Elina Thomas, Ph.D.

Assistant professor of neuroscience

Phone:765-983-1556
Email:[email protected]
Pronouns:She/her/hers

Location: Landrum Bolling Center Room 301
801 National Road
Richmond, Indiana 47374

About me

I’m a behavioral neuroscientist with experience working with rodent, non-human primate and human populations. The majority of my work to date has been focused on examining how brain connectivity in early life impacts future behaviors and risk for psychopathology. To this end, I am interested in how regulatory processes can modify experiences of fear and stress. I am particularly interested in investigating the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions. In my free time I enjoy traveling, hiking, playing video games and attempting to learn more about my culture and family through my Indian cuisine attempts.

Why do you teach at Earlham?

I believe that Earlham is a college with faculty and staff who genuinely care about their students and actively support diversity. The small class sizes allow me to get to know students individually which helps me cater to their individual learning needs and interests. The diverse population at the college also provides unique perspectives that enrich discussions inside and outside the classroom.

Education

  • Post Doctoral Associate, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont
  • Ph.D. Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University
  • Masters in Physiology, North Carolina State University
  • Bachelors in Psychology, Minor in Biology, North Carolina State University

Research projects

The majority of my research uses functional MRI and resting state functional connectivity MRI data to examine associations between the brain and various behaviors that predict risk for poor health outcomes. Part of this work involves exploring ways to better characterize individuals at risk to help guide future diagnostic, therapeutic and genetic studies. The overarching goal of my work is to improve cognitive and emotional health across the lifespan.

Published works

A full list of publications can be found on my Google Scholar profile.