Dr. Paul Kramer

Biography

Paul Kramer developed an interest in Biology during high school while observing plant cell behavior through a microscope. He completed his undergraduate education at Grinnell College in Iowa, where he graduated with a major in Psychology, focusing on a Neuroscience concentration in 2009. He chose to pursue graduate studies at the Vollum Institute of the Oregon Health Science University in Portland, Oregon, under Dr. John Williams. His research during this time dealt with metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling in dopaminergic neurons and how such signaling is affected by cocaine administration. In 2016, he defended his thesis and started a post-doctoral fellowship at the NIH, working with Dr. Zayd Khaliq to study the physiology of dopaminergic axons. He produced direct electrophysiological recordings that disclosed synaptic-like inputs received by these axons, which crucially integrate signals to release dopamine. At the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor, he focuses on the functions of axons in the brain's reward circuitry and how they contribute to the understanding of neurophysiological mechanisms involved in addiction.

Research Interests

Courses