fellowship appointment.

"Dr Baratta comes with a wealth of neuroscience skills, behavioural models and the surgical knowhow required, to apply our technology to the complexities of stress neurobiology," Professor Hutchinson said.

"Excitingly, he comes from the world-leading stress research team at the University of Colorado Boulder, led by Professor Steven Maier and Professor Linda Watkins who are Partner Investigators of the CNBP.

"Dr Baratta’s experience here within the nodes of the CNBP will further this exciting area of research, will form the basis of a long-term biophotonics collaboration between the CNBP and the University of Colorado, as well as facilitate the international rollout of our own CNBP technology."

Further information on the CNBP-AAA Fellowship can be found from the American Australian Association website. The Fellowship will also be offered for 2017.

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