Staci Bilbo, Assistant Professor

Research Summary:
How does the immune system influence the way our brains develop? Can catching the flu influence our ability to learn and remember? Research in my laboratory takes an integrated approach to tracing how early life experiences (social, infectious, hormonal) impact neural and immune system development, and ultimate consequences for adult behavior, using the rat as a model. A growing body of research suggests that intrauterine or perinatal exposure to infectious agents or other environmental stressors may influence susceptibility to disease later in life, as well as contribute to the development of behavioral or neuropsychiatric disorders, a phenomenon known as “perinatal programming.” For instance, infection with bacteria or a virus during the perinatal period has been demonstrated to change the way the body responds to a stressful event later in life. My lab is especially interested in whether infection in newborns may alter cognitive abilities later in life.

Representative Publications:   (More Publications)

1. Bilbo, SD, Yirmiya, R, Amat, J, Paul, ED, Watkins, LR, & Maier, SF (2008). Bacterial infection early in life protects against stressor-induced depressive-like symptoms in adult rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33, 261-269.
2. Bilbo, SD, Barrientos, RM, Eads, A, Northcutt, A, Watkins, LR, Rudy, JR, & Maier, SF (2008). Early-life infection leads to altered BDNF and IL-1beta mRNA expression in rat hippocampus following learning in adulthood. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22, 451-455.
3. Bilbo, SD, Newsum, NJ, Sprunger, DB, Watkins, LR, Rudy, JW, & Maier, SF (2007). Differential effects of neonatal handling on early life infection-induced alterations in cognition in adulthood. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 21, 332-342.
4. Bilbo, SD, Biedenkapp, JC, Der-Avakian, A, Watkins, LR, Rudy, JW, & Maier, SF (2005). Neonatal infection-induced memory impairment following lipopolysaccharide in adulthood is prevented via caspase-1 inhibition. The Journal of Neuroscience, 25(35), 8000-8009.
5. Bilbo, SD, Dhabhar, FS, Viswanathan, K, Saul, A, Yellon, SM & Nelson, RJ (2002). Short day lengths augment stress-induced leukocyte trafficking and stress-induced enhancement of skin immune function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(6), 4067-4072.
6. Bilbo, SD, Drazen, DL, Quan, N, He, L & Nelson, RJ (2002). Short day lengths attenuate the symptoms of infection in Siberian hamsters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, Biological Sciences, 269(1490), 447-454.

Lab Personnel: 
Verne Tsang--Associate in Research/Lab Manager

Typical Courses Taught::

• Psy 156s, Psychoneuroimmunology (b) Synopsis

• Psy 135/bio 154, Fundamentals of neuroscience (b)