Dustin W. DuBois

Dustin W. DuBois is the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs (Pre-Clerkship) and holds the rank of Instructional Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University School of Medicine. He is affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics. His work focuses on neuropsychopharmacology, neurodevelopment, and the impact of pharmacological/environmental agents on the central nervous system.

• Education: BA from University of Texas at Austin, PhD from Texas A&M University HSC, Postdoctoral training at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Research interests include cellular/molecular mechanisms of neuropsychopharmacological agents, neuroteratogenic effects of ethanol on GABAergic systems, chronic ethanol effects on anxiety-related brain regions, anesthetic impacts on hippocampal learning/memory, and estrogen's non-genomic effects on the aging brain. Techniques employed include electrophysiology, optogenetics, and molecular biology methods (e.g., Western blotting, RT-PCR).

His lab investigates how agents like ethanol, benzodiazepines, pesticides, and pollutants disrupt CNS development, leading to cognitive/mental deficits. Current projects emphasize rapid estrogen effects on aging neural circuits.

Lab activities focus on translational neuroscience, integrating clinical relevance with mechanistic studies.