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Andrei Sabin Nastase
PhD Candidate ​(2018-present)

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Contact: andrei.nastase@ucalgary.ca
Research. ​​​My research focuses on how the endocannabinoid system acts to regulate valence processing and coordinate behavioral invigoration during stress and homeostatic need. My approach is rooted in an ethological framework; by evaluating behavioral repertoires in a semi-naturalistic approach/avoidance task, I seek to answer my question in an evolutionarily relevant way.
​Hobbies. I love playing frisbee, riding my bike, reading classics, and engaging in as much banter as I can.​​​
Favourite paper. ​Favorite paper:  “Amygdala Signaling during Foraging in a Hazardous Environment” (Amir et al., 2015). Great use of an ethological model to explore the behavioral correlates of neuronal activity in a sub-section of basolateral amygdala neurons.
Publications
Sex dependent effects of endocannabinoid modulation of fear extinction in rats.
Morena M, Nastase AS, Santori A, Cravatt BF, Shansky RM, Hill MN. (2021)
British Journal of Pharmacology 178(4), 983-996

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Endocannabinoids, cannabinoids and the regulation of anxiety
Petrie GN, Nastase AS, Aukema RJ, Hill MN (2021)
Neuropharmacology 195:108626
​LINK


Amygdalar endocannabinoids are affected by predator odor stress in a sex-specific manner and modulate acoustic startle reactivity in female rats
Albrechet-Souza L, Nastase AS, Hill MN, Gilpin NW (2021)
Neurobiology of Stress 15:100387
LINK


​Full list of publications
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Awards
Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s Program (Canadian Institutes of Health
Research – Fredrick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships) – 2019-2020
 
Cumming School of Medicine Graduate Scholarship – 2019-2021
 
Mathison Centre Graduate Recruitment Scholarship in Mental Health - 2019-2021
 
Hotchkiss Brain Institute Graduate Recruitment Scholarship in Neuroscience (awarded and declined)
 
Branch Out Neurological Foundation Undergraduate Studentship – 2017
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Markin Undergraduate Student Research Program in Health and Wellness Award (awarded and declined)
education
​I earned my Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours Degree in Neuroscience at the University of Calgary. My first exposure to research was at the Alberta Children’s Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Daniele Pacaud, where I studied the effectiveness of Corneal Confocal Microscopy in predicting and detecting pediatric diabetic neuropathy. My passion for research blossomed during my honours thesis under the supervision of Dr. Matt Hill and Dr. Maria Morena, with whom I investigated the influence of the endocannabinoid system in regulating fear memory dynamics. I am currently enrolled in the Leader's in Medicine Program at the University of Calgary.
Research funded by Brain Canada, BONF, CFI, CIHR, NIH and NSERC. Many thanks to the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Mathison Centre, and Alberta Children's Hospital for their support.
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