Misty Malamakal, Ph.D.

Awards & Accomplishments

Fellowships and Honors
2020
Cardiovascular T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX. Stipend amount: $53,460.

2017
Outstanding Student Award, Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University; College Station, TX.

2016
1st Place Spinal Cord Injury Poster Award, Mission Connect Annual Symposium; Houston, TX.

2016
2rd Place Senior Graduate Student Poster Session Award, Society of Neuroscience Texas A&M Chapter and Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience; College Station, TX.

2014
3rd Place Junior Graduate Student Poster Session Award, Society of Neuroscience Texas A&M Chapter and Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience; College Station, TX.

2014
1st Place Research Poster Award, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience 6th Annual Symposium; College Station, TX.

2014
Best Overall Spinal Cord Injury Poster Award, Mission Connect Annual Symposium; Houston, TX.

2012
Outstanding Student Achievement Award Graduate School (Masters), Idaho State University and the ISU Alumni Association; Pocatello, ID.

2012
Outstanding Student Researcher Award, Psychology Department, Idaho State University Experimental Psychology program; Pocatello, ID.

2012
3rd Place Junior Graduate Student Poster Session Award, Society of Neuroscience Texas A&M Chapter and Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience; College Station, TX.

2011
Outstanding Experimental Graduate Student Award, Psychology Department, Idaho State University Experimental Psychology program; Pocatello, ID.

2010-2012
INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) Graduate Fellowship, Idaho State University. Stipend amount: $20,000.

Travel Awards

2018
Young Investigator Travel Award Winner, American Pain Society, Anaheim, CA.

2017
Travel Grant, National Neurotrauma Society; Salt Lake City, UT.

2017
Travel Grant, Mission Connect Neurotrauma Travel Award; Salt Lake City, UT.

2016
Travel Grant, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience; College Station, TX.

2015
Travel Grant, International Symposium on Neural Regeneration; Monterey, CA.

2015
Travel Grant, National Neurotrauma Society; Santa Fe, NM.

2015
Travel Grant, Mission Connect Neurotrauma Travel Award; Santa FE, NM.

2014
Travel Grant, Texas A&M University Department of Psychology; College Station, TX.

2014
Travel Grant (2014). Recipient: Misty Strain. Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, College Station, TX.

2013
Travel Grant, Texas A&M University Department of Psychology; College Station, TX.

2013
Travel Grant, Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience; College Station, TX.

2012
Travel Grant, Texas A&M University Department of Psychology; College Station, TX.

2011
NIH NICHD and the Sackler Institute Travel Award, The International Society of Developmental Psychobiology; Washington, D.C.

2009
NIH NICHD and the Sackler Institute Travel Award. The International Society of Developmental Psychobiology; Chicago, IL.

Publications

Baine, R., Strain, M. M., Henwood, M. K., Davis, J. A., Johnston, D. T., Reynolds, J. A., & Grau, J. W. (in review). Females are not protected against the harmful effects of pain after spinal cord injury (SCI). Physiology & Behavior.

Hoy, K. C., Strain, M. M., Turtle, J. D., Lee, K. H., Huie, J. R., Hartman, J. J., Harlow, M. L., Magnuson, D. S. K., & Grau, J. W. (2020). Evidence that the Central Nervous System can Induce a Modification at the Neuromuscular Junction that Contributes to the Maintenance of a Behavioral Response. Journal of Neuroscience, 40, 9186-9209. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2683-19.2020

Grau, J. W., Baine, R. E, Bean, P. A., Davis, J. A., Fauss, G. N., Henwood, M. K., Hudson, K. E., Johnston, D. T., Tarbet, M. M., & Strain, M. M. (2020). Learning to promote recovery after spinal cord injury. Experimental Neurology, 330, 113334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113334

Strain, M. M., Hook, M. A., Reynolds, J. D., Huang, Y. -J., Henwood, M. K., & Grau, J. W. (2019). A brief period of moderate noxious stimulation induces hemorrhage and impairs locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury. Frontiers of Systems Neuroscience, 212, 112695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112695

Brumley, M. R., Strain, M. M., Devine, N., & Bozeman, A. L. (2019). The spinal cord, not to be forgotten: The final common path for development, training and recovery of motor function. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 41, 369-393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-018-00177-9

Turtle, J. D., Henwood, M. K., Strain, M. M., Huang, Y. J., Miranda, R. C., & Grau, J. W. (2019). Engaging pain fibers after a spinal cord injury fosters hemorrhage and expands the area of secondary injury. Experimental neurology, 311, 115-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2018.09.018

Turtle, J. D., Strain, M. M., Reynolds, J., Huang, Y. -J., Lee, K., Henwood, M. K., Garraway, S., & Grau, J. W. (2018). Pain input after spinal cord injury (SCI) undermines long-term recovery and engages signal pathways that promote cell death. Frontiers in systems neuroscience, 12, 27. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fnsys.2018.00027

Turtle, J. D., Strain, M. M., Aceves, M., Huang, Y-. J., Reynolds, J. A., Hook, M. A., & Grau. J. W. (2016).  Pain input impairs recovery after spinal cord injury: Treatment with lidocaine. J Neurotrauma, 34, 1200-1208. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2016.4778

Grau, J. W., Huang, Y. -J., Turtle, J. D., Strain, M. M., Miranda, R. M., Garraway, S. M., & Hook, M. A. (2016). When pain hurts: Uncontrollable nociceptive stimulation induces a state of maladaptive plasticity that enhances pain and impairs recovery after spinal cord injury. J Neurotrauma. https://doi.org/ 10.1089/neu.2016.4626

Lee, K. H., Turtle, J.D., Strain, M. M., Huang, Y-. J., Baumbauer, K. M., & Grau, J. W. (2015). Learning about time within the spinal cord: Evidence spinal neurons abstract and store an index of regularity. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9, 1-12. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00274

Strain, M. M., & Brumley, M. R. (2014). Range of motion (ROM) restriction influences quipazine-induced limb activity in postnatal day one and day ten rats. Behavioral Brain Research, 273, 365-381. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.08.028

Grau, J. W., Huie, J. R., Lee, K. H., Hoy, K. C., Huang, Y. -J, Turtle, J. D., Strain, M. M., Baumbauer, K. M., Miranda, R. M., Hook M. A., Ferguson, A. R., & Garraway, S. M. (2014). Metaplasticity and Behavior: How Training and Inflammation Affect Plastic Potential within the Spinal Cord and Recovery after Injury. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 8, 1-23. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fncir.2014.00100

Strain, M. M., Kauer, S. D., Kao, T. & Brumley, M. R. (2014). Inter- and intralimb adaptations to a sensory perturbation during activation of the serotonin system after a low spinal cord transection in neonatal rats. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 8(80), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2014.00080

Strain, M. M., Roberto, M. E., Vineyard, M. A., & Brumley, M. R. (2014). Effectiveness of topical anesthetics on reducing tactile sensitivity in the paws of newborn rats. Developmental Psychobiology, 56, 126-132. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/dev.21095

Brumley, M. R., Roberto, M. E., & Strain, M. M. (2012). Sensory feedback modulates quipazine-induced stepping in neonatal rats. Behavioral Brain Research, 229(1), 257-264. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.01.006