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Rainbo Hultman, PhD

Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Introduction

A primary difficulty in developing therapeutics for brain disorders is that the underlying etiological mechanisms are not well understood. We have made recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the relationship between electrical activity in the brain and behavior, which is promising for shedding light on these mechanisms. My lab studies networks of electrical activity in the brain using pre-clinical rodent models of disease and is working to identify the cellular and molecular factors that contribute to the organization of such networks. Our overarching goal is to promote the development of precision medicine (i.e. therapeutics targeted to specific individuals) by identifying therapeutic targets that promote healthy brain electrical network activity. Two brain disorders of primary focus in the lab include migraine and major depressive disorder (MDD). By probing the underlying electrical networks of these disorders and identifying molecular drivers of such activity, we will be better positioned to develop more effective treatments for these debilitating disorders

Current Positions

  • Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
  • Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Education

  • BS in Biochemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
  • PhD in Biochemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Selected Publications

  • McCutcheon N, Johnson MS, Rea B, Ghumman M, Sowers L, Hultman R. An Automated Squint Method for Time-syncing Behavior and Brain Dynamics in Mouse Pain Studies. J Vis Exp. 2024 Nov 1;(213). doi: 10.3791/67136. PMID: 39555788.
  • Hughes DN, Klein MH, Walder-Christensen KK, Thomas GE, Grossman Y, Waters D, Matthews AE, Carson WE, Filali Y, Tsyglakova M, Fink A, Gallagher NM, Perez-Balaguer M, McClung CA, Zarate JM, Hultman RC, Mague SD, Carlson DE, Dzirasa K. A widespread electrical brain network encodes anxiety in health and depressive states. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jun 30:2024.06.26.600900. doi: 10.1101/2024.06.26.600900. PMID: 38979139; PMCID: PMC11230447.
  • Hing B, Mitchell SB, Filali Y, Eberle M, Hultman I, Matkovich M, Kasturirangan M, Johnson M, Wyche W, Jimenez A, Velamuri R, Ghumman M, Wickramasinghe H, Christian O, Srivastava S, Hultman R. Transcriptomic Evaluation of a Stress Vulnerability Network Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing in Mouse Prefrontal Cortex. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 1;96(11):886-899. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.05.023. Epub 2024 Jun 10. PMID: 38866174; PMCID: PMC11524784.
  • Abrantes A, Giusti-Rodriguez P, Ancalade N, Sekle S, Basiri ML, Stuber GD, Sullivan PF, Hultman R. Gene expression changes following chronic antipsychotic exposure in single cells from mouse striatum. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Jun;27(6):2803-2812. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01509-7. Epub 2022 Mar 23. PMID: 35322200.
  • Mague SD, Talbot A, Blount C, Walder-Christensen KK, Duffney LJ, Adamson E, Bey AL, Ndubuizu N, Thomas GE, Hughes DN, Grossman Y, Hultman R, Sinha S, Fink AM, Gallagher NM, Fisher RL, Jiang YH, Carlson DE, Dzirasa K. Brain-wide electrical dynamics encode individual appetitive social behavior. Neuron. 2022 May 18;110(10):1728-1741.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.02.016. Epub 2022 Mar 15. PMID: 35294900; PMCID: PMC9126093.
  • Shuler H, Cazares V, Marshall A, Garza-Lopez E, Hultman R, Francis TK, Rolle T, Byndloss MX, Starbird CA, Hicsasmaz I, AshShareef S, Neikirk K, Johnson PEC, Vue Z, Beasley HK, Williams A, Hinton A. Intentional mentoring: maximizing the impact of underrepresented future scientists in the 21st century. Pathog Dis. 2021 Jul 28;79(6):ftab038. doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftab038. PMID: 34283236; PMCID: PMC8326955.
  • Marshall A, Pack AD, Owusu SA, Hultman R, Drake D, Rutaganira FUN, Namwanje M, Evans CS, Garza-Lopez E, Lewis SC, Termini CM, AshShareef S, Hicsasmaz I, Taylor B, McReynolds MR, Shuler H, Hinton AO. Responding and navigating racialized microaggressions in STEM. Pathog Dis. 2021 Jun 3;79(5):ftab027. doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftab027. PMID: 34048540; PMCID: PMC8175228.