Ana Clara Bobadilla

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Contact
abobadil@uwyo.edu • (307) 766-6128 • HS 498

Education

2008, BS in Biological Sciences, Pierre & Marie Curie University
2010, MS in Biological Sciences, Pierre & Marie Curie University
2014, Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Pierre & Marie Curie University

Bio

Ana Clara Bobadilla obtained her Ph.D. in neurosciences from the Pierre & Marie Curie University (now Sorbonne University) in Paris, France. Her thesis work focused on understanding the long-lasting neurobiological changes of noradrenergic and serotonergic systems induced by repeated exposure to drugs of abuse using the behavioral sensitization model in mice. She then completed her post-doctoral training at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC, Charleston, SC, USA), where she studied glutamatergic alterations driving drug seeking. In 2020, Dr. Bobadilla joined the University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY) as an Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy. She currently investigates the neurobiological mechanisms of relapse to drugs. Specifically, she characterizes the specific ensembles of neurons built through reward experience that drive reward-seeking behavior. By establishing whether or not addictive drugs highjack the circuitry/ensembles coding for biological rewards, these findings aim to advance fundamental understanding of goal-directed behaviors and the disorders altering them.

Dr. Bobadilla has a strong track record of funding initiated during her graduate work, financed by a fellowship from the French Ministry of Research, and later continued for part of her post-doctoral training with a fellowship from the Fyssen Foundation and a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Beyond research, her teaching experiences include three years of teaching assistantship during her graduate training. As a post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Bobadilla has mentored many undergraduate students and directed two independent studies. Lastly, her service to the scientific community includes journal manuscript review, participation to NSF study section and leading the MUSC post-doctoral association. She also actively advocates for biomedical research through the BRAD initiative created by Americans for Medical Progress, and campaigns for balanced gender representation in STEM through multiple advocacy groups.