Anne M. Andrews

Dr. Anne M. Andrews grew up in Pittsburgh and became interested in the sciences, especially chemistry, in middle school. She attended The Pennsylvania State University and graduated with a B.S. in Science in August 1985. The following year, Dr. Andrews attended the George Washington University, Sino-Soviet Institute for graduate courses in Russian Area Studies. When she realized how much she missed studying the sciences, she transferred to The American University in 1987 and received her Ph.D. in Chemistry in May 1993. Dr. Andrews' thesis was titled, “The Neurotoxic Effects of 1-Methyl-4-(2'-aminophenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (2'-NH2-MPTP) on Brain Serotonin & Norepinephrine in Mice”. From 1990-1993, Dr. Andrews was a U.S. Department of Education Fellow and from 1989-1993, she also held an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship in the Section on Clinical Neuropharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Science at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Andrews continued at NIMH for a Postdoctoral Fellowship from 1993-1997. In June of 1998, Dr. Andrews joined the faculty at the Pennsylvania State University in the Department of Chemistry and in 2005, she moved to the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and where she is currently Associate Professor of Molecular Toxicology. She is also affiliated with the Penn State Neuroscience Institute and the Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences Molecular Toxicology Program.    

          Her professional experience includes working as an intern in the Toxicology and Forensic Pathology Departments at the Pittsburgh Coroner's Office in 1984 and working as an analytical chemist at Hazleton Laboratories in Vienna, VA from 1986-1988. Dr. Andrews was also a Senior Staff Fellow, Section on Clinical Neuropharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD in 1998.

         Dr. Andrews' research is focused on the neurochemistry of the brain serotonin system. Her research group is trying to understand the role of serotonin and its interactions with other neurotransmitter systems in the modulation of complex behavior. Hopefully through their research, more information will be gained about the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's diseases. Dr. Andrews and her research group study genetically engineered mice and selective neurotoxicologic agents as models of normative, disease and regenerative processes.

        Dr. Andrews' research group consists of students from a variety of backgrounds, including Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Physics and Bioengineering. If you are interested in becoming a part of Dr. Andrews' research group, she is interested in undergraduates who are willing to commit to working in her group for several years, including summers, and in prospective graduate students who have a strong interest in the physical sciences, neuroscience and the final frontier: The Magnificent Human Brain!