Curriculum Vitae
Full CV (PDF) Resume -- Research & Science Resume -- Data & Analytics
Profile
Behavioral neuroscientist and quantitative researcher with preclinical and analytical experience across academic and industry-adjacent settings. First-author and contributing-author publications in Alzheimer's therapeutics, whole-brain imaging, and applied machine learning. Methodological strengths in systematic evidence synthesis, reproducible statistical pipelines (R, Python), and translational research.
Education
Ph.D., Behavioral Neuroscience
2026
State University of New York at Albany
B.A., Neuroscience -- Magna Cum Laude
2013
Queens College, City University of New York
Minor: Japanese
Research & Professional Experience
Doctoral Research Scientist -- Stellar Lab
2016 -- 2026
State University of New York at Albany
- Ran an independent preclinical research program testing IGF-2 (a neurotrophic factor) and metabolic interventions in rodent Alzheimer's models; first-author publication in CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics (2023).
- Built an automated evidence-synthesis pipeline in R and Python for a systematic cross-species meta-analysis; identified a 2.5x effect-size gap between rodent and human cognitive findings.
- Executed the full experimental pipeline: intranasal compound administration, cognitive phenotyping (fear, spatial, and working memory), hippocampal cell culture, ICC, ELISA, and Western blot.
Laboratory Technician & Manager -- Osten Lab
2011 -- 2016
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Contributing author to a Cell publication (2017): validated transgenic mouse lines with IHC and contributed to serial two-photon tomography for whole-brain, single-cell-resolution mapping of GABAergic neuron distribution.
- Studied the neurobiology of social behavior in Cntnap2 knockout autism models via stereotaxic viral injections, confocal microscopy, and IHC.
- Promoted from technician to lab manager: ran the animal colony, genotyping pipeline, procurement, and budgets; coordinated across postdoctoral research teams.
Adjunct Instructor, Statistics
2020 -- 2026
SUNY Albany & Hudson Valley Community College
- Primary instructor for undergraduate statistics across six years with excellent student evaluations; designed curriculum, assessments, and grading; mentored 16 undergraduate researchers.
Undergraduate Research Assistant -- Bodnar Lab
2009 -- 2011
Queens College, City University of New York
- Co-authored two peer-reviewed publications on reward-circuitry neuropharmacology; mapped brain activation via c-Fos immunohistochemistry in mesocorticolimbic regions.
Founder -- EE Performance
2021
- Preclinical-stage biotech concept built around exogenous exerkines as exercise mimetics for Alzheimer's disease; developed the scientific and commercial rationale, competed in the UAlbany Blackstone LaunchPad venture competition, and completed a patent-landscape analysis.
Research Collaborator -- Metascience Observatory
2025 -- present
with D. Elton (NIH/NIST)
- Building the automated meta-analysis pipeline behind a systematic assessment of research replicability across scientific fields; reproducible one-command analysis pipelines in Python and R.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Kim Y, Yang GR, Pradhan K, Venkataraju KU, Bota M, Garcia del Molino LC, Fitzgerald G, Ram K, He M, Levine JM, Mitra P, Huang JZ, Wang X-J, Osten P. Brain-wide Maps Reveal Stereotyped Cell-Type-Based Cortical Architecture and Subcortical Sexual Dimorphism. Cell. 2017;171(2):456-469.
- Fitzgerald GS, Chuchta TG, McNay EC. Insulin-like growth factor-2 is a promising candidate for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics. 2023. [PDF]
- Ralbovsky NM, Fitzgerald GS, McNay EC, Lednev IK. Raman spectroscopy and machine learning for Alzheimer's disease screening. Spectrochimica Acta Part A. 2021.
- Kraft TT, Yakubov Y, Huang D, Fitzgerald G, Natanova E, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. 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. 2015;151:213-220.
- Kraft TT, Yakubov Y, Huang D, Fitzgerald G, Acosta V, Natanova E, Touzani K, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. 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. 2013;110:127-136.
Preprints & Works in Progress
- Fitzgerald GS. A Cross-Species Meta-Analysis of Environmental Enrichment Effects on Cognition. Preprint, 2026.
Public & Popular Writing
- Fitzgerald G, Elton D. "WTH is Cerebrolysin, actually?" More is Different (Substack), August 5, 2024. moreisdifferent.blog
Peer Review
- Ad hoc reviewer, Neuroscience Letters (2017) -- reviewed a submitted manuscript on diet-induced changes in hippocampal lactate metabolism and glial glutamate transporter expression.
Selected Conference Presentations
- 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 knockout mice exhibit reduced sociability in the three-chamber test. NEURON / Hunter Psychology Conference; URME Research Symposium; Sigma Xi Research Symposium, 2012.
- Kim Y, Venkataraju KU, Pradhan K, Fitzgerald G, He M, Levine J, Huang Z, Osten P. Quantitative brain-wide mapping of GABAergic neuronal subtypes in mice. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2015 (571.02).
- Kim Y, Pradhan K, Fitzgerald G, Venkataraju KU, Osten P. Serial two-photon tomography-based whole-brain activity mapping in the Cntnap2 KO mouse model of autism. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2013 (719.04).
- Kraft TT, Yakubov Y, Huang D, Fitzgerald G, Acosta V, Natanova E, Touzani K, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. Differential dopamine D1 and opioid receptor modulation of fat-conditioned flavor preferences. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2012.
- Dela Cruz J, Coke T, Sampson C, Fitzgerald G, Kest K, Icaza-Cukali D, Rotella FM, Ranaldi R, Touzani K, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. c-Fos induction in the rat amygdala following oral intake and intragastric infusion of sugar. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2011; IBRO World Congress (Florence), 2011; Einstein in the City, 2011.
- Kraft TT, Fitzgerald G, Yakubov Y, Avizova O, Huang D, Faulding BD, Stern R, Touzani K, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ. Flavor preferences conditioned by fat in BALB/c and SWR inbred mice. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2011.
- Yakubov Y, Fitzgerald G, Acosta V, Borukhova N, Borukhov L, Elkomos-Botros M, Luu L, Kraft TT, Bodnar RJ. Dopamine and opioids modulate fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR inbred mice. NEURON Conference, 2011; Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, 2010.
Honors & Awards
- Magna Cum Laude, Queens College, CUNY (2013)
- Undergraduate Research Program (URP) Fund Scholar, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2011)
- Undergraduate Research & Mentoring Education (URME) Scholar, Queens College, CUNY (2010)
- Salutatorian, Francis Lewis High School (2009)
Technical Skills
Computational & Quantitative: R, Python, SQL, SPSS, GraphPad Prism · Meta-Analysis & Systematic Review · Mixed-Effects & Bayesian Modeling · Applied Machine Learning · Reproducible Pipelines & Data Visualization
Laboratory: Stereotaxic Neurosurgery & Viral Vector Delivery · Microdialysis · Rodent Behavioral Testing · IHC/ICC · Confocal & Two-Photon Microscopy · Western Blot · ELISA · Primary Cell Culture · Colony Management & IACUC