Nirupa Goel

Dr. Nirupa Goel is a post-doctoral researcher in Victor Viau’s lab at the University of British Columbia. She is funded by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research post-doctoral fellowship. She earned a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and a BSc in biology from Duke University with a minor in women’s studies.

Her scientific interests involve discovering neurological markers of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. Goel’s research investigates how the brain responds to stress and the potential mechanisms that lead women to be more susceptible to stress-related disorders than men. Specifically, Goel is investigating the role of the serotonin 1A receptor in the response to single and repeated episodes of stress in males and females.

Recent Publications

Goel N, Plyler KS, Daniels D, Bale TL. Androgenic influence on serotonergic activation of the HPA stress axis. Endocrinology. 2011 May;152(5):2001-10. doi: 10.1210/en.2010-0964. Epub 2011 Mar 8. (PubMed abstract)

Goel N, Bale TL. Sex differences in the serotonergic influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis. Endocrinology. 2010 Apr;151(4):1784-94. doi: 10.1210/en.2009-1180. Epub 2010 Feb 25. (PubMed abstract)

Goel N, Bale TL. Examining the intersection of sex and stress in modelling neuropsychiatric disorders. J Neuroendocrinol. 2009 Mar;21(4):415-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2009.01843.x. (PubMed abstract)

Weiser MJ, Goel N, Sandau US, Bale TL, Handa RJ. Androgen regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor 2 (CRHR2) mRNA expression and receptor binding in the rat brain. Exp Neurol. 2008 Nov;214(1):62-8. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2008.07.013. Epub 2008 Jul 26. (PubMed abstract)

Goel N, Bale TL. Organizational and activational effects of testosterone on masculinization of female physiological and behavioral stress responses. Endocrinology. 2008 Dec;149(12):6399-405. doi: 10.1210/en.2008-0433. Epub 2008 Aug 7. (PubMed abstract)