• PhD, University at Buffalo, SUNY

I teach several freshman seminars related to topics surrounding psychology and neuroscience. The topics, such as the neuroscience of zombies or psychological disorder representation in music, are linked with the development of essential skills for first year students such as time management, note-taking, studying, and how to prepare for the future. Additionally, I occasionally teach courses related to introductory behavioral neuroscience topics like Biopsychology and Sensory Processes and Perception and upper-division courses in Health Psychology and Industrial-Organizational Psychology. 

My research interests surround taste and feeding behaviors. I am interested in factors such as diet exposure (e.g., high-fat and/or high-sugar diet), sex and hormones, exercise, and environmental factors (e.g., auditory and visual cues) that have the potential to alter taste perception, food selection, and feeding microstructures (e.g., meal size and number of meals).

• Ascencio Gutierrez, V., Martin, L. E., Simental-Ramos, A., James, K. F., Medler, K. F., Schier, L. A., & Torregrossa, A-M. (2024). TRPM4 and PLCβ3 contribute to normal behavioral responses to an array of sweeteners and carbohydrates but PLCβ3 is not needed for taste-driven licking for glucose. Chemical Senses 49 (4), 1-15. 
• Jewett, D. C., Liyanagamage, D. S. N. K., Vanden Avond, M. A., Anderson, M. A. B., Twaroski, K. A., Marek, M. A., James, K. F., Pal, T., Klockars, A., Olszewski, P. K., & Levine, A. S. (2022). Chronic intermittent sucrose consumption facilitates the ability to discriminate opioid receptor blockade with naltrexone in rats. Nutrients 14(5), 926.
• Kay, K. E., Martin, L. E., James, K. F., Haygood, S. M., & Torregrossa, A-M. (2020) Temperature is sufficient to create a flavor preference for a cold-paired solution in rats. Chemical Senses 45 (7), 563-572.
• Martin, L. E., Kay, K. E., James, K. F., & Torregrossa, A-M. (2020). Altering salivary protein profile can decrease aversive oromotor responding to quinine in rats. Physiology & Behavior 223, 113005.
• Watson, M. R., James, K., Mittleman, G., & Matthews, D. B. (2020). Impact of acute ethanol exposure on body temperatures in aged, adult, and adolescent male rats. Alcohol 82, 81-89.
• Matthew, D. B., Watson, M. R., James, K., Kastner, A., Schneider, A., & Mittleman, G. (2019). The impact of low to moderate chronic intermittent alcohol exposure on behavioral endpoints in aged, adult, and adolescent rats. Alcohol 78, 33-42.
• Marek, M., Moline, A., Altendorf, L., Vogelsang, J., Cyra, M., James, K., Herrmann, J., Levine, A., & Jewett, D. (2017). Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Naltrexone and Haloperidol in Rats with Chronic, Intermittent Access to Sucrose. The FASEB Journal, 31(S1).