Campus Connection

Alumna searches for novel treatments for PTSD

[caption id="attachment_6124" align="alignright" width="300"] Nicole Moore[/caption] Nicole Moore, ’04, calls it a privilege to serve her country on the front lines — of medical research. A commissioned officer in U.S. Army, Moore is a scientist at the largest U.S. Department of Defense biomedical research facility, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Scientific teams at the institute are dedicated to solving research questions to support soldier health and world health. Moore leads a team of seven searching for novel drug treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Current therapies available only work for up to 40 percent of people. Moore and her team are searching for new treatments to open more options. Undergraduate research experience at UWL set her on the path to pursue research professionally. She worked on two projects with UWL Professor Scott Cooper while earning her undergraduate degree in biology before continuing on to earn a doctorate in pharmacology from Duke University. Moore loved the hands-on nature of research, which complemented what she was learning in classes. In addition to learning the basic scientific lab practices, she gained intangible skills such as how to persevere through trial and error. “Honestly, that is what my job is,” she says. “When we get negative results, I’m able to say ‘that’s the way it goes sometimes’ — and pick up and keep going. That resilience has been a reoccurring theme in my scientific career.” Currently, only two drugs to treat PTSD have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Moore’s research team is currently examining five other options. One has preliminary data suggesting it might be a candidate to move forward to clinical trials, she says. Her research team is expanding as the Army puts forward a more robust effort to find new drugs. Two more scientists will join her team in spring. Moore initially reached out to her alma mater in her search for potential applicants, asking Cooper for recommendations. At the time she asked, most graduates in his lab had already secured jobs. She wants graduates who’ve had the UWL experience — a research background and curiosity about the world and how to solve problems in it, she says. That approach to life and learning was the foundation for her career today. “I can’t say enough about my experience at UWL,” she says. “The faculty support and research was a great launching pad for me.”