Education

• 2007-2011 - Bethany Lutheran College - Bachelor of Arts in Biology; minor in Chemistry
• 2011-2016 - Washington State University - Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience
• 2016-2018 - Medical College of Wisconsin - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology & Toxicology (Neuroscience Research Center)

Background

I started at WLC in January 2019 to begin the neuroscience program. I have a joint appointment between neuroscience and biology. 

Teaching

• NEU 201: Principles of Neuroscience
• NEU 301: Behavioral Neuroscience
• NEU 325: Neuroanatomy
• NEU 401: Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience
• NEU 435: Sensory Neuroscience
• BIO 202: Principles of Biology 2
• BIO 225 Lab: Anatomy and Physiology Lab
• BIO 331: Cell Biology 

Research Interests

My PhD was exploring changes to the extracellular matrix during learning and memory processes occurring during drug addiction.

My postdoctoral fellow was examining neuronal ensembles underlying various reward-related behaviors.

My research at WLC has been focused on establishing protocols and procedures to examine various learning and memory animal models. 

Scholarly Works

Slaker ML (2019) Exploring the bridge from extracellular signals to intracellular plasticity. Biological Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.06.023

Nawarawong NN, Slaker M, Muelbl MJ, Shah AS, Chiariello R, Nelson LD, Budde MD, Stemper BD, Olsen CO (2019) Repeated blast model of mild traumatic brain injury alters oxycodone seeking and reinstatement. European Journal of Neuroscience. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14281

Slaker ML, Jorgensen ET, Hegarty DM, Lie X, Kong Y, Zhang F, Linhardt RJ, Brown TE, Aicher SA, Sorg BA (2018) Cocaine exposure modulates perineuronal nets and synaptic excitability of fast-spiking interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex. eNeuro. ENEURO.0221-18.2018; DOI: http://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0221-18.2018

Muelbl MJ, Slaker ML, Shah AS, Nawarawong NN, Gerndt C, Budde MD, Stemper BD, Olsen CO (2018) Effects of mild blast traumatic brain injury on cognitive- and addiction-related behaviors. Scientific Reports. 8(1):9941. PMID:29967344

Dingess P, Harkness J, Slaker M, Zhang Z, Sorg BA, Brown T, Wulff S (2018) Consumption of a high-fat diet alters perineuronal nets in the prefrontal cortex. Neural plasticity 2018, DOI: 10.1155/2018/2108373

Slaker M, Barns J, Sorg BA, Grimm J (2016) Impact of environmental enrichment on perineuronal nets in the prefrontal cortex following early and late abstinence from sucrose self-administration in rats. PLoS One 11(12):e0168256. PMC5158028

Slaker ML, Harkness JH, Sorg BA (2016) A standardized and automated method of perineuronal net intensity analysis. IBRO Reports doi: 10.106/j.ibror.2016.10.001. 

Slaker M, Blacktop JM, Sorg BA (2015) Caught in the net: perineuronal nets and addiction. Neural plasticity. 501:274895.

Slaker M, Churchill L, Todd RP, Blacktop JM, Zuloaga DG, Raber J, Darling RA, Brown T, Sorg BA. (2015) Removal of perineuronal nets in the medial prefrontal cortex impairs the consolidation and reconsolidation of cocaine-associated memory. J Neurosci. 35:4190-4202. PMC4355195

Sorg BA, Todd RP, Slaker M, Churchill L (2015). Anisomycin in the medial prefrontal cortex reduces reconsolidation of cocaine-associated memories in the rat self-administration model. Neuropharmacology. 92:23-33. PMC4346388

Service 

• Voting Member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
• Title IX Investigator
• Assessment Committee
• Senior Thesis advisor (Neuroscience and Biology)

Professional Memberships

• Society for Neuroscience