Co-Director, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Contact Information
Email:Biosketch
Peter Vollbrecht, PhD, is the Co-Cirector of the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a biochemistry emphasis from Hope College. He then went on to complete his PhD in Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University and a postdoctoral fellowship as a Biology of Drug Abuse fellow at the University of Michigan. He then taught as an Assistant Professor at Hope College where he taught Human Physiology. Dr. Vollbrecht maintains an active research program that explores the relationship between obesity and neurological conditions such as cognitive deficits and anxiety. He has mentored over 15 students in his lab during the last three years. Dr. Vollbrecht served as a Councilor for the Michigan Society for Neuroscience from 2016-2018 and continues to be very interested in community outreach that makes science accessible to individuals with little or no exposure to neuroscience.
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Education and Training
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship 2015, Pharmacology, University of Michigan
- PhD 2014, Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University
- BS 2007, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Hope College
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Research
- Obesity
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
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Publications
Porter-Stransky K.A., Yang W., Vollbrecht P.J. Examining the relationship between attitudes toward science and socioeconomic status among middle-class, midwestern middle school students Frontiers in Education. 2024;9
Restini C.B.A., Weiler T., Porter-Stransky K.A., Vollbrecht P.J., Wisco J.J. Empowering the future: improving community wellbeing and health literacy through outreach and service-learning Frontiers in Public Health. 2024;12
Vollbrecht P.J., Cooper C.E.A., Magoline J.A., Chan T.M., Porter-Stransky K.A. Evaluation of content knowledge and instructor impacts in a middle school outreach program: lessons from Brain Explorers Frontiers in Education. 2024;9
Vollbrecht P.J., Nesbitt K.M., Addis V.M., Boulnemour K.M., Micheli D.A., Smith K.B., Sandoval D., Kennedy R.T., Ferrario C.R. Differential regulation of nucleus accumbens glutamate and GABA in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats Journal of Neurochemistry. 2023;164:499-511.
Porter-Stransky K.A., Vollbrecht P.J., Riddle D.R. A Case-Based Neuroanatomy Laboratory on the Neurobiology of Psychiatric Conditions for Second-Year Medical Students Medical Science Educator. 2021;31:15-16.
Gall A.J., Vollbrecht P.J., Tobias T. Developing outreach events that impact underrepresented students: Are we doing it right? European Journal of Neuroscience. 2020;52:3499-3506.
Vollbrecht P.J., Porter-Stransky K.A., Lackey-Cornelison W.L. Lessons learned while creating an effective emergency remote learning environment for students during the COVID-19 pandemic Advances in Physiology Education. 2020;44:722-725.
Alonso-Caraballo Y., Hodgson K.J., Morgan S.A., Ferrario C.R., Vollbrecht P.J. Enhanced anxiety-like behavior emerges with weight gain in male and female obesity-susceptible rats Behavioural Brain Research. 2019;360:81-93.
Vollbrecht P.J., Nesbitt K.M., Mabrouk O.S., Chadderdon A.M., Jutkiewicz E.M., Kennedy R.T., Ferrario C.R. Cocaine and desipramine elicit distinct striatal noradrenergic and behavioral responses in selectively bred obesity-resistant and obesity-prone rats Behavioural Brain Research. 2018;346:137-143.
Vollbrecht P.J., Mabrouk O.S., Nelson A.D., Kennedy R.T., Ferrario C.R. Pre-existing differences and diet-induced alterations in striatal dopamine systems of obesity-prone rats Obesity. 2016;24(3):670-677.
Vollbrecht P.J., Nobile C.W., Chadderdon A.M., Jutkiewicz E.M., Ferrario C.R. Pre-existing differences in motivation for food and sensitivity to cocaine-induced locomotion in obesity-prone rats Physiology and Behavior. 2015;152:151-160.
Kraemer B.R., Snow J., Vollbrecht P., Pathak A., Valentine W.M., Deutch A.Y., Carter B.D. A role for the p75 neurotrophin receptor in axonal degeneration and apoptosis induced by oxidative stress Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2014;289(31):21205-21216.
Vollbrecht P.J., Simmler L.D., Blakely R.D., Deutch A.Y. Dopamine denervation of the prefrontal cortex increases expression of the astrocytic glutamate transporter GLT-1 Journal of Neurochemistry. 2014;130(1):109-114.
Rice C., Cooke M., Treloar N., Vollbrecht P., Stukey J., Mcdonough V. A role for MGA2, but not SPT23, in activation of transcription of ERG1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2010;403:293-297.
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Presentations
- Community-Level Intervention to Drive Interest in STEM: An Active Learning Somatosensation Lesson Developed by Medical Students for Rural Middle Schoolers. Magoline JA, Vollbrecht PJ, Porter-Stransky KA, 41st Annual Kalamazoo Community Medical & Health Sciences Research Day, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 05/2023
- Motivation or Regulation: Comparison of Alterations in Glutamate Signaling between Nucleus Accumbens and Prefrontal Cortex in Obesity-Prone Rats. Addis V, Boulnemour K, Vollbrecht P, 40th Annual Kalamazoo Community Medical and Health Sciences Research Day, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 04/2022
- When Life Gives You Glucose: Differences in Glucose Uptake and Utilization Suggest Altered Astrocyte Function in Obesity Models. Boulnemour K, Smith K, Micheli D, Vollbrecht P, 38th Annual Kalamazoo Community Medical and Health Sciences Virtual Research Day, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 04/2021
- Brain Explorers: A Neuroscience-Based Outreach for Middle School Students. Shehadeh A, Wurster A, VanRiper K, Beck P, Porter-Stransky K, Vollbrecht P, 38th Annual Kalamazoo Community Medical and Health Sciences Virtual Research Day, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 04/2021