Kevin Coffey, PhD
I am a behavioral neuroscientist who earned my PhD from Rutgers University and completed a postdoc here, in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at the University of Washington. My lab, located in the MIRECC at VA Puget Sound, aims to identify the neural mechanisms underlying substance use disorders and maladaptive decision making.
My primary focus is studying the neurobiological consequences and predictors of chronic fentanyl use. To accomplish this, I utilize cutting-edge in-vivo optical neuroscience tools (photometry, optogenetics, miniscopes) along with a newly developed oral-fentanyl self-administration model for rats and mice. I am also the lead developer for DeepSqueak, a popular software package for bioacoustics analysis that integrates machine-vision algorithms with an intuitive graphical interface to accelerate animal communication research.
Department Affiliations
Centers/Programs
Other Affiliations
- Determining if activity in LHb projections to the RMTg promotes cued reinstatement to fentanyl seeking through indirect inhibition of VTA dopamine neurons
- Determining if activity in specific lateral habenula output pathways motivates avoidance of synthetic opioid withdrawal or cue induced reinstatement
Recent Publications
(2023 Dec)
Addict Biol 28(12): e13344
Coffey KR, Nickelson WB, Dawkins AJ, Neumaier JF
(2023 Dec)
Addict Neurosci 8():
Crawley AK, Sharma A, Coffey KR, West MO, Barker DJ
(2024 Jan)
Neuropsychopharmacology 49(1): 331-332
Coffey KR, Neumaier JF
(2023 May 11)
bioRxiv
Coffey KR, Nickelson W, Dawkins AJ, Neumaier JF
(2023 Jan 7)
Sci Rep 13(1): 360
Mishra V, Limaye AS, Doehnert F, Policastro R, Hassan D, Ndiaye MTY, Abel NV, Johnson K, Grange J, Coffey K, Rashid A
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