Alexa's Qualifications

• August 2020-May 2026

  Research Fellow

  The University of Texas at Austin, Orsini Lab

  Dissertation research focused on understanding the neurobehavioral and neurobiological substrates of risk taking and their implications for opioid use disorder.

• August 2016-July 2020

  Research Assistant

  University of Florida, Bizon & Setlow Laboratories

  Thesis work identified hormonal and neurobiological contributions underlying decision-making.

• June 2019-August 2019

  NeuroScholars Summer Research Fellow

  University of California, Los Angeles, Correa Lab

  Received additional neuroscience coursework and funding to conduct independent research verifying a novel viral-vector in estrogen-receptor expressing neurons.

• Wheeler A-R, Truckenbrod LM, Boehnke A, Kahanek P, Orsini CA. Sex differences in sensitivity to dopamine receptor manipulations of risk-based decision making in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2024. PMID: 39039141.
• Wheeler AR, Truckenbrod LM, Cooper EM, Betzhold SM, Setlow B, Orsini CA. Effects of fentanyl self-administration on risk-taking behavior in male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2023. PMID: 37612455.
• Truckenbrod LM, Betzhold SM, Wheeler AR, et al. Circuit and cell-specific contributions to decision making involving risk of explicit punishment in male and female rats. J Neurosci. 2023. PMID: 37286352.
• Orsini CA, Truckenbrod LM, Wheeler AR. Regulation of sex differences in risk-based decision making by gonadal hormones: insights from rodent models. Behav Processes. 2022. PMID: 35661794.

• Wheeler A-R, Kelly M, Truckenbrod LM, Orsini CA. Relationships between fentanyl self-administration and risk taking behavior in rats.

  • 17th Annual Behavior, Biology, and Chemistry: Translational Research in Substance Use Disorders Abby Loudermilk Travel Award (2025)
  • 11th Annual Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research (WCAAR) Advance, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, April, 2025.
  • 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL, October 2024.
  • 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Washington, D.C., November 2023.
  • 32nd Annual Meeting of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, June 2023.

• Wheeler A-R, Truckenbrod LM, Boehnke AM, Cooper EM, Orsini CA. Sex differences in dopaminergic regulation of risky decision making.

  • 31st Annual Meeting of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, Glasgow, Scotland, UK, June 2022.
  • 50th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, virtual, November 2021.

• Empower Your Research Pitch Finalist, UT Austin (2025)
• Springer Nature Reviewer Certificate, BMC Neuroscience (2025)
• University of California, Irvine, Science Policy & Advocacy for STEM Scientists Certificate Program (2023)
• Society for Neuroscience Trainee Professional Development Award (2022)

• Mentor, RISE Research: Worked one-on-one with high school students to conduct sophisticated literature reviews in various biological science fields with the goal of producing a publishable research paper.
• Mentor, Orsini Lab: mentored 10 undergraduate research volunteers on laboratory methods, scientific review and writing, and professional-school applications.
• Teaching Assistant, Neurobiology of Addiction undergraduate course: Supported instruction for a 100+ undergraduate student course by developing course materials, assisting with exam grading, holding weekly office hours to support student learning, and providing individualized academic guidance.
• Mentor, UT Austin Neuroscience Undergraduate Reading Program (NURP): Mentored multiple undergraduate students through a UT-sponsored program, teaching neuroscience concepts, leading scientific article discussions, and supporting literature reviews for end-of-semester presentations.
• Volunteering at various schools within Austin Independent School District, teaching basic neuroscience concepts and careers as a scientist to K-12 students.

RNAscope · chemogenetics · optogenetics · immunohistochemistry · ELISA · confocal microscopy · ex vivo electrophysiology · rodent operant behavior · stereotaxic surgery