Michaela Breach, PhD Thesis Seminar and Defense

Michaela Breach Thesis Defense April 9 and 11
April 9 - April 11, 2025
12:00PM - 3:00PM
IHSC 370

Date Range
2025-04-09 12:00:00 2025-04-11 15:00:00 Michaela Breach, PhD Thesis Seminar and Defense Michaela Breach, PhD Thesis Seminar and Defense "Early life inflammation and brain development: insights from maternal immune activation and pediatric traumatic brain injury in rats"    Private Defense April 9th 2025Public Seminar April 11th 2025. 3:00 pm. IHSC 370 https://osu.zoom.us/j/91862532591?pwd=2VWvdYE2x49UaA6DxPIao6g7J5bX4k.1Michaela Breach graduated from Indiana University in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology, a certificate in Clinical Psychological Science, and a minor in Spanish. She joined the Neuroscience Graduate Program in fall of 2019 where she has studied how early-life exposure to inflammation shapes brain development and behavior under the guidance of Dr. Kathryn Lenz. During her time at OSU, Michaela has mentored 9 trainees in the lab, co-directed the Upward Bound Neuroscience Program (2022), and served as Professional Development Chair (2020–2022) and President (2021–2023) of the Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization. Michaela has also presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences and was chosen by her peers as the Plenary Speaker for the OSU Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs Symposium in 2024. Her achievements have been recognized with multiple awards, including the University Fellowship (2019) NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2021), and the OSU Presidential Fellowship (2023), among others. She has published five first-authored and four co-authored peer-reviewed papers, with three additional papers in preparation (two first-authored, one co-authored). Michaela is currently seeking employment in scientific or medical communications, where she hopes to use her skills to support scientific advancement and foster scientific understanding. Publications:Gestational stress disrupts dopamine and oxytocin signaling in the postpartum reward system of rats: implications for mood, motivation and mothering. Haim A, Albin-Brooks C, Brothers H, Breach M, Leuner B.Sci Rep. 2025. 15(1):1450. PMID: 39789137Prenatal allergic inflammation in rats confers sex-specific alterations to oxytocin and vasopressin innervation in social brain regions. Breach MR, Akouri HE, Costantine S, Dodson CM, McGovern N, Lenz KM.Horm Behav. 2024. 157:105427. PMID: 37743114Sex Differences in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Key Role for the Immune System. Breach MR, Lenz KM.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2023. 62:165-206. PMID: 35435643Prenatal allergic inflammation in rats programs the developmental trajectory of dendritic spine patterning in brain regions associated with cognitive and social behavior. Breach MR, Dye CN, Galan A, Lenz KM.Brain Behav Immun. 2022. 102:279-291. PMID: 35245680Maternal allergic inflammation in rats impacts the offspring perinatal neuroimmune milieu and the development of social play, locomotor behavior, and cognitive flexibility. Breach MR, Dye CN, Joshi A, Platko S, Gilfarb RA, Krug AR, Franceschelli DV, Galan A, Dodson CM, Lenz KM.Brain Behav Immun. 2021. 95:269-286.PMID: 33798637 IHSC 370 America/New_York public

Michaela Breach, PhD Thesis Seminar and Defense 

"Early life inflammation and brain development: insights from maternal immune activation and pediatric traumatic brain injury in rats"    

Private Defense April 9th 2025

Public Seminar April 11th 2025. 3:00 pm. IHSC 370 

https://osu.zoom.us/j/91862532591?pwd=2VWvdYE2x49UaA6DxPIao6g7J5bX4k.1

Michaela Breach graduated from Indiana University in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology, a certificate in Clinical Psychological Science, and a minor in Spanish. She joined the Neuroscience Graduate Program in fall of 2019 where she has studied how early-life exposure to inflammation shapes brain development and behavior under the guidance of Dr. Kathryn Lenz. During her time at OSU, Michaela has mentored 9 trainees in the lab, co-directed the Upward Bound Neuroscience Program (2022), and served as Professional Development Chair (2020–2022) and President (2021–2023) of the Neuroscience Graduate Student Organization. Michaela has also presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences and was chosen by her peers as the Plenary Speaker for the OSU Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs Symposium in 2024. Her achievements have been recognized with multiple awards, including the University Fellowship (2019) NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2021), and the OSU Presidential Fellowship (2023), among others. She has published five first-authored and four co-authored peer-reviewed papers, with three additional papers in preparation (two first-authored, one co-authored). Michaela is currently seeking employment in scientific or medical communications, where she hopes to use her skills to support scientific advancement and foster scientific understanding. 

Publications:

  1. Gestational stress disrupts dopamine and oxytocin signaling in the postpartum reward system of rats: implications for mood, motivation and mothering. Haim A, Albin-Brooks C, Brothers H, Breach M, Leuner B.Sci Rep. 2025. 15(1):1450. PMID: 39789137
  2. Prenatal allergic inflammation in rats confers sex-specific alterations to oxytocin and vasopressin innervation in social brain regions. Breach MR, Akouri HE, Costantine S, Dodson CM, McGovern N, Lenz KM.Horm Behav. 2024. 157:105427. PMID: 37743114
  3. Sex Differences in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Key Role for the Immune System. Breach MR, Lenz KM.Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2023. 62:165-206. PMID: 35435643
  4. Prenatal allergic inflammation in rats programs the developmental trajectory of dendritic spine patterning in brain regions associated with cognitive and social behavior. Breach MR, Dye CN, Galan A, Lenz KM.Brain Behav Immun. 2022. 102:279-291. PMID: 35245680
  5. Maternal allergic inflammation in rats impacts the offspring perinatal neuroimmune milieu and the development of social play, locomotor behavior, and cognitive flexibility. Breach MR, Dye CN, Joshi A, Platko S, Gilfarb RA, Krug AR, Franceschelli DV, Galan A, Dodson CM, Lenz KM.Brain Behav Immun. 2021. 95:269-286.PMID: 33798637