Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D., Behavioral Neuroscience
2016 – Present (Expected Spring 2026)
University at Albany, SUNY
Adviser: James Stellar, Ph.D.
Thesis: Meta-analytic investigation of translational validity in preclinical cognitive research
B.A., Neuroscience — Magna Cum Laude
2010 – 2013
Queens College, City University of New York
Minor: Japanese Language · Concentration: Honors, Mathematics, and Natural Science
Research Experience
PhD Researcher — Stellar Lab
2023 – Present
University at Albany, SUNY
- Conducting meta-analysis of environmental enrichment effects on cognition across rodent and human studies
- Key finding: rodents show approximately 2.5× larger cognitive enhancement than humans in response to enrichment interventions, suggesting standard housing conditions may inflate preclinical effect sizes
- Multi-database systematic search, effect size modeling, heterogeneity analysis, and publication bias assessment
- Advanced statistical methods in R: mixed-effects models, Bayesian methods, bootstrapping
PhD Researcher — McNay Lab
2016 – 2023
University at Albany, SUNY
- Investigated IGF-2 (insulin-like growth factor-2) as a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease in a rat model
- Designed and executed intranasal administration protocols over 6-week periods using approximately 200 rats
- Behavioral testing: inhibitory avoidance, contextual fear conditioning, spontaneous alternation
- Primary hippocampal cell culture (rat neurons), immunocytochemistry, western blot
- Stereotaxic brain surgery (rats), saphenous vein blood collection, brain sectioning
- Mentored 16 undergraduate researchers, guiding honors thesis design and execution
- Co-authored IACUC protocols and maintained regulatory compliance
Lab Manager / Laboratory Technician — Osten Lab
2011 – 2016
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
- Progressed from Assistant Researcher to Laboratory Technician to Lab Manager
- Investigated neural circuit basis of social behavior using CNTNAP2 knockout mouse model of autism
- Performed stereotaxic injections of recombinant viruses to drive or suppress activity in social brain circuits
- Operated serial two-photon tomography system for whole-brain imaging at single-cell resolution
- Characterized brain-wide distribution of GABAergic interneuron subtypes (contributing to Cell publication)
- Managed 500+ mouse breeding colony: daily monitoring, genotyping, colony optimization
- Oversaw all purchase orders, budget tracking, reagent inventory, and equipment scheduling
- Trained and supervised junior technicians; coordinated with vivarium staff, veterinarian, and IACUC
- Helped write IACUC protocols for all new procedures
Research Assistant — Bodnar Lab
2009 – 2011
CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY
- Investigated dopamine and opioid neurotransmitter systems in reward-based learning
- Conducted conditioned flavor preference experiments in BALB/c and SWR mouse strains
- Performed c-fos immunohistochemistry to map brain activation patterns in reward circuitry
Publications
Peer-Reviewed (5)
- Fitzgerald GS, Chuchta TG, McNay EC. (2023). "Insulin-like growth factor-2 is a promising candidate for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease." CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics. doi:10.1111/cns.14160 [First author]
- Ralbovsky NM, Fitzgerald GS, McNay EC, Lednev IK. (2021). "Towards development of a novel screening method for identifying Alzheimer's disease risk: Raman spectroscopy of blood serum and machine learning." Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 254:119603.
- Kim Y, Yang GR, Pradhan K, Umadevi Venkataraju K, Bolta M, Garcia del Molino LC, Fitzgerald G, Ram K, He M, Levine JM, Mitra P, Huang JZ, Wang XJ, Osten P. (2017). "Brain-wide Maps Reveal Stereotyped Cell-Type-Based Cortical Architecture and Subcortical Sexual Dimorphism." Cell. 171(2):456-469. [Impact Factor: 64.5]
- Kraft TT, Yakubov Y, Huang D, Fitzgerald G, Natanova E, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. (2015). "Dopamine D1 and opioid receptor antagonists differentially reduce the acquisition and expression of fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR mice." Physiology & Behavior. 151:213-220.
- Kraft TT, Yakubov Y, Huang D, Fitzgerald G, Acosta V, Natanova E, Touzani K, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. (2013). "Dopamine D1 and opioid receptor antagonism effects on the acquisition and expression of fat-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR inbred mice." Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. 110:127-136.
In Preparation
- Meta-analysis of environmental enrichment effects on cognition: translational validity of preclinical rodent models (thesis manuscript)
Conference Presentations
First Author
- Fitzgerald GS, Mallon LP. "Molecular effectors of insulin's role in hippocampal memory processing across stages of memory." Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2018. Program# 084.02.
- Fitzgerald G, Kim Y, Osten P. "CNTNAP2 KO mice exhibit reduced sociability in three-chamber test." NEURON/Hunter Psychology Conference, April 2012.
- Fitzgerald G, Kim Y, Osten P. "CNTNAP2 KO mice exhibit reduced sociability in three-chamber test." URME Research Symposium, March 2012.
- Fitzgerald G, Kim Y, Osten P. "CNTNAP2 KO mice exhibit reduced sociability in three-chamber test." Sigma Xi Research Symposium, March 2012.
Contributing Author
- Kim Y, [...] Fitzgerald G, [...] Osten P. "Quantitative brain-wide mapping of GABAergic neuronal subtypes in mice." SFN 2015.
- Kim Y, [...] Fitzgerald G, [...] Osten P. "Serial two-photon tomography-based whole-brain activity mapping in CNTNAP2 KO mouse model of autism." SFN 2013.
- Additional contributing author posters at Society for Neuroscience, 2010, 2011, 2012.
Teaching
Statistics for Psychology — Instructor
2016 – 2025 (7 semesters)
University at Albany, SUNY & Hudson Valley Community College
- Full course responsibility: lectures, exams, grading, office hours
- Developed original course materials and assessments
- Excellent course evaluations
Independent Research Mentor
2024 – Present
- Coach undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students on designing and executing independent research projects
- Developed comprehensive Scientific Research Literacy Guide (50+ pages) covering study design, literature review methodology, data analysis, scientific writing, and IRB considerations
Technical Skills
Animal Models & Procedures
- Species: Mice, Rats
- Surgical: Stereotaxic brain surgery (mice and rats), viral injections, ovariectomy
- Behavioral assays: Inhibitory avoidance, contextual fear conditioning, spontaneous alternation, three-chamber social test, RotaRod, conditioned flavor preference
- Administration & collection: Intranasal, IP, SC, and other injection routes; saphenous vein blood collection
- Tissue processing: Rapid brain dissection, brain sectioning (vibratome, cryostat)
- Colony management: 500+ mouse breeding colony, genotyping
Molecular & Cellular
- Primary cell culture (rat hippocampal neurons)
- PCR (genotyping)
- Immunocytochemistry (ICC)
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC, including c-fos)
- Western blot
Imaging & Microscopy
- Fluorescence microscopy
- Confocal microscopy
- Serial two-photon tomography (whole-brain imaging, single-cell resolution)
Statistical & Computational
- Methods: t-tests, ANOVA, regression, mixed-effects models, Bayesian methods, bootstrapping, meta-analysis
- Software: R (advanced), Python (advanced), SPSS, GraphPad Prism
- AI/ML: Claude Code, AI pipeline development
Lab Operations & Management
- Budget and purchase order management
- Reagent and supply inventory
- IACUC protocol writing and regulatory compliance
- Staff training and supervision
Awards & Honors
- Magna Cum Laude — Queens College, CUNY, 2013
- URP Fund Scholar — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2011
- URME Scholar — Queens College, CUNY, 2010
- Salutatorian — Francis Lewis High School, 2009