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Dr. Oline Rønnekleiv is a
Professor in the Department of Physiology and
Pharmacology at Oregon Health & Science University
and a Senior Scientist in the Division of
Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research
Center. She also collaborates with the Department
of Anesthesiology and Peri-Operative Medicine as
Tissue Analysis Core Director for a Program Project
Grant entitled “Sex, Sex Steroids and
Neuroprotection”.
Dr. Rønnekleiv’s research interests are primarily
focused on the actions of estrogen in the brain to
control motivated behavior such as eating, drinking
and reproduction and the role of estrogen in
regulating the expression of ion channels involved
in homeostasis and neuroprotection. Studies are in
progress, using molecular and cellular physiological
tools as well as whole animal models, to determine
the mechanisms linking rapid estrogen signaling to
gene expression and function. Dr. Rønnekleiv’s
interests in the neuroprotective effects of estrogen
have led to several collaborative projects with
Anesthesiology faculty members. Her research group
also investigates the development of brain circuits
important for attention, motivation and learning.
Her lab uses gestational exposure to drugs of abuse
to disrupt normal brain development. Recent
findings indicate that cocaine exposure in utero
increases the excitability of rostral forebrain
neurons which are thought to contribute to attention
disorders.
Dr. Rønnekleiv received the Ph.D. from the
University of Texas, Health Science Center at Dallas
in 1974. After completing postdoctoral studies at
UCLA and at the Max Planck Institute in Gottingen,
Germany, she began her career as an Assistant
Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1982,
she joined the faculty at Oregon Health & Science
University. |
