Kash Lab at UNC Chapel Hill

Welcome to the Kash Lab!

The Kash Lab is in the Department of Pharmacology and the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Our research is focused on understanding the molecular and physiological events that underlie pathological behavior such as alcoholism, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Learn more about who we are and what we do.

NEW K99 NOA!

Meghan Flanigan, Kash Laboratory Post-Doctoral Fellow was awarded a new K99 from NIAAA “Regulation of alcohol-induced social disturbances by lateral habenula serotonin receptors”!!!!

News and Updates

March 2023: Updates in rough reverse order: Meg awarded K99! Sofia Neira Defends her PhD and joins lab as a postdoc to follow up on some of her exciting findings!! Olivila Hon defends her PhD, and then moves to Sunny San Diego to work at Neurophotometrics!! Hernan Mendez joins Kash Lab! Lisa Taxier Joins Lab as postdoc! Carol Gianessi became a AAAS policy fellow at NIH!!

February 2021: Well, it has been a while. Updates we missed because Tom is bad at updating, in roughly reverse order: Melanie awarded K99 from NIAAA!! Waylin Defends PhD!!! Sofia awarded a Gilliam Fellowship from HHMI!!! Christina Starts Grad School at Duke!!! Andrew Starts Faculty Position at UAB!!! Dan Bloodgood defends PhD!!! Andrew awarded K01 from NIDDK!!!

March 2019: Pardon the slow updates, several new lab members to welcome: Dr. Carol Gianessi, Dr. Meghan Flanigan have joined the good ship KashLab as postdocs, and Christina Stanhope has joined as a research technician!

April 2018: Kash Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Catherine Marcinkiewcz starts her own lab at the University of Iowa. Good luck Catherine! Also, the Kash Lab welcomes two new graduate students Sofia Neira and Olivia Hon!

January 2018: Kash Lab graduate student Dan Bloodgood presents his work on kappa opioid receptor contributions to alcohol drinking at the Winter Conference for Brain Research. Great job Dan!

September 2017: Kash Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Melanie Pina and graduate student Dan Bloodgood are awarded F32 and F31 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Congrats Melanie! Congrats Dan! Also, welcome 1st year BBSP student Sofia Neira for the fall rotation.

August 2017: Kash Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Hardaway presents his work at the Amygdala Gordon Research Seminar

June 2017: Kristi Boyt joins the lab as lab manager. Welcome Kristi!

May 2017: Kash Lab graduate student Dan Bloodgood receives a travel fellowship from the UNC Graduate School. Congrats to you both!

May 8th, 2017: Welcome to the world Raphael Frederick Kash.  

April 2017: Kash Lab undergraduate Jennifer Jensen defends her honors thesis. Congrats Jennifer!

February 2017: Kash Lab postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrew Hardaway wins honorable mention for his poster presentation at Winter Conference for Brain Research in Big Sky, MT. Well done Dr. Hardaway!

January 2017: Kash Lab graduate student Chris Mazzone successfully defends his thesis. Congrats Dr. Mazzone!

November 2016: Kash Lab research associate Dr. Catherine Marcinkiewcz receives UNC's Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence. Congrats Catherine!

May 2016: Kash Lab research associate Dr. Kristen Pleil is moving up to Weill Cornell Medical College to start her own lab. Best of luck to Dr. Pleil!

May 2016: Kash Lab has two new members -- we welcome postdoctoral fellow Melanie Pina and graduate student Waylin Yu. Learn more about Melanie and Waylin at the Lab Members page. 

February 2016: A new postdoctoral fellow, Dipa Pati, has joined the Kash Lab! Learn more about Dipa at the Lab Members page.

February 2016: Graduate student Chris Mazzone won an award for best poster at the 2016 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Alcohol and the Nervous System. Congrats to Chris!

November 2015: Graduate student Nicole Crowley successfully defended her dissertation, "Kappa Opioid Receptor Modulation of Neurotransmission in the Amygdala". Congratulations to Dr. Crowley!

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