Dr. Buckley's Lab

Research in my lab focuses on the adverse effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neuronal cell behaviors during embryonic neurodevelopment. Using zebra fish as a model organism, we combine live imaging and several molecular techniques to analyze neuronal cell movements in embryos exposed to alcohol. The goal of my research is to investigate mechanisms underlying aberrant neuronal cell behaviors, which are highly variable as a result of complex interactions between genes and alcohol. Thus, my lab also employs genetics alongside embryology and molecular biology to elucidate how genes and the environment can modify the susceptibility of different neuronal subpopulations to alcohol.