About the Lab
Our laboratory is focused on the cellular mechanisms and neural circuits regulating vulnerability to social stress.  We investigate social stress using a social defeat model in Syrian hamsters called conditioned defeat. We use a variety of approaches to investigate the stress vulnerability including chemogenetics, neural tract tracing, intracranial microinjections,  immunohistochemistry, Golgi-Cox staining, hormone assays, and behavioral testing.  We are particularly interested in coping strategies and the neurobiological mechanisms controlling stress resilience. Our goal is to identify the mechanisms by which social experience builds stress resilience and thereby uncover novel approaches for preventing and treating stress-related mental illness.
Joining the Lab
We are recruiting PhD students for Fall 2021. Please contact Dr. Cooper (mcooper@utk.edu) for more information about the lab and our graduate program.
We have a wait list for undergraduate research assistants. If you are interested in joining the lab, please complete the lab application here or contact Dr. Cooper directly.
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Awards and Shout Outs
Congratulations to the Cooper Lab's latest award winners!!
  • 2020, Sydney Wyatt receives UT Office of Undergraduate Research summer internship
  • 2020, Thomas Clarity, EUReCA poster award, ORE  Silver Award
  • 2020, Sydney Wyatt & Matthew Jenkins, EUReCA poster award, ORE Bronze Award
  • 2020, Neha Sagarad, EUReCA poster award, ORE Award of Excellence
  • Thomas Clarity receives SfN Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Travel Award for 2019.
  • Neha Sagarad receives UT Office of Research summer internship for 2019.
  • 2019, Emily Graham, EUReCA poster award, ORE Award of Excellence
  • 2019, Thomas Clarity, EUReCA poster award, ORE Award of Excellence and Silver Award
  • 2019, Alex Grizzell, Brain Awareness Campaign awarded Innovative Program of the Year, UTK Division of Student Life
  • Alex Grizzell and Thomas Clarity win Best Poster Awards at the 2019 Psychology Department Banquet 
  • Alex Grizzell accepts a postdoctoral position with Dr. Mike Saddoris at The University of Colorado, Boulder
  • Undergraduate Annie Loewen received a University of Tennessee Office of Research summer internship for 2017
  • Brooke Dulka accepts postdoctoral position with Dr. Fred Helmstetter at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
  • Alex Grizzell received the 2018 Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award from the Department of Psychology
  • Matthew Cooper, 2018 Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year Award, UTK Office of the Chancellor.
  • 2018, Annie Loewen, 1st Place Undergraduate Poster Award, UTK Women in STEM Symposium
  • 2018, Elena Bagatelas, 2nd Place Undergraduate Oral Award, UTK Women in STEM Symposium
  • 2018, Kimberly Bress, 1st Place Undergraduate Oral Award, UTK Women in STEM Symposium
  • Kimberly Bress was named a 2017 Barry Goldwater Scholar.