Julia Chester

Title:

Professor of Psychological Sciences

PhD Granting Institution:

Oregon Health & Science University

Contact:

Email Address: jcheste@purdue.edu
Office Phone: 765-494-6863

Primary Training Group:

Integrative Neurosciene

Current Projects:

The main emphasis of Dr. Chester’s research program is to study the genetic, environmental, and neurobiological mechanisms that may promote or protect against the development of major mental diseases such as addiction, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. A primary area of her research is focused on examining the genetic and neurochemical mechanisms that regulate behavioral and motivational effects of alcohol. Dr. Chester has a strong interest in the role of stress and stress hormones in influencing alcohol-seeking behaviors and other behaviors that model abnormal psychological processes and psychiatric disease states in humans. Dr. Chester’s primary research focus is using genetic mouse models to explore how biological, genetic, and environmental factors, such as stress, may influence alcohol- and psychiatric disorder-related traits and how these factors interact with genetic propensity toward alcohol consumption. Her recent work has largely focused on developing an animal model of co-morbid alcohol use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and exploring target mechanisms for the treatment of these human disorders. Much of this work involves examining candidate genes and neurochemical and hormonal factors that may regulate brain-behavior relationships in these animal models.