I am an MD-PhD candidate at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). I’m an MS3 student, and recently defended my PhD in January 2022 in the Medical Neurosciences program. My long-term goal is to be a leading physician scientist in Developmental Pediatrics, bridging the global impact of scientific discovery to the direct impact of patient care and community advocacy for children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.
My PhD research projects investigate the mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 using a preclinical mouse model. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide, with no curative treatment for its many symptoms: neurocutaneous lesions, developmental disorders, and tumors. One of the most substantial concerns for NF1 patients are cognitive symptoms inlcuding an increased incidence of autism spectrum disorders (30% of patients) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (50-80% of patients). My projects investigate the underlying mechanisms of these cognitive features of NF1 using:
- optogenetic approaches to map brain areas involved in social memory
- behavioral and pharmacologic approaches to phenotype novel ADHD behaviors
- in vivo multiwire electrode recordings and computational neuroscience approaches to examine impulsivity in NF1
- biochemistry and gene targeting to investigate a novel treatment targeting cognitive phenotypes and tumor predisposition in NF1
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J.L. Lukkes*, H.P. Drozd, A.R. Abreu; E.T. Dustrude; S.D. Fitz, D.W. Clapp, A.I. Molosh, A. Shekhar. Identification of Cortical-limbic-striatal circuit regulating social memory and optogenetic manipulation of the circuit to restore social memory deficits in a mouse model of neurofibromatosis type 1 is under review by Biological Psychiatry.
Posters
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Decreased Corticostriatal Synchrony Underlies ADHD Phenotypes in preclinical Neurofibromatosis Type 1 presented by H.P. Drozd at the Indianapolis Society for Neuroscience and Beyond Boundaries poster session, 2022.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Presentation: Cortico-striatal Circuitry and Cognitive Impairments in NF1. H.P. Drozd was invited to give an oral presentation at the University of Manchester in May 2022.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Cortico-striatal Neural Recordings and Optogenetic Rescue of Social Deficits in a preclinical model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 will be reviewed to be presented by H.P. Drozd at the Children’s Tumor Foundation Conference, 2022.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Presentation: Social Behavioral Deficits in Preclinical Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Awake-behaving Corticoaccumbal Recordings and Optogenetic Rescue. H.P. Drozd was invited to give an oral presentation at the Fragile X and Autism-Related Disorders Gordon Research Conference in May 2022.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. 2022 Presentation: Aberrant Neural Activity in Cortico-striatal-limbic Circuitry Underlies Behavioral Deficits in a Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 was presented by H.P. Drozd for her dissertation defense.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. 2021 Presentation: Corticostriatal Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorders was presented by H.P. Drozd for the 3-minute Thesis competition hosted by IUPUI PPFP Pathways Conference and was awarded the People’s Choice Award.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. 2021 Presentation: Awake-Behaving Corticoaccumbal Recordings and Optogenetic Rescue of Social Behavioral Deficits in a Preclinical Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 was presented by H.P. Drozd at the Stark Seminar Series.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Presentation: Awake-Behaving Corticoaccumbal Recordings and Optogenetic Rescue of Social Behavioral Deficits in a Preclinical Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1. H.P. Drozd receive a travel award and gave a talk at the Society for Developmental Pediatrics annual national meeting in 2021.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D.W. Clapp. Awake-Behaving Corticoaccumbal Recordings of Hyperactive-Impulsive Phenotypes in a Preclinical Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1. H.P. Drozd was selected of IUSM MSTP students to present at the 36th Annual National MD-PhD Conference in 2021.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, C.C. Lapish, A. Shekhar, D. Wade Clapp. Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Recapitulates ADHD Phenotype: in vivo recordings in corticoaccumbal regions was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Poster at the Indianapolis Society for Neuroscience and Beyond Boundaries Conference 2021, presented by H.P. Drozd.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, A.R. Abreu, E.T. Dustrude, D. Wade Clapp, A.I. Molosh, A. Shekhar. The basolateral amygdala plays an integral role in modulating social memory deficits in neurofibromatosis type 1 mice was accepted at the Society for Neuroscience poster session 2019, presented by H.P. Drozd.
R. Ranga, H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, D. Wade Clapp, A.I. Molosh, A. Shekhar. Deletion of neurofibromin in the basolateral amygdala of mice leads to long-term social behavior deficits was presented by R. Ranga, student mentored by H.P. Drozd, at the 2019 Indianapolis Project Seed oral and poster sessions.
J.L. Lukkes, S.D. Fitz, H.P. Drozd, D. Wade Clapp, A.I. Molosh, A. Shekhar. Guanfacine decreases impulsivity in a mouse model of Neurofibromatosis type 1 received 2nd place at the 2019 Stark Summer Science Symposium poster session, presented by H. P. Drozd.
H.P. Drozd, J.L. Lukkes, A.R. Abreu, E.T. Dustrude, Su-Jung Park, D. Wade Clapp, A.I. Molosh, A. Shekhar. Autism and ADHD in NF1: Insights from a Mouse Model was accepted at the 2017 IMPRS SRPinAM Poster Session and selected for IMPRS oral presentation, receiving 3rd place award of William H. and Fern L. Hardiman Scholarship, presented by H. P. Drozd.
H. P. Drozd, Q. Wu, A. Chubykin. Projections onto Primary Visual Cortex and Channelrhodopsin2 Expression in VGlut2-ChR2-EYFP Mouse Line was accepted at the 2016 Undergraduate Honors Research Day poster session at Purdue University and for Honors Research Degree through Purdue University Department of Biological Sciences, presented by H. P. Drozd.
I would like to thank my incredible mentors for their dedication to my training and success as a future physician-scientist:
Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD
- Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences, John and Gertrude Petersen Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
D. Wade Clapp, MD
- Department of Pediatrics Chair, Indiana University School of Medicine
Jodi Lukkes, PhD
- Assistant Research Professor of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine
Christopher Lapish, PhD
- Associate Professor, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
David McKinzie, PhD
- Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Michelle Block, PhD
- Paul Stark Professor of Pharmacology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Dorota Szczepaniak, MD
- Division Chief, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine
2022
April - Back to clinic! I have my suture kit, ceil-colored scrubs, and Bright Futures in hand!
March - Thankful for travel funding awards so that I can present in my first in-person conference in three years! Jack Bauer Honor Fund by the IU MSTP, IUPUI Graduate and Professional Educational Grant, and the Stark Neuroscience Research Institute.
March - Holland and I hiked the four days to Machu Picchu to celebrate completing my PhD! An apt metaphor for all the hard work, ups and downs, and grand finale of completing a PhD. And we saw lots of llamas!
January - What a day! I passed my dissertation defense today - so thankful for all those who supported me along the way.
2021
December - Submitted my written dissertation to my committee for review!
November - What a challenge to communicate the most impactful parts of my research in 3-minutes - received the the People’s Choice Award at the 3-minute Thesis competition hosted by IUPUI PPFP Pathways.
October - Had a wonderful time meeting incredible mentors at the Society for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics meeting and giving the first oral presentation of my work at a national conference!
August - My mentee, Gabriele Brandt, did an excellent job presenting her summer research at the end-of-summer Hanover virtual conference!
July - Enjoyed a fun-filled weekend of MD-PhD-ness! Attended my first National MD-PhD Conference and our IUSM MSTP retreat all in the same weekend. Loved meeting all our new students and spending time with colleagues in person.
April - My presentation of the poster “Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Recapitulates ADHD Phenotype: in vivo recordings in corticoaccumbal regions” was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Poster Award at the Indianapolis Society for Neuroscience and Beyond Boundaries Conference 2021. Thankful for the opportunity and recognition of the laboratory’s hard work!
March - Was chosen to join Diversity, Inclusion and Wellness Committee at Stark Neuroscience! Excited to contribute to the on-going effort to promote the diversity, inclusion, and wellness among faculty, staff, postdocs, and students of Stark Neurosciences Research Institute (SNRI)!
February - Had a lively discussion about preparing grants with IU’s Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Thanks for the invitation to give a presentation about F30 applications.
February - Dr. Wade Clapp was named Distinguished Professor at Indiana University - congrats!
February - Participated in Indiana University School of Medicine’s ICARE series to be prepared to lead action and conversations related to addressing systematic racism and race inequities.
January - Participated in “Becoming a Resilient Scientist” offered by the NIH OITE to develop resilience, mentorship skills, and emotional intelligence. It was a great combination of practical skills and new theoretical approaches in considering resilience in science and medicine. Highly recommend for trainees at any level!
2020
July - Completed the interactive track of Neuromatch Academy, an online international workshop for Computational Neuroscience.
June - Attended Children’s Tumor Foundation Conference. Congrats to my mentor, Dr. Wade Clapp, on receiving the 2020 Friedrich von Recklinghausen Award!
June - Awarded NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Predoctoral F30 Fellowship Award from the NIMH for my project: “Molecular Mechanisms of ADHD in Neurofibromatosis Type 1”.
April - Congrats to my mentor, Dr. Anantha Shekhar on his new position at Pittsburgh School of Medicine as Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean!
January - Co-authored a scientific manuscript describing pharmacologic rescue of a novel behavioral phenotype in NF1 mice with Dr. Jodi Lukkes in the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Lukkes et al., 2020).
2019
December - Resubmission application to NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Predoctoral F30 Fellowship Award.
October - Attended first international conference: Society for Neuroscience 2019. Presented poster: The basolateral amygdala plays an integral role in modulating social memory deficits in neurofibromatosis type 1 mice.
September - Got married to the love of my life, Holland Andrew - cheers! <3
August - Rineet Ranga, my summer mentee, presented his summer project at Indianapolis Project Seed oral and poster sessions in August - great job Rineet!
May - Passed my qualification exam - advanced to PhD candidacy!
April - Applied to NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Predoctoral F30 Fellowship Award.
2018
September - Congrats to my mentor, Dr. Jodi Lukkes, on her promotion to Assistant Research Professor of Psychiatry!
August - Published my first paper! (Drozd et al., 2018)
June - PhD rotation with Dr. Yunlong Liu. Introduction to bioinformatics using Gaussian statistical models to determine length of poly-A tails in mRNA using single-cell sequencing data in R.
May - PhD rotation with Dr. Gary Landreth. Trained in biochemistry techniques including western blotting and immunocytochemistry to study the role of glia in cognitive development and neurodegeneration.
March - Completed USMLE Step 1 examination!
February - Accepted to the IUSM MSTP!
2017
August - Committee for Medical School Orientation
May to August - IMPRS SRPinAM 3rd Place: William H. and Fern L. Hardiman Scholarship for Poster and Oral Presentation of Autism and ADHD in NF1: Insights from a Mouse Model
2016
August - Started medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine.
May - Graduated from Purdue University with a major in Genetics, Minor in Religious Studies, Learning Beyond the Classroom Degree, and Research Honors in Biological Science.
