The grant is highly regarded in research circles and has been awarded since 1987. The project is intended to kick start young researchers at the beginning of their career and amount to a total of $ 70,000 spread over two years.– It is exciting to have my research recognized on the international stage, along so many of my peers whose work I have long admired. More importantly, it shows that the Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, which is just now celebrating 3 years of existence at LiU, is competitive at the highest levels. It has been so exciting to be a part of the Center from the start and to now see everyone getting recognized for their hard work, says Leah Mayo.
The project that was funded is focused on the consequences of childhood trauma exposure on stress- and fear-related behaviors in adulthood.
– We’re specifically interested in the endocannabinoid system, a putative “stress buffer”, which undergoes massive reorganization in adolescence and is thus particularly susceptible to long-term detrimental effects following exposure to trauma during childhood and adolescence. By understanding the mechanistic differences in stress- and emotion-processing in these individuals compared to healthy controls, we hope to highlight potential new endocannabinoid-related therapeutic opportunities
