Stephanie’s interest in studying neuroplasticity as the link between stress and maladaptive behaviour began at the University of Toronto with Dr. Alison Fleming and Dr. Robert Gerlai. There, she investigated the role of stress and early life adversity on the development of the dopamine system in the context of maternal memory and addiction. She then completed a Masters degree in Behavioural Neuroscience and Toxicology in the laboratory of Dr. Francesco Leri at the University of Guelph examining the neural mechanisms of stress-induced relapse to drug seeking. She continued this research at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, demonstrating the involvement of the kappa opioid system in nicotine relapse.

She completed her Ph.D. at Wilfrid Laurier University in the laboratory of Dr. Diano Marrone where she adapted the cellular compartmental analysis of fluorescence in situ hybridization (catFISH) protocol, a technique developed in mammals, for use in the avian brain. She showed that the avian hippocampus, like its mammalian counterpart, recruits distinct neuronal ensembles to represent different contexts. In a separate but related collaboration in rats, with Dr. Carolyn Harley at Memorial University in Newfoundland, she showed that noradrenergic inputs from the locus coeruleus to the dentate gyrus are involved in remapping contextual representations and may constitute a novel circuit in memory updating and the etiology of PTSD. She completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard University and Boston University in the laboratory of Dr. Steve Ramirez where she developed a novel memory modulation strategy using viral neuronal tagging methods combined with optogenetics to disrupt the expression of maladaptive conditioned fear.

She is originally from Toronto and outside of the lab, enjoys nature, gardening, cooking, art, and music. She likes to watch sci-fi, read non-fiction, drink coffee, and cuddle with her adorable cat.

Fun facts: She is mixed-handed and has grapheme-colour synesthesia. Before neuroscience, she wanted to be an astronomer, a geologist, and a journalist.