Abi Greenway’s current research in the lab of Dr. David Rossi is aimed at understanding how individual differences in the way the cerebellum responds to alcohol can influence alcohol use and could one day pave the way for the development of new addiction treatments.
Originally from Nokesville, Virginia, Abi earned a B.S. in psychology with a double major in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience from Virginia Tech and is now a doctoral student in the neuroscience program within Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience at WSU.
What inspired you to pursue your graduate studies at WSU?
I’ve lived on the East Coast all my life, including northern Virginia and later Appalachia, and trying out the Pacific Northwest has always appealed to me. I applied to a few graduate programs in the PNW, and during my interview at WSU I was impressed with the College of Vet Med and Pullman in general. The small-town land-grant environment reminded me of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech.
Can you describe your current research?
The Rossi lab uses animal models to study how individual differences in the way the cerebellum responds to alcohol can influence alcohol use. In human research, we find that people with a family history for alcohol addiction can inherit a resistance to the unpleasant motor discoordination (and probably nausea) that alcohol produces. This resistance makes alcohol less consequential and easier to use, and as a result it’s a proven vulnerability to developing alcohol addiction. My project focuses on granule cells in the cerebellum, a part of the brain that is responsible for fine-tuning movement and balance. Normally, alcohol inhibits the cerebellum and disrupts its role in motor coordination. But we find that the cerebellar granule cells of high-drinking animals actually have an excitatory response to alcohol. We think this opposite response reduces the unappealing aspects of alcohol and allows these animals to drink more. I want to study how this mechanism encourages alcohol use and, potentially, whether we can use this mechanism to develop addiction treatments or inform individualized risk assessment for alcohol addiction.
What resources or facilities at WSU have been most valuable to your research?
Our lab home is the Veterinary and Biomedical Research building, which has excellent support staff and lab infrastructure that I think helps our projects run smoothly. The department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience also has a microscopy core and an associated graduate course that goes over different strategies for imaging and exploring neuroscience specimens. Because of the core, our lab has access to fluorescent and confocal microscopy imaging setups which are otherwise expensive to establish and maintain.
What role does collaboration play in your research?
Our work is supported by insights into brain circuitry, behavioral models, and mouse lines from our collaborators in our home department, the WSU Department of Psychology, and at the WSU College of Medicine in Spokane. Some of these collaborators are on my thesis committee, which means they’ve committed their expertise to supporting me and advising my project. I feel that the graduate students in the neuroscience program have a good community mindset; students are friendly and supportive of each other. Some senior grad students sent me and my cohort care packages during our qualifying exams, and I’m happy to have get-togethers with colleagues on occasion.
How has your mentor helped you on your journey?
Dr. David Rossi has been an invaluable influence in my graduate career. I’m not sure that I would have been able to continue my degree without David’s scientific and personal guidance. As I came from a behavioral background, he’s patiently mentored me over the molecular and cellular mechanisms we’re interested in and how we investigate them. David is also respectful of my self-expression and identity as a queer person.
What are your long-term career goals?
I’m interested in nonprofit neuroscience work that explores basic questions about the human brain or applies that understanding to have a positive impact on people’s lives. For example, the Allen Brain Institute has an inspiring research initiative and a collection of public resources to this end. I think that educating people about the brain can demystify it and reduce stigmas around sexuality and gender, addiction, and mental illness. My research in the Rossi lab prepares me to investigate addiction through observable differences in the way the brain behaves. We also design projects with the end goal of informing practical treatments for human addiction. The more we understand about these processes, the better we can help people recover or even avoid risk factors for addiction to start with.
What has been your favorite thing about WSU and the College of Veterinary Medicine?
I really enjoy the land-grant ethos that recognizes the value of rural work and environments. WSU and the College of Vet Med are here exactly because we are surrounded by a community that can benefit from ecological and veterinary science, both in education and application. I think WSU and CVM take that responsibility seriously, and it’s been excellent to see that at work in the lab and around campus.