Laura C. McAuliffe

Graduate Research Assistant

Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience: Synaptic plasticity, glutamatergic systems, molecular neuropharmacology, in vitro electrophysiology

Laura McAuliffe is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience program. She works in the lab of Dr. Theodore Dumas to study the effects of the NMDA receptor on learning and memory. She is currently researching the roles of individual GluN2 subunit domains on the induction of synaptic long-term depression through in vitro electrophysiology.

Laura graduated with honors from Christopher Newport University in 2021. While at the institution, her research consisted of studies in autism spectrum disorder, executive functioning and cognitive flexibility, dyslexia, and educational psychology. She also worked for the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology to assist in type 1 diabetes clinical trials.

Courses Taught

PSYC100: Introduction to Psychology
PSYC304: Principles of Learning Laboratory
PSYC317: Cognitive Psychology
PSYC372: Biopsychology
PSYC373: Biopsychology Laboratory
PSYC376: Brain and Behavior

Education

George Mason University, Ph.D. in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience (2022-current)
Christopher Newport University, B.S. in Psychology (2018-2021)

Recent Presentations

McAuliffe, L. C., Saed, T. A., Wright, E. B., Dumas, T. C. (2025, November). Developmental induction of synaptic long-term depression in the hippocampus: Using chimeric GluN2 subunits to establish domain-specific contingencies of pathological plasticity. Poster presented at the Annual Society for Neuroscience Conference, San Diego, CA (upcoming).

Dunn, B., Veneziano, R., Azizi, M., McAuliffe, L. C., Cressman, J. R., Chitnis, P. V. (2025, April). DNA-based nanoprobes for fluorescence K+ sensing in neural systems. Poster presented at the Mason Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference, Fairfax, VA.

Wild, G. A., McAuliffe, L. C., Keith, R. E., Escobar, J. I., Dumas, T. C. (2023, November). Alterations in excitatory synaptic content of PSD-95 in the hippocampus of transgenic mice expressing chimeric NMDA receptor GluN2 subunits indicate a link to GluN2A ionotropic signaling. Poster presented at the Annual Society for Neuroscience Conference, Washington, DC.

McAuliffe, L. C., & Cartwright, K. B. (2021, April). Executive function and word reading difficulties in university students. Poster presented at the 19th annual Paideia Conference for Student Research, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA.

McAuliffe, L. C., & Pressley, T. (2021, April). Teacher efficacy in dealing with students with autism experiencing stress in the classroom. Poster presented at the 19th annual Paideia Conference for Student Research, Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA.