https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6338-3932
Overview
Courtney was born in raised in Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan where she studied Neuroscience. After undergrad, Courtney earned her PhD from the University of Virginia in Neuroscience with a focus on Neuroimmunology. In grad school, she studied the role of the microbiome and the mucus layer in stress-induced depression. As a post-doctoral scholar in the Rawls lab, Courtney will be studying the role of HNF4a in transcriptional regulation of intestinal programs in inflammatory disease, viral infection, and microbiome/mucus disruption.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Postdoctoral Associate
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology,
Basic Science Departments
Recent Scholarly Works
Stress-induced mucin 13 reductions drive intestinal microbiome shifts and despair behaviors.
Journal article Brain, behavior, and immunity · July 2024 Depression is a prevalent psychological condition with limited treatment options. While its etiology is multifactorial, both chronic stress and changes in microbiome composition are associated with disease pathology. Stress is known to induce microbiome dy ... Full text CiteEvidence for oligodendrocyte progenitor cell heterogeneity in the adult mouse brain.
Journal article Scientific reports · July 2022 Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) account for approximately 5% of the adult brain and have been historically studied for their role in myelination. In the adult brain, OPCs maintain their proliferative capacity and ability to differentiate into oligo ... Full text CiteStress-induced despair behavior develops independently of the Ahr-RORγt axis in CD4 + cells.
Journal article Scientific reports · May 2022 Current treatments for major depressive disorder are limited to neuropharmacological approaches and are ineffective for large numbers of patients. Recently, alternative means have been explored to understand the etiology of depression. Specifically, change ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Microbial regulation of intestinal epithelial gene expression
ResearchPostdoctoral Associate · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2024 - 2028Microbial regulation of intestinal epithelial gene transcription
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPostdoc Scholar · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2023 - 2025View All Grants