News:

February 2026

• Karla Mendez Vasquez along with BIO480 students Jacob Calle, Milo Duch, Mohammad Elawa, Jacob Lee, Wilmer Montero, Christa Piccorelli, Jo-Elle Rodriguez, and Sherry Zhumi co-authored a manuscript with Dr. Cordeira entitled “The Progressive Digging task: a naturalistic assay of effort-based food motivation in mice” which is now in review with the Journal of Neuroscience Methods. Congrats and good luck!

June 2025

• Dr. Cordeira published “Voluntary exercise alters high-fat food intake and meal structure across the light-dark cycle in mice” in Physiology & Behavior. Check it out here!

May 2025

• Alison O’Malley, Karla Mendez Vasquez, and Matheus Oliveira present “The effect of male vs. female researchers on stress behaviors in mice” at WRD 2025.

May 2024

• Dr. Cordeira presented “Voluntary Wheel Running Decreases Daytime Intake Of Very High-fat Diet In Mice By Improving Satiation” at the 2024 American College of Sports Medicine in Boston, MA. Students Andrew Minchala and Derek Gustafson were co-authors! Check out the abstract here.
• Andrew Minchala presented “The effect of exercise on neurotransmitters in the nucleus accumbens” at Western Research Day 2024!

September 2023

• Dr. Cordeira published “Daily replacement of very high-fat diet stabilizes food intake and improves mouse welfare by ensuring food quality” in PLOS ONE. Check it out here!