New preprint from the lab! We identified Vipr2-expressing BNST neurons as a distinct subpopulation of the oval nucleus that promotes feeding, is activated by food restriction, is non-overlapping with appetite-suppressing PKC delta neurons, and projects to PSTN & PVN hypothalamic feeding centers.

A Distinct Subpopulation of Extended Amygdala Neurons Drives Food Intake https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.07.685941v1

Excited to share new research from my lab in final published form! By deleting hypocretin (orexin) receptors from CRF neurons, we uncovered neuropeptide mechanisms linking alcohol drinking and negative emotional hyperarousal through BNST neuronal excitability. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🚨 Please RT! We’re recruiting a motivated postdoc to dissect the neurocircuits of affective pain. Expertise in behavioral models of pain/SUDs, stereotaxy, microscopy, opto/chemogenetics, or fiber photometry encouraged. Apply 👉 recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10647 #Neuroscience #Postdoc

Our work on mind-boggling CRF-BNST neurons is out! 🥳 🔹Sex & estrous matter: CRF neurons⬇️anxious arousal (yup) after unpredictable fear in diestrus👧not👦 🔹👧show⬆️contextual fear, independent of CRF/estrous ✨Anxiety-potentiated startle🟰👍 readout in🚶‍♀️&🐀 www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S000...

Excited to share our new preprint! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Divergent modulation of dopaminergic neurons by hypocretin/orexin receptors-1 and -2 shapes dopaminergic cell activity and socio-emotional behavior Tzanoulinou et al Supported by @snsf.ch

We’re excited to share our new preprint from the lab! PhD student @armorningstar.bsky.social demonstrated how Early Life Stress shapes sex-specific vulnerability to alcohol behavioral sensitivity, alcohol drinking, and alcohol's effects on social behaviors in mice.

Early life stress modulates behavioral sensitivity to alcohol and promotes escalation of alcohol drinking https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.27.661986v1

Honored to give a seminar at NIH/NIDA IRP in Baltimore this week and learn about the incredible research being done there by so many brilliant, diverse people to advance neuroscience and addiction treatment. Immense respect for all the NIH scientists & staff, working under such unfair circumstances

new paper out in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: a ‘reverse translational‘ model of TMS for Alcohol Use Disorder — we know so little about which TMS parameters will be best to reduce drinking — so, why not leverage mice to test things out rapidly & cheaply? www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Thrilled to contribute to this collaboration with the McNerney lab, @danmccalley.bsky.social, Claudia Padula, and team - where we used distinct TMS neuromodulation protocols to observe sex-specific impacts on binge alcohol drinking in mice! #TranscranialMagneticStimulation

Check out our new paper lead by superstars Amy Pearl and Xavier Maddern in @naturecomms.bsky.social . We show a sex specific role for ghrelin signalling in the Edinger Westphal nucleus driving binge drinking. Thanks to all those involved www.nature.com/articles/s41...

So proud of the Giardino lab members #StandUpForScience @standupforscience.bsky.social

an excellent interview with an excellent science friend!

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀? One reason might be that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis suppresses anxiety. (Btw this region is as important as the amygdala in anxiety, likely more). (h/t @ajshackman.bsky.social) #neuroscience #neuroskyence doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

Recruiting a postdoc! State-dependent regulation of social behavior & social group dynamics using in vivo deep brain calcium imaging, machine learning, etc... all the circuit tools. Applicants can email me directly if interested and apply here: academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29799.

My heart breaks daily for those who started careers in the pandemic & survived 5 years of heart wrenching loss and uncertainty to now be faced with loss and uncertainty. This time, the uncertainty is driven by pure evil and is 💯 unnecessary. That's why we must all @standupforscience.bsky.social

Follow-up:

First they came for my diversity grant, and I did not freak out - because I still had an R01. Then they paused federal funding, and I did not freak out - because I had a start up package with central funds. Then they cut indirect costs, and there was no research program left to freak out over

There are a huge # of scientists who are rapidly reconsidering their futures right now, and their ability to move on careerwise might be contingent on a milestone (paper, committee approval) that you have a direct role in. One small way to help is to consider the impact of that responsibility.

As a leader in my lab & various initiatives, I’ve made my stance clear....my commitment to DEI is unwavering. I won’t back down or shy away, even as others do. I’ll continue to uphold and advocate for these values.

For anyone who thinks that private philanthropy is going to step in and fill the void left by NIH, here's a preview of how that's going to work out: "Thank you for your recent application submission... We received 146 applications in total, about 3 times more than the previous year."

Open (public) sessions of NIDA and NIAAA Advisory council meetings scheduled for this week are both cancelled. Keep making calls folks. nida.nih.gov/about-nida/a...

And lots of foundation grants state that no salary support is allowed. Many folks don't understand that faculty (often at med schools) are often on "soft money" meaning we pay our own salary out of our federal grants.

Our #WCBR2025 panel session on Extended Amygdala Stress Neurocircuitry is today at 4:30pm in room Sierra B! with @laylabraindoc.bsky.social , Rajani Maiya, and Sherod Haynes

Oh great… the same new PIs who were hit by a global pandemic just as they started are now trying to renew their grants and get tenure when the funding agencies are actively being destroyed. But sure.... that COVID tenure clock extension reeaaallly made a difference....

Combined analysis of #GWAS and human brain single-cell transcriptomics data to infer the cell-types involved in the etiology of #schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders 🧪🧠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to have our collaboration with Dr Laramie Duncan out in @natureneuro.bsky.social! We leveraged two landmark datasets (GWAS + snRNA-seq from 105 regions of human brain) to infer the cell types involved in the etiology of psychiatric phenotypes (SCZ, AUD, Sleep) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🚨Postdoc and Postbac positions available in my group at the NIEHS/NIH! Interested in investigating the neural mechanisms for social behaviors across development in a supportive environment? Make sure to apply! Job ads in🧵Feel free to DM/email w/ questions, please RT

Today we're thrilled to announce our 2024 #HannaGrayFellows! Please join us in welcoming and celebrating these outstanding early career scientists!

Couple of pre-prints led by @anniely.bsky.social VGluT3 BNST neurons transmit GABA and restrict feeding without affecting rewarding or aversive processing www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Assessing the role of BNST GABA neurons in backward conditioned suppression www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...