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Morgan Zipperly, MD, Resident Physician, Birmingham, AL

MorganZipperlyMDPhD

Resident Physician • Birmingham, AL

MD/PhD Candidate, Medical Scientist Training Program

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Summary

  • I am a MD/PhD Candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology theme.

    In 2020, I completed my PhD studies in the Neurobiology Department as a member of the Day Lab. My graduate thesis, Dopamine-Dependent Transcriptional Dynamics in Striatal Physiology and Cocaine Reward, used in vivo optogenetics, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, and electrophysiology approaches in rodent model systems, combined with molecular techniques such as single-nucleus RNA-sequencing, to understand how brain reward circuits drive motivated behavior and drug-induced behavioral adaptations.

    Clinically, I am interested in interventional psychiatry and addiction medicine. I plan to combine my research and clinical interests to develop more translational animal models of addiction and polydrug abuse that can be used to investigate novel treatments for substance use disorders. Particularly, I hope to help characterize neural targets and optimize neuromodulation protocols, providing a promising new avenue for addiction treatment. I am also intrigued by the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying addiction vulnerability, and how this data may better influence personalized and precision medicine initiatives.

Education & Training

  • University of Alabama School of Medicine
    University of Alabama School of MedicineClass of 2022
  • Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge
    Gonville & Caius College, University of CambridgeCellular Biology of Addiction, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: Cellular Biology of Addiction, 2018 - 2018
  • Honors College at the College of Charleston
    Honors College at the College of CharlestonBS, Psychology, Neuroscience, Magna Cum Laude, 2009 - 2013

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology Training Grant (T32) UAB; NIH, 2018-2020
  • 3rd Place Poster Award UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center, 2019
  • Travel Award Axion Biosystems, 2019
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • Regulation of dopamine-dependent transcription and cocaine action by Gadd45b  
    Zipperly ME, Sultan FA, Graham G, Brane AC, Simpkins NA, Carullo NVN, Ianov L, Day JJ, Neuropsychopharmacology, 9/14/2020
  • Regulation of dopamine-dependent transcription and cocaine action by Gadd45b  
    Zipperly ME, Sultan FA, Graham G, Brane AC, Simpkins NA, Ianov L, Day JJ, BioRxiv, 5/3/2020

Abstracts/Posters

  • The Role of Gadd45b in Striatal Physiology and Cocaine Reward
    Morgan Zipperly, Faraz Sultan, Guan-En Graham, Natalie Simpkins, Lara Ianov, Jeremy Day, Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2019
  • Dynamic Neuronal and Gene Expression in the Nucleus Accumbens Following Acute Cocaine Experience
    Morgan Zipperly, Robert Phillips III, Jennifer Tuscher, Corey Duke, Natalie Simpkins, Lara Ianov, Jeremy Day, Gordon Research Conference: Catecholamines, Newry, ME, 2019
  • Dynamic Neuronal Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens Track Cocaine Experience and Contributes to Motivated Behavior
    Morgan Zipperly, Faraz Sultan, Guan-En Graham, JJ O'Malley, Andrew Brane, Natalie Simpkins, Kendra Bunner, Deja Murray, Jeremy Day, Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, 2018
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Lectures

  • Dynamic Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens Contributes to Reward-Seeking and Motivated Behavior 
    University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL - 2019
  • Dynamic Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens Contributes to Reward-Seeking and Motivated Behavior 
    Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN - 2018
  • Dissection of Motivated Behavior and Reward: Analysis of Neural Activity in the Nucleus Accumbens 
    Emory University, Atlanta, GA - 2017
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Professional Memberships

  • Society for Neuroscience
    Member
  • American Medical Association
    Member
  • Wilderness Medicine Society
    Member
  • American Psychiatric Association
    Member
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
    Member
  • American Mensa
    Member
  • American Neurological Association
    Member

External Links

Dr. Morgan Zipperly, Dr. Morgan Zipperly, MD, Dr. M Zipperly