Harmony Risca, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Personal Statement:
As a current postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Gregory T. Collins, I am interested in characterizing the reinforcing effects, including acquisition, dependence, and withdrawal of co-abused drugs, such as methamphetamine and fentanyl. Our lab often utilizes intravenous self-administration procedures to investigate the abuse-related and toxic effects of drug mixtures to help evaluate potential pharmacotherapies for the treatment of polysubstance use disorders.
Education
B.A., Psychology
Oakland University
Rochester, Michigan
Ph.D., Behavioral Psychology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Research
| • self-administration | • reinforcement/reward |
| • polysubstance use | • discrimination |
| • synthetic cathinones |
Awards & Accomplishments
T32 Training in Drug Abuse Research Program Fellowship (National Institutes on Drug Abuse)
Publications
Risca, H.I. & Baker, L.E. (2019) Contribution of Monoaminergic Mechanisms to the Discriminative Stimulus Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in Sprague-Dawley Rats. Psychopharmacology 236:963–971
Risca, H.I., Zuarth-Gonzalez, J.D., Baker, L.E. (2020) Conditioned Place Preference Following Concurrent Treatment with 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and Methamphetamine in Male and Female Sprague-Dawley Rats