Spring 2021: Thank you for visiting my faculty page. I will be working remotely during the spring 2021 semester. Please contact me via email (mkelly@haverford.edu).
About Me: The focus of both my teaching and current/past research is rooted in both psychology and systems neuroscience. My undergraduate and graduate research were undertaken in Psychology departments with a focus on understanding behavior through a better understanding of the brain. 'Behavior' in this context reflected seizure activity evident in animals with epilepsy. Though abnormal, these seizures reflect the underlying plasticity and malleability of neuronal brain circuits. Mechanisms that drive the atypical circuit changes characteristic of epilepsy share those that underlie the neuroplasticity involved in everyday behaviors such as learning and memory.
Current Research Interests: My current research is investigating the behavioral impact of long-term tamoxifen treatment on middle-aged female rats. Tamoxifen is routinely prescribed to women following a diagnosis of breast cancer, though the long-term effects on both mood and cognition are not well understood. We hope to complete our behavioral analysis during the spring 2021 semester.
Spring 2021 Teaching:
Neurobiology of Disease (Psych 318): Syllabus to be posted shortly
Neurobiology of Aging (Psych 334): Syllabus to be posted shortly
Past Courses:
Introduction to Psychology (Psych 100)
Behavioral Neuroscience (Psych 217)
Revolutions in Neuroscience (Psych 321)
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (Psych 307)
Neuroscience of Aging (Bio350)
Bio Superlab (Bio 300)
Communicating Psychological Science (Psych 305)