Maria Jones-Muhammad, Ph.D.
I began my career in biomedical research after being accepted into a biomedical research program in high school called BASE PAIR. From my experience shadowing my mentor, Dr. Kevin Freeman, I continued to apply for other research programs that would provide me with the skills necessary to pursue a career as an academic scientist, such as the Jackson Heart Study program at Tougaloo College, the Ronald E. McNair program, and the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program. I received my graduate training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center under the mentorship of Dr. Junie Paula Warrington, where my dissertation work focused on investigating the role of acid-sensing ion channels and the endocannabinoid system in seizure sensitivity in a mouse model of preeclampsia. This training provided me with not only basic research techniques but also the administrative skills needed for a career in academic science such as mentoring, grant writing, and manuscript preparation. Thanks to this training, I became the first person in Mississippi to be awarded the D-SPAN Brain Initiative F99/K00 transition award, which funded the final year of my graduate training and is currently funding 4 years of my postdoctoral training. I am currently being trained by Dr. Farah Lubin at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where my project focuses on investigating how prenatal exposure to THC and CBD affects the neurodevelopment of offspring, specifically, if neurocircuitry development is dysregulated in results in seizure sensitivity in a sex-specific manner.