Sombers Lab

10/09/2026

BOOM!! Our undergraduate researcher, Colin Hafdahl, presented his research investigating the effects of developmental exposure to flame retandant on dopamine signaling and social behavior later in life, in adult voles. He presented at the UF Chem Undergrad Research Symposium last night. It was his first-ever presentation, and he won FIRST PLACE! That's how it's done, young Colin! 💪💪

Congrats to the whole team, and to our collaborators - John Meitzen (NCSU) and Heather Patisaul ( NIEHS) - this is truly a group effort!

09/11/2026

Sombers Lab in Amsterdam for Monitoring Molecules in Neuroscience 2026 - Amazing!

08/19/2026

The student chapter of the American Chemical Society at UWY organized their first ever summer research retreat. They invited me to talk, and I was so impressed! The UWY chem students ran the entire thing with minimal input from faculty, and these Cowboys and Cowgirls did a GREAT job!!!

07/29/2026

Huge shoutout to superstar Catie Mason! She was a Sombers Lab undergrad, back in the NCSU days, working with Leslie Aksu on understanding the role of H2O2 in modulating striatal function and movement. But today, she is DR. CATIE MASON! She put in the work and just finished her PhD at Emory and we are all SO PROUD of her !!! Her topic - EFFECTS OF AGING AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT ON CORTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO STANDING BALANCE CONTROL - This is super important! The elderly are so prone to falls.....

I have the BEST TEAM!!! Can't wait to see what's next for this young scientist! Go Dr. Catie!!!! You are AMAZING! Keep making the world a better place!!!

07/28/2026

We are proud of Kalynn Turner!

Kayla Smith and Kalynn Turner were recognized for their pharmaceutical science research.

07/02/2026

Kalynn Turner has won a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education - it's a national award - she is killing it! 💪💪💪 Young Kalynn sets a standard of excellence that reflects the very best, and I am so proud to be her mentor!

06/25/2026

BOOM.

05/22/2026

Heck yassssss!!!! We got another journal cover!!! Beautiful work by Jenna Berger Martyr and Dylan Denison deserves the spotlight!!! 💪💪💪

ACS Chemical Neuroscience selected artwork from Dr. Leslie Sombers’ latest publication to appear on the journal’s cover in May 2026.

05/11/2026

Hot new paper out!!! 🔥 This one describes the latest in our relentless quest to monitor and understand the enkephalins.....

This study was led by Jenna Berger Martyr and Dylan Denison working in collaboration with the lab at Illinois. It combines electrochemical monitoring of exocytosis with mass spectrometry to characterize the temporal complexity and chemical diversity of peptide participants in opioid signaling. Go team!!! 💪💪💪

Despite longstanding recognition that the adrenal medulla is a major source of both catecholamines and opioid peptides, direct measurements of opioid peptide release kinetics─and characterization of the full complexity of the peptidergic forms released─remain under studied. Here, this gap is add...

05/06/2026

In loving memory of my long-time mentor and dear friend, Howard Fields, MD PHD, Professor of Neurology and Physiology at UCSF, who passed away on May 1. Howard was a pioneer in the pain research field, who discovered and characterized the inhibitory and excitatory descending brainstem mechanisms that regulate pain. His work revolutionized our understanding of endogenous opioid peptide contributions to pain processing. Howard was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Science, and he was a GREAT person whose joy and curiosity inspired many. He is deeply missed – 💔💔💔