Dr. Marinelli has several ongoing projects in the lab.

1. The main research projects are centered on understanding the neurobiological bases of drug addiction, with an emphasis on the biological and environmental factors that enhance susceptibility to addiction. The team uses a “systems approach”, which means they examine and integrate different variables and levels of information to understand how systems work and interact. These variables are studied in rodent models, and they range from the cellular level (neuronal activity, using electrophysiological techniques), to the molecular level (protein expression), to the circuit level (optogenetics and functional neuroanatomy), and to the whole animal level (behavioral studies, such as drug self-administration). The main projects in the lab examine (i) age and sex-differences in the ability to withstand adversity to obtain rewards, (ii) the role of an under-explored brain area (the lateral preoptic area) in reward seeking, and (iii) the interplay between stress and dopamine in mediating addiction liability. Students who participate in these projects should be Freshmen or Sophomores or already had research experience if they are Sophomores-Seniors since it takes many months to train in these techniques. Students should also have enough time to participate in these projects that take several hours per week. The project is done "in person" (not remotely).

2. A secondary project examines causes and consequences of restraints and seclusion in schools. This type of project requires extreme dexterity with excel and numbers!  The project can be done remotely.

2. Another secondary project examines how the use of jargon in scientific information hinders our understanding of the scientific message. This type of project requires good knowledge of the English language and handling large data sets. The project can be done remotely.