The Vallender Lab is part of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Our research focuses on linking functional genetics across species to behavioral phenotypes in comparative genetic studies. This work helps reveal the roles of specific genes in human addictions and psychological illnesses, while also highlighting new areas of genetic and molecular research through cross-species comparisons.
Our lab collaborates with scientists both within and outside UMMC to provide valuable insights for bioinformatic studies and translational research.
Lab Research Areas
Comparative Genomics of Neuropsychiatric Disease
Understanding the genomic underpinnings of psychiatric disease is challenging due to complex genetic interactions and environmental factors. Our lab uses animal models to identify genetic variations that functionally act in parallel manners in non-human primates and humans, even when they don't share evolutionary origins. We explore conservation and divergence in genes associated with psychiatric disorders and investigate brain transcriptomics across species and phenotypes.
Evolution of Primate Brain and Behavior
Understanding human brain evolution is critical for illuminating the origins of neuropsychiatric diseases and human-specific behaviors. Using comparative genetic and genomic techniques, we identify and characterize important genetic differences between species. Our studies have revealed correlations between evolutionary changes associated with human brain emergence and neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia and autism, providing insights for disease understanding and treatment.
Substance Use Disorder Functional Genetics
In the post-genomic era, we focus on clarifying the mechanisms by which genotype leads to diseased phenotype. Our work centers on G-protein coupled receptors, major drug targets associated with numerous diseases. We characterize genetic variation effects on ligand binding and intracellular signaling, particularly of the mu-opioid receptor, and establish associations with alcohol abuse, cortisol levels, and other behavioral phenotypes. This research also investigates how genetic variation mediates drug efficacy, such as naltrexone for alcoholism treatment.
Animal Model Development and Validation
We work to improve animal models for biomedical research by providing comparative information on genotype/phenotype associations. Animal models are most useful when they replicate human disease and response. Using comparative genetics, we identify animal models with translational validity and strengthen existing models to maximize research utility. Our studies have identified naturally-occurring variations that both model disease phenotypes and may have confounding effects on research, improving study design and animal allocation.
Lab Funding
- NIH/OD P51 OD011104
Tulane National Primate Research Center
PI: L. Lee Hamm; Core Scientist: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 7/15/2018-4/30/2023 - NIH/OD R24 OD021324
Genomic sequencing to establish a macaque genotype and phenotype research resource
PI: Betsy Ferguson; Site-PI: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 7/1/2020-6/30/2024 - NIH/OD U42 OD010568
Maintenance of an SPF Macaque Breeding Colony for AIDS Research
PI: Skip Bohm; Core Scientist: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 2/21/2021-1/31/2025 - Mayo Clinic Research Agreement
Development of a Bipolar Biobank at UMMC
PI: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 3/1/2021-2/28/2023 - NIH/OD U42 OD024282
Tulane National Primate Research Center, AIDS SPF Breeding Colony Maintenance
PI: Skip Bohm; Core Scientist: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 7/1/2021-6/30/2025 - NIH/OD R21 OD030072
Host genetic variation effects on the microbiome in rhesus macaques
PI: Eric J. Vallender
Grant period: 7/15/2021-6/30/2023
Recent Lab Publications
- Vallender EJ, Hotchkiss C.E., Lewis A.D. et al. Nonhuman primate genetic models for the study of rare diseases. Orphanet J Rare Dis 18, 20 (2023).
- Zhang X, Hutchins SD, Blough BE, Vallender EJ. In vitro effects of ligand bias on primate mu opioid receptor downstream signaling. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 3;21(11):E3999.
- Zhang X, Yasuda K, Gilmore RA, Westmoreland SV, Platt DM, Miller GM, Vallender EJ. Alcohol-induced changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome of rhesus macaques. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2019 May;236(5):1531-1544.
- Vallender EJ, Genetics of human brain evolution. Prog Brain Res. 2019;250:3-39.
- Vallender EJ. Molecular evolution and phenotypic change. 2017. In: Kaas, J (ed.), Evolution of Nervous Systems 2e. vol. 4, pp. 101–119. Oxford: Elsevier.
- Sweeney CG, Rando JM, Panas HN, Miller GM, Platt DM, Vallender EJ. Convergent balancing selection on the mu-opioid receptor in primates. Mol. Biol. Evol. 2017 Jul 1;34(7):1629-1643.
- Vallender EJ, Goswami DB, Shinday NM, Westmoreland SV, Yao W-D, Rowlett JK. Transcriptomic profiling of the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens in rhesus macaques following long-term cocaine self-administration. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Jun 1;175:9-23.
- Ogawa LM, Vallender EJ. Evolutionary Conservation in Genes Underlying Human Psychiatric Disorders. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:283.