Amanda Vanderplow, Ph.D

Biography

I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in French from Aquinas College in 2014. Prior to joining the Cahill Lab, I received my Master of Biology at Northern Michigan University in 2017. During my time at Northern, I successfully characterized the anatomical expression of a novel neuropeptide, TMEM35, in the hamster brain, defining sex differences in expression. Further, I described the effects of ovarian hormones on anatomical expression patterns (PI: Dr. Valerie Hedges). Currently, I am a Graduate Student in the Endocrinology and Reproductive and Physiology department. I’ve always thought of myself as a huge advocate for translational research that investigates sex and gender. Basic and preclinical research has historically been more often focused in males, which results in health care for women being based solely on findings from studies of men. I believe that to truly understand the biological processes that underlie human disorders, it is of value to scientific research to consider sex as a biological variable and thus how sex influences these same biological processes.  Outside of lab, I like to hang out with my cats, travel, run, ride my bike, play cribbage, and take naps.