Luana Carvalho, PhD

Assistant Professor, Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience

Education

•    Postdoctoral Fellow: Virgina Commonwealth University and University of Illinois Chicago
•    Ph.D in Genetic, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
•    MS in Genetic, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
•    B.A in Biology, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

Research Interests

Chronic alcohol exposure induces long-lasting neuronal adaptations, in part by altering gene expression. These changes can influence alcohol-drinking behavior and contribute to the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). During alcohol withdrawal, shifts in gene expression may promote negative emotional states such as anxiety and depression, making it harder for individuals to stop drinking. Emerging evidence across multiple species shows that chronic alcohol exposure also alters RNA splicing, generating alternatively spliced transcripts in specific brain regions. However, the molecular mechanisms linking alcohol exposure to changes in RNA splicing remain largely unknown. My lab focuses on uncovering how alcohol reshapes RNA splicing and gene expression, and how these changes contribute to alcohol-related behaviors. This research is organized into 3 modules:
1.    Role of PCBP1 in Alcohol Withdrawal: We study how the RNA-binding protein PCBP1 regulates alternative splicing in the hippocampus and contributes to anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, integrating behavioral assays with RNA immunoprecipitation and long-read sequencing in both rats and human postmortem brain.
2.    Cell Type–Specific Splicing: We examine how alcohol-induced splicing changes in oligodendrocytes affect myelination and neural communication, using single-cell sequencing, functional manipulation of isoforms, and histological analysis.
3.    Epigenetic–Splicing Crosstalk: We explore how alcohol-related chromatin modifications, such as H3K9/14ac, influence the recruitment of splicing regulators like PCBP1, combining epigenomic mapping with CRISPR-based epigenetic editing to test causality.

Publications/Research Listings

1.    Aguilar J, de Carvalho LM, Chen H, Condon R, Lasek AW, Pradhan AA. Histone deacetylase inhibitor decreases hyperalgesia in a mouse model of alcohol withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2024;48(3):478-487. PMID: 38378262.
2.    Carvalho L, Lasek AW. It is not just about transcription: involvement of brain RNA splicing in substance use disorders. J Neural Transm. 2024. PMID: 38396082.
3.    De Barros Oliveira R, Anselmi M, Marchette RCN, Roversi K, Fadanni GP, de Carvalho LM, Damasceno S, Heinrich IA, Leal RB, Cavalli J, Moreira-Júnior RE, Godard ALB, Izídio GS. Differential expression of alpha-synuclein in the hippocampus of SHR and SLA16 isogenic rat strains. Behav Brain Res. 2024; 461:114835. PMID: 38151185.
4.    Carvalho L, Chen H, Maienschein-Cline M, Glover E, Pandey S, Lasek A. Conserved role for PCBP1 in altered RNA splicing in the hippocampus after chronic alcohol exposure. Mol Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 37537282.
5.    Martins de Carvalho L, Chen H, Sutter M, Lasek AW. Sexually dimorphic role for insular perineuronal nets in aversion-resistant alcohol consumption. Front Psychiatry. 2023; 14:1122423. PMID: 36926460
6.    Jung J, McCartney DL, Wagner J, Rosoff DB, Schwandt M, Sun H, Wiers CE, de Carvalho LM, Volkow ND, Walker RM, Campbell AM, Porteous DJ, McIntosh AM, Marioni RE, Horvath S, Evans KL, Lohoff FW. Alcohol use disorder is associated with DNA methylation-based shortening of telomere length and regulated by TESPA1: implications for aging. Mol Psychiatry. 2022;27(9):3875-3884. PMID: 35705636.
7.    Moreira-Júnior RE, de Carvalho LM, Dos Reis DC, Cassali GD, Faria AMC, Maioli TU, Brunialti-Godard AL. Diet-induced obesity leads to alterations in behavior and gut microbiota composition in mice. J Nutr Biochem. 2021; 92:108622. PMID: 33705942.
8.    Oliveira PRS, de Matos LO, Araujo NM, Sant’Anna HP, da Silva E Silva DA, Damasceno AKA, Martins de Carvalho L, Horta BL, Lima-Costa MF, Barreto ML, Wiers CE, Volkow ND, Brunialti-Godard AL. LRRK2 gene variants associated with a higher risk for alcohol dependence in multiethnic populations. Front Psychiatry. 2021; 12:665257. PMID: 34135785.
9.    De Carvalho LM, Wiers CE, Sun H, Wang GJ, Volkow ND. Increased transcription of TSPO, HDAC2, and HDAC6 in the amygdala of males with alcohol use disorder. Brain Behav. 2021;11(2): e01961. PMID: 33216461.
10.    Martins de Carvalho L, Fonseca PAS, Paiva IM, Damasceno S, Pedersen ASB, da Silva E Silva DA, Wiers CE, Volkow ND, Brunialti-Godard AL. Identifying functionally relevant candidate genes for inflexible ethanol intake in mice and humans using a guilt-by-association approach. Brain Behav. 2020;10(12): e01879. PMID: 33094916.
11.    Paiva IM, de Carvalho LM, Di Chiaccio IM, Lima Assis I, Naranjo ES, Bernabé MG, Ferreira FNA, Cayuela ML, Murgas LDS, Brunialti-Godard AL. Inhibition of LRRK2 reduces ethanol preference in a model of acute exposure in zebrafish. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2020; 100:109885. PMID: 32032698.
12.    Wiers CE, Martins de Carvalho L, Hodgkinson CA, Schwandt ML, Kim SW, Wang GJ, Goldman D, Volkow ND. TSPO polymorphism in individuals with alcohol use disorder: association with cholesterol levels and withdrawal severity. Addict Biol. 2021;26(1): e12838. PMID: 31713961.
13.    Moreira-Júnior RE, de Carvalho LM, Pedersen ASB, Damasceno S, Maioli TU, de Faria AMC, Godard ALB. Interaction between high-fat diet and ethanol intake leads to changes on the fecal microbiome. J Nutr Biochem. 2019; 72:108215. PMID: 31473508.
14.    Martins de Carvalho L, Wiers CE, Manza P, Sun H, Schwandt M, Wang GJ, Grassi-Oliveira R, Godard ALB, Volkow ND. Effect of alcohol use disorder on cellular aging. Psychopharmacology. 2019;236(11):3245-3255. PMID: 31161452.
15.    de Almeida Magalhães T, Correia D, de Carvalho LM, Damasceno S, Brunialti-Godard AL. Maternal separation affects expression of stress response genes and increases vulnerability to ethanol consumption. Brain Behav. 2018;8(1): e00841. PMID: 29568676.

Book Chapters
1.    Carvalho L. Research methodologies for studying the neuroscience of psychoactive substance use. In: Reichert RA, Andrade ALM, De Micheli D, editors. Neuropsychology and Substance Use Disorders. Cham: Springer; 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82614-6_8
2.    de Carvalho LM. Neuroscience, epigenetics, and psychotropic substances. In: De Micheli D, Andrade ALM, Reichert RA, Silva EA, Pinheiro BO, Lopes FM, editors. Drugs and Human Behavior. Cham: Springer; 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62855-0_7
3.    Martins de Carvalho L, Chen WY, Lasek AW. Epigenetic mechanisms underlying stress-induced depression. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2021; 156:87-126. PMCID: PMC8018603.

Awards

•    NIH/ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Career Transition Award (K99/R00) (2023).
•    NIH/NIDA-NIAAA Early Career Showcase Award. NIDA-NIAAA Mini-Convention Frontiers in Addiction Research (2023).
•    The Postdoctoral Scholar Award for Outstanding Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University (2023).
•    IBANGS Young Investigator Travel Award, International Behavioral and Neural Genetics Society (2016).