Matthew Ford

Background

About Matthew Ford

I am a research scientist with a strong background in behavioral pharmacology and developing interests in genetics. My research strives to develop translational models of addiction, with emphasis on enhancing ‘vertical integration’ between rodent and non-human primate species. Over the past 10 years I have work with and developed multiple models that address the behavioral processes underlying alcohol self-administration, reinforcement, reinstatement, and drug discrimination in rodents. My general approach is to investigate both subjective drug effects and drug self-administration in parallel, as discriminative stimulus effects of drugs are believed to be critically involved in promoting drug seeking by directing behavior towards drug access and consumption. It is critical to understand the relationship between these behavioral processes. By investigating rodent and non-human primate models of abuse-related behaviors in tandem it is hoped that brain mechanisms underlying the propensity to self-administer drugs uncontrollably can be identified, manipulated, and translated between species to provide more effective treatment options for patients with substance abuse disorders. Current projects in the laboratory are addressing: 1) gene therapy to block relapse following chronic alcohol self-administration 2) alcohol-nicotine interactions and the neurobiological underpinnings of co-abuse 3) influence of a non-synonymous polymorphism in the α5 nicotinic receptor subunit (rs16969968) and in the TAAR1 receptor on abuse-related behaviors 4) development and implementation of an e-cigarette inhalation model 5) alcohol-stress interactions and the role of environmental contingencies that result in ‘conflict or cognitive’ stress and associated ‘binge’ drinking 6) feasibility of muscarinic and nicotinic receptor-based pharmacotherapy for drug abuse