Faculty

In 2007, Brooks Pond became one of the inaugural faculty at the Gatton College of Pharmacy. Brooks received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Duke University, where she worked closely with Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom and George Augustine. After graduation, Brooks completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital under the mentorship of Richard Smeyne. Although her expertise is in the field of neuropharmacology, she enjoys teaching in many areas of physiology and pharmacology. Brooks also loves working with both graduate students and pharmacy students in the laboratory, where she seeks to better understand the consequences of psychostimulant use on the brain.

Education, Degree, & Post Graduate Training

B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2000) & Minor in Biology from Centre College, Danville, KY
          - Graduated Phi Beta Kappa
Ph.D. in Pharmacology & Certificate in Cell and Molecular Biology , Duke University, Durham, NC (2004)
Postdoctoral fellowship in Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN

Career highlights:

Phi Beta Kappa (2000- present)
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) predoctoral fellowship (2002-2004)
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Young Investigator Award (2006)
Graduate research highlighted on the cover of the Society for Neuroscience Annual Report (2007)
Faculty excellence in research award (2009)
Faculty excellence in service award (2013) Faculty excellence in teaching award (2015)
Outstanding Teacher of the Year awards (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013)
Faculty Hooder (2011, 2013, 2016)

Teaching specialty:

Physiology, Neuropharmacology

Classes taught:

Human Physiology, Non-Medicinal Drug Use, Integrated series courses: Neurology/Psychiatry, Men's and Women's Health, Nephrology, Critical Care and Toxicology

Research Interests:

Our laboratory is interested in the long-term effects of psychostimulants. Current projects include an investigation of the long-term effects of methylphenidate on neurogenesis within the hippocampus and an analysis of the neurochemical effects of the synthetic cathinone previously legally marketed as "bath salts". In addition, the laboratory is currently utilizing high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to characterize the pharmacokinetic profile of some of these compounds.

Selected Publications: 

J. Peters, R. Keasling, S. D. Brown, and B. B. Pond (2016) Quantification of synthetic cathinones in rat brain using  HILIC-ESI-MS/MS.  Journal of Analytical Toxicology, in press.

H. T. Peters, L. G. Strange, S. D. Brown, and B. B. Pond (2016) The pharmacokinetic profile of methylphenidate use in pregnancy: a study in mice.  Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 54:1-4.

J. Bentley, F. Snyder, S. D. Brown, R. W. Brown, and B. B. Pond (2015) Sex differences in the kinetic profiles of d- and l- methylphenidate in the brains of adult rats.  European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 19(13):2514-9.

S. A. Allen and B. B. Pond (2014) Chromatographic and electrophoretic strategies for the chiral separation and quantification of d- and l-threo methylphenidate in biological matrices. Biomedical Chromatography, 28: 1554-64.

C. C. Combs, E. L. Hankins, C. L. Copeland, S. D. Brown, and B.B. Pond (2013) Quantitative determination of d- and l- enantiomers of methylphenidate in brain tissue by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Biomedical Chromatography, 27: 1587–1589.

B.B. Pond, S. Sadasivan, A.K. Pani, C. Qu, Y. Jiao, and R. J. Smeyne. (2012) Methylphenidate exposure induces dopamine neuron loss and activation of microglia in the basal ganglia of mice. PLoS ONE. 7(3):e33693.

B. B. Pond, K. Berglund, T. Kuner, G. Feng, G. J. Augustine, and R. D. Schwartz-Bloom. (2006) The Chloride Transporter Na+-K+-Cl– Cotransporter Isoform-1 Contributes to Intracellular Chloride Increases after In Vitro Ischemia. Journal of Neuroscience. 26: 1396-1406.

Significant Regional, State, or National Service:

ETSU University Committee on Animal Care, ETSU Research Development Committee, GCOP Curriculum Revision Task Force, GCOP Academic Progression Committee, GCOP Admissions Committee

Organizational Involvement/Membership:

American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Personal motto or favorite quote:

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
John Wesley