B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D. Memorial Professor

Office: SN3074

Phone: (709) 864-7957

Email: jblundell@mun.ca

Affiliations: Behavioural Neuroscience

 

Research Interests 

My research interests lie in understanding the behavioral and neuroplastic changes that are involved in affective and cognitive disorders. Overall, my goal is to make a significant contribution in understanding and advancing the treatment of neuropsychiatric illness.

Using a multi-disciplined approach that combines both behavioral and molecular techniques, my research plan involves two specific aims. First, I will characterize the phenotypic and molecular changes in adult cognitive-, social-, anxiety-, and depression-related behaviors that result from traumatic stress. Second, I will characterize the phenotypic and neuroplastic changes that result from environmental insult during the early stages of development. Also, I will identify specific biological risk factors that are altered by early environmental insult which in turn, increase the likelihood of developing neuropsychiatric illness after exposure to a traumatic stressor. In all, I hope that my research will lead to an increased understanding of the causes of neuropsychiatric disorders that will ultimately result in the development of novel treatments.

 

Background

I received my Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the Memorial University under the supervision of Robert Adamec. Upon completion of my Ph.D. I completed a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Student Mentoring

Undergraduate: I look forward to the opportunity to supervise Honours projects. Students who are interested in animal models of anxiety and depression, should contact me to set up an appointment. Students will receive hands-on experience in all aspects of study design, data collection, data analysis and presentation of research results.

In addition to honours students I am interested in mentoring other psychology undergraduate students who would like to gain some research experience by volunteering in a psychology laboratory. I have found that undergraduates that volunteer in psychology labs find it to be a very rewarding experience.

Graduate: I am currently recruiting graduate students who are interested in conducting research into the temporal behavioral and molecular changes that occur following traumatic stress. If your academic research interests are in line with those discussed above, you are encouraged to contact me to discuss the possibility of graduate work in my lab.

Publications

Barron, J.C., Dawson, L.J., Grace, M.C., Senior, K.A., Ryan, K.C., Nafar, F., Blundell, J.J, Parsons, M.P. (2025). Huntingtin plays an essential role in the adult hippocampus. Neurobiology of Disease, Jan 22;206:106810. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2025.106810.

Richardson, B., Clarke, C., Blundell, J., Bambico, F. R. (2024). Therapeutic-like activity of cannabidiolic acid methyl ester (HU-580) in the MK-801 mouse model of schizophrenia: role for cannabinoid CB1 and serotonin-1A receptors. European Journal of Neuroscience, May;59(9):2403-2415. doi: 10.1111/ejn.16278. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.169175892.29540325/v1

MacCallum, P.E., Cooze, J.B., Ward, J., Moore, K.A.M., Blundell, J. (2024). Evaluating the effects of single, multiple, and delayed systemic rapamycin injections to contextual fear reconsolidation: Implications for the neurobiology of memory and the treatment of PTSD. Behavioral Brain Research, Mar 12;461:114855. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114855. Epub 2024 Jan 5. PMID: 38185381

Trask, J., MacCallum, P.E., Rideout, H., Preisser, E.L., Blundell, J. (2024). Rapamycin blocks reconsolidation of a backwards conditioned fear memory in female mice. Psychopharmacology Mar;241(3):601-612. doi: 10.1007/s00213-024-06544-6. Epub 2024 Feb 5

Wiseman, M., Hinks, M., Hallett, D., Blundell, J., Sweeney, E., Thorpe, C., Walling, S.G., & Swift-Gallant, A. (2023). Evidence that Ovarian Hormones, but not diet and exercise, contribute to the sex disparity in Post-Traumatic Stress. Journal of Psychiatric Research 168:213-220. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.10.048. Epub 2023 Oct 26. PMID: 37918034.

Bhattacharya, S., MacCallum, P., Dayma, M., McGrath-Janes, A., King, B., Dawson, L., Bambico, F.R., Berry, M., Yuan, Q., Martin, G.M., Preisser, E.L., Blundell, J. (2023). A short pre-conception bout of predation risk affects both children and grandchildren. Scientific Reports 5;13(1):10886. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-37455-9.

Lee, Z.A., Cohen, C.B., Baranowski, A.K., Berry, K.N., McGuire, M.R., Pelletier, T.S., Peck, B.P., Blundell, J., Preisser, E.L. (2023). Auditory predator cues decrease herbivore survival and plant damage. Ecology 104(4): e4007. doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4007

George, H., Mercer, G.V., Stapleton, D., Dawson, L., MacCallum, P.E., Spring, S., Sled, J.G Blundell, J., Cahill, L.S. (2022). Structural brain abnormalities in endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice revealed by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Brain and Behavior, e2801. doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2801

Fillier, T., Shah, S., Doody, K., Pham, T.H., Aubry, I., Tremblay, M.L., Cheema, S., Blundell, J., Thomas, R. (2022). Brief exposure of neuronal cells to levels of SCFAs observed in human systemic circulation impair lipid metabolism resulting in apoptosis. Scientific Reports 12: 14355 doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18363-w.

Waye, S.W, Dinesh, O.C., Hasan, Sm.N., Conway, J.D., Raymond, R., Nobrega, J.N., Blundell., J., Bambico, F.R. (2021). Antidepressant action of transcranial direct current stimulation in olfactory bulbectomised adolescent rats. J Psychopharmacology; 35(8):1003-1016

MacCallum, P.E., Blundell, J. (2020). The mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin and the mTORC1/2 inhibitor AZD2014 impair the consolidation and persistence of contextual fear memory. Psychopharmacology 237(9):2795-2808. doi: 10.1007/s00213-020-05573-1

Blundell, J. Preisser, E. (2020). Integrating predation risk across scales: from neurons to ecosystems and milliseconds to generations. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

Lamont, M.G., MacCallum, P.E., Blundell, J., Weber, J. (2020). Binge drinking in adolescent rats induces persistent behavioral impairments and elevated proinflammatory/proapoptotic proteins in the cerebellum. Psychopharmacology doi: 10.1007/s00213-020-05458-3.

Bhattacharya, S., Fontaine, A., MacCallum, P.E., Drover, J.R., Blundell, J. (2019). Stress across generations: DNA methylation as a potential mechanism underlying intergenerational effects of stress in both posttraumatic stress disorder and pre-clinical predator stress rodent models. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 13:113 doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00113

Kenny, T.E., Hebert, M., MacCallum, P., Whiteman, J., Martin, G., Blundell, J. (2019). Single injection of rapamycin blocks post restriction hyperphagia and body weight re-gain in rats. Behavioral Neuroscience 133(1):98-109. doi: 10.1037/bne0000287

Bhattacharya, S, Mukherjee, B, Blundell, J, Harley, C.W., Yuan, Q. (2018). Revisit metaplasticity: the roles of calcineurin and histone deacetylation in unlearning odor preference memory in rat pups. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 154:62-69. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2018.02.003