Melissa Birkett, PhD
Assistant Professor
PhD Neuroscience and Behavior, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2007
MEd Secondary Education, Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2005
BA Psychology, Concentration in Biopsychology, Cornell University, 2001
E-mail: melissa.birkett@nau.edu
Professional interests
Dr. Birkett’s current research interests include various
aspects of anxiety disorders and their treatment. At Northern Arizona
University, she looks forward to working collaboratively to examine
physiological measures of anxiety within a university population.
Her goal of her future research is to better understand how
people respond to stressful situations (through measures such as heart rate, blood
pressure, and stress hormone release) and what factors may be involved in
regulating these responses.
Recent publications
- Birkett, M. A., Platt, D. M.,
Tiefenbacher, S., & Rowlett, J. K. (2005). A “pharmacological stressor”
model of anxiolysis in monkeys: Alprazolam attenuation of the behavioral and
physiological effects of yohimbine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 30(S1), S235.
- Birkett, M. A., & Fite, K.
V. (2005). Diurnal variation in serotonin immunoreactivity in the dorsal raphe
nucleus. Brain Research, 1034, 180-184.
- Fite, K. V.,
Birkett, M., Smith, A.,
Janusonis, S., & McLaughlin, S. (2003). Retinal ganglion cells projecting
to the dorsal raphe and lateral geniculate complex in Mongolian gerbils. Brain
Research 23(1), 146-150.
- Birkett M.A. (2009). Every cell counts: An inquiry-based approach
to address a novel research question in an undergraduate neuroscience lab.
Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Research. Spring 2009. 7(2): A53-A64.
Undergraduate/Graduate Courses
Dr. Birkett’s looks forward to teaching graduate
and undergraduate courses in physiological psychology and psychopharmacology.