Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NeuroscienceRusso Immunology Lab
Scott James Russo · New York, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Scott James Russo's lab at the Icahn School of Medicine focuses on understanding how the immune system and neural circuits influence behavior, particularly in relation to stress and aggression. His team investigates the interactions between immune-derived factors and the brain, exploring how these interactions can affect behavior and mental health. Their research aims to find new ways to treat stress-related disorders and to identify the different brain mechanisms that control aggressive vs. pro-social behavior, especially with respect to sex differences.
stress susceptibilityimmune systemneural circuitsaggressionsocial behaviormatrix metalloproteinase 8sex differencesnucleus accumbensreward pathwayspsychosocial stress
Research Aims
5AIM 01Examine how peripheral immune-derived MMP8 affects stress susceptibility and resilience behaviors.
AIM 02Define the mechanisms by which monocyte-derived MMP8 interacts with neural circuits in the brain during stress.
AIM 03Identify sex differences in neural circuit mechanisms that underlie aggressive and pro-social behavior.
AIM 04Investigate how stress affects blood-brain barrier permeability and its role in reward and behavior.
AIM 05Characterize COAp circuitry and its influence on social interactions in both male and female mice.
Skills the Lab Values
single-cell RNA sequencingbioinformaticschemogeneticsoptogeneticsin vivo Ca2+ imagingcFos expression analysiselectrophysiologytissue clearingneuron culture techniquesdata mining