Lique M Coolen

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands in 1995 and have been on faculty at the University of Cincinnati, Western University (Canada), University of Michigan, and University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). I have published over 130 papers describing my research on sexual behavior, motivation and reward, drug addition, neuroendocrine function, and spinal cord injury and am known for my expertise in a wide range of techniques, including neuropharmacology, molecular biology, chemogenetics, neuroanatomy, and behavioral techniques. Moreover, I utilize numerous animal models in my research, including rat, mouse, hamster, and sheep. My research has been continuously funded by NIH and other federal and non-federal funding agencies. In addition, during my time at the Western University , I was awarded a Canada Research Chair and successfully competed for funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada. I have received numerous awards for my research and teaching, including the CJ Herrick award from the American Association of Anatomists, the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology of Motivation and Reward, and the Norman Nelson award for Teaching Excellence at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

​

I have a long and successful track record of mentoring graduate students (PhD, MD/PhD, and MSc students), postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and medical and undergraduate students as research mentor in my laboratory. I have a strong commitment to graduate and postdoctoral training in general and serve as Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, and have previously served as Associate Dean for Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at UMMC, and as associate and interim neuroscience graduate program director. I also currently serve and have served on national committees for graduate and postdoctoral education and organize professional and career development programs, including courses and workshops for enhancement of rigor and reproducibility at Kent and for professional societies. Notably, I am co-leader of the Foundations for Rigorous Neuroscience program for the Society for Neuroscience.