F31 DA05962-02. 1999 – 2001. NIH/NIDA: Research on Individual Sensitivity to Benzodiazepines. Role: Predoctoral Fellow.
My primary research interest is in the neuropsychopharmacology of addiction. One of the most challenging questions in the field of addiction today is what makes some individuals are more vulnerable for the development of these disorders than others. We are currently conducting a 5-year translational research study that examines neural mechanisms that may help to explain associations among impulsive personality traits, chronic stress, and risks for drug abuse in humans. The multidisciplinary team includes investigators from the University of Maryland Schools of Nursing and Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Integrative and multimodal methods include human subjects recruitment; standardized psychiatric diagnostic screening; a large battery of personality, mood, anxiety, and stress assessments; laboratory behavioral performance assessments; medical evaluations; hormonal measures; utilization of GCRC facilities; and state-of-the-art neuroimaging using [11C]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Pilot work is also in progress to expand the methods to utilize functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) scans to examine other aspects of reward processing.
Recent Publications:
Oswald, L.M., Wong, D.F., Zhou, Y., Kumar, A., Brasic, J., Alexander, M., Ye, W., Kuwabara, H., Hilton, J., Wand, G.S. (2007). Impulsivity and chronic stress are associated with striatal dopamine release and subjective responses to amphetamine. Neuroimage, 36: 153-166.
Wand, G.S., Oswald, L.M., McCaul, M.E., Wong, D.F., Johnson, E., Zhou, Y., Kuwabara, H., Kumar, A. (2007). Association of amphetamine-induced ventral striatal dopamine release and cortisol responses to psychological stress. Neuropsychopharmacology, 32: 2310-2320. PMID: 17342167.
Munro, C.A., McCaul, M.E., Oswald, L.M., Wong, D.F., Zhou, Y., Brasic, J., Kuwabara, H., Kumar, A., Alexander, M., Ye, W., Wand, G.S. (2006). Striatal dopamine release and family history of alcoholism. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 30: 1143-1151.
Uhart, M., Chong, R., Oswald, L.M., Lin, P.I., Wand, G.S. (2006). Gender differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31: 642-652.
Oswald, L.M., Zandi, P., Nestadt, G., Potash, J.B., Kalaydijian, A.E., Wand, G.S. (2006). Relationship between cortisol responses to stress and personality. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31: 1583-1591. PMID: 16407895.
Munro, C.A., McCaul, M.E., Wong, D.F., Oswald, L.M., Zhou, Y., Brasic, J., Kuwabara, H., Kumar, A., Alexander, M., Ye, W., Wand, G.S. (2006). Sex differences in striatal dopamine release in healthy adults. Biological Psychiatry, 59: 966-74.
Chong, M.D., Oswald, L.M., Yang, X., Uhart, M., Lin, P.I., Wand, G.S. (2006). The mu opioid receptor polymorphism A118G predicts cortisol responses to naloxone and stress. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31: 204-211. PMID: 16123758.
Oswald, L.M., Wong, D.F., McCaul, M., Zhou, Y., Kuwabara, H., Choi, L., Brasic, J., Wand, G.S. (2005). Relationships among ventral striatal dopamine release, cortisol secretion, and subjective responses to amphetamine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 30, 821-832. PMID: 15702139.
Oswald, L.M., McCaul, M., Choi, L., Yang, X., Wand, G.S. (2004). Catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism alters hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to naloxone: A preliminary report. Biological Psychiatry 55:102-105.
Oswald, L.M., Wand, G.S. (2004). Opioids and alcoholism. Physiology and Behavior, 81: 339-358.
Primary Teaching Areas:
NURS 304/505: Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice – Communication Modules
NURS 320: Science and Research for Nursing Practice
NURS 752: Neurophysiology of Mental Disorders
Academic & Professional Activities:
2002–Present: Member Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA)
2009–Present: Member Center of Excellence in Disorders of Neuroregulatory Function
2009-Present: Member ad hoc Scientific Review Group, NIDA Science Track Award for Research Transition (I/START) [R03] program.
2009: Manuscript Reviewer Archives of General Psychiatry
2008: Manuscript Reviewer Schizophrenia Bulletin
2005: Member of the Nursing Expert Panel to Develop the NIAAA Nursing Education Curriculum In the Prevention and Treatment of Alcohol Problems
1991–2003: Editorial Review Board of Perspectives on Addictions Nursing, National Nurses’ Society on Addictions
1996–2001: Member, Advisory Panel for the UT-Houston Health Science Center School of Nursing, Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing Master’s Track, Addictions Focus Program, 1996-2001
1990-1995: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
