Dr. Kevin Wickman

Kevin earned his BA in Chemistry from St. Olaf College in 1991 and his PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from the Mayo Clinic in 1995. After completing postdoctoral training with Dr. Sandra Gendler at the Mayo Clinic (1995-1997) and Dr. David Clapham at Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School (1997-1999), he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1999. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Pharmacology in 2005 and to Professor of Pharmacology in 2011. He was named Head of Pharmacology in June 2020 and currently holds the titles of Frederick and Alice Stark Endowed Chair, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Distinguished University Teaching Professor.

Dr. Ezequiel Marron

Ezequiel obtained his PhD in Biology (2008) after completing separate Bachelor’s degrees in Biology (2003) and Biochemistry (2005). During this time, and during his first postdoctoral training period at the NIH, his research focused on the pharmacology of opioid receptors and molecular mechanisms regulating ion channel gating. After joining the Wickman lab in 2013, he has focused his research on experience-dependent neuroadaptations in inhibitory signaling, while maintaining an interest in a variety of fields such as genomics/proteomics, structure-activity relationships, and ion channel gating. Whenever possible he balances research with his second passion – teaching. Dr. Marron is also the Manager of the University of Minnesota Viral Vector and Cloning Core.

Dr. Patricia Alvarez

Patricia holds a PhD in Biology with emphasis in Animal Physiology. She joined the VVCC in 2022. In her free time Patricia enjoys crafting, gardening and drawing/painting.

Shirley (Haichang) Luo

Shirley earned her BS in Pharmacology from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, during which she spent two years in Sweden and Ann Arbor, Michigan, exploring the intriguing science and the lovely world. She joined Wickman lab in 2020, attracted by the beautifulness and the interestingness of the studying of neuroscience. Outside the lab, she enjoyed music, movies, and badminton. Her favorite drink is coffee, and she drinks only coffee.

Eric Mitten

Eric received his BS in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2019 and joined the Wickman lab in 2020. Eric is primarily interested in the neurobiological adaptations that underlie alcohol use disorder, with a particular focus on mechanisms of relapse. Outside of the lab, he enjoys listening to live music, cooking, playing video games, and exploring the Twin Cities one restaurant at a time!

Alex Welter

Alex earned his BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN in 2022. He is interested in understanding the neuropathology of addiction and mental illness to discover reliable therapeutics. In his free time, Alex enjoys live music, mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing, and traveling.

Jay (Jaeyoon) Kim

Jay earned his B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Chemical Biology from the University of California, Irvine, in 2023, and joined the Wickman lab in the same year. He is interested in the pathogenesis and potential therapeutics of neurodegenerative disorders. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching movies and sports.

John Brent

John earned his BS in Neuroscience from Knox College in June 2022, and joined the Wickman lab shortly after as a member of the MINDS post-baccalaureate research program. John is generally interested in neuropharmacology, with specific interests in neuroadaptations that lead to substance abuse disorders. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, listening to music, traveling, and spending time with friends/family.

McKinzie Frederick

McKinzie obtained her BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from Winona State University in spring of 2022 and joined the Wickman lab shortly after. Outside of the lab, she enjoys gardening, cooking and music.

Anna Souders

Anna earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021 and joined the Wickman Lab a year later in 2022. In her freetime, Anna enjoys hiking, video games, reading, and playing the violin.