The focus of our lab follows two lines of research.
First, we seek novel therapeutic targets and treatment regiments for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Harmful use of alcohol is one of the leading risk factors for population health worldwide, which incites lab’s specific interest in AUD. Pharmacotherapeutic options supporting the treatment of AUD are available, but are underutilized, in part due to their modest effect. Hence, development of novel medications and treatment approaches for AUD and further elucidating the exact mechanisms responsible for this pathological condition are among the main goals of our lab.
Second, we study the physiological and behavioural effects of experimental drugs for mental and neurological disorders with the emphasis on individual differences on treatment efficacy. We have established several rodent disease models (e.g., addiction, memory impairment, chronic pain, impairment of social behaviour) and employ multitude of behavioural tests, as well as in vivo electrophysiological recordings. Combined with 24/7 monitoring of several behavioural parameters, individual differences can be extracted and assessed against treatment response, enabling a deeper understanding of treatment effects not observed with traditional experimental techniques. Individual differences between patients underlie their different response to drug treatment and cause some patients to have poor treatment efficacy. The identification of factors predicting treatment response, and consequently, people who are likely to respond to drug treatment, would help to optimize implementation of individual therapeutic approaches and result in better clinical outcomes.
