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Shelly Flagel is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan and a Research Professor at the Michigan Neuroscience Institute. Her research focuses on the genetic, environmental, and neurobiological factors that contribute to individual differences in reward learning and susceptibility to mental illness and addiction. She is particularly interested in the psychological mechanisms underlying appetitive Pavlovian learning and the neural circuitry involved in these processes. Flagel employs a combined approach using behavioral, pharmacological, molecular, and chemogenetic tools to explore the biological bases of motivated behavior. Currently, her work utilizes DREADD (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) technology to elucidate the neural circuits that govern individual differences in cue-driven behaviors, focusing on the role of cortico-thalamo-striatal pathways and the interplay of dopamine activity in the nucleus accumbens. Flagel’s ultimate goal is to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms driving maladaptive behavior, with hopes of identifying novel pharmacological targets for treating addiction and mental illnesses.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science