Congratulations to Christopher Tschumi for defending his dissertation on April 23, 2019

 
On April 23, 2019, Pharmacology graduate student Christopher Tschumi (pictured above) presented his dissertation defense titled: ‘Neurotensin-Induced Plasticity of Inhibitory NeurotransmissioniIn Midbrain Dopamine Neurons’ to a lecture hall audience, whose members included his defense committee. He then went through a review of his dissertation and a question and answer process with the defense committee, before he was notified that he had successfully defended his dissertation and would be receiving his Ph.D.!  Christopher is a Ph.D. student and located in Dr. Michael Beckstead’s lab. Dr. Beckstead’s research interests are how dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain contribute to voluntary movement, the processing of natural rewards, and the etiology of neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease and drug addiction.
Chris was born in Torrance, California. He graduated from California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Psychology in 2013. He started at UT Health San Antonio in August 2013, where he has been studying to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology. During his graduate studies, he mentored several students in the lab, and served on the organizing committee for the Pharmacology Graduate Student Symposium. He has earned several travel and symposium awards to attend national scientific conferences. He was also the recipient of John and Mildred Carlson PhD Scholarship at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.

Dr. Michael Beckstead (left – mentor) Christopher Tschumi (right)

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