Panayotis Thanos PhD
Panayotis Thanos
PhD
Professional Summary:
Research in my laboratory is focused upon distinct projects in the fields of Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging of Addiction and Substance Abuse. Our research is based on the notion that there are specific genetic and epigenetic vulnerabilities that significantly contribute to Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) of which addiction is a part of.
My lab utilizes molecular, behavioral, and imaging (Positron Emission Tomography, MRI, CT, Autoradiograpjy) methods in animal models as well as how these models contribute to clinical data as part of several ongoing clinical translational studies.
Education and Training:
- Fellowship, Neuroscience and Neuroimaging of Drug Addiction, SUNY Stony Brook University (2000)
- PhD, Biomedical Sciences / Neuroscience, Eastern Virginia Medical School / Old Dominion Unversity (1997)
- MA, Biological Psychology, American University (1993)
- BS, Psychology, Queen's University (1990)
Employment:
- Senior Research Scientist, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Psychology, Clinical Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo
Awards and Honors:
- Investigator Travel Award, RDS (2015)
- Investigator Travel Award, Imaging of Alcoholism. NIAAA (2006)
- US Department of Energy Science Mentor Award (2003)
- PSA Investigator Scholarship Award (1996)
- The Ralph D. Millard, M.D. Investigator Award. (1995)
- PSA Investigator Scholarship Award (1994)
- Massey Foundation Award
Research Expertise:
- Behavioral Neuropharmacology and Neuroimaging of Addiction: Dr. Thanos’ current research includes five major areas: (1) human and animal models to study the underlying genetic and neural mechanisms of increased vulnerability to alcohol abuse after bariatric surgery; (2) determining the chronic effects of methylphenidate on skeletal development and brain function, behavior (3) dissection of the role of Fatty Acid Binding Proteins on endocannabinoid signaling and function on addiction. (4) Role of exercise on molecular markers of addiction and interaction with genetics. (5) Biomarkers of prenatal exposure to nicotine and cannabis.
Grants and Sponsored Research:
- October 2018–September 2023
Prenatal Tobacco and Cannabis Exposure: A Translational Study
NIDA
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
$690,000 - March 2018–March 2020
Fatty Acid Binding Protein - Mediated Control of Endocannabinoid Signaling and Drug Addiction
NIDA
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
$250,000 - September 2018–August 2019
Gastric Bypass, Brain Activity
NY Research Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
$30,000 - February 2012–February 2019
Skeletal Effects of Methylphenidate
NICHD
Role: Co-Investigator
$440,000 - January 2016–January 2019
Increased Vulnerability to alcohol abuse after gastric bypass: Neural mechanisms
NIAAA
Role: Principal Investigator
$250,000 - June 2014–May 2018
Combined Cocaine and HIV Vaccine
NIDA
Role: Co-Investigator
$163,300 - July 2013–July 2015
The Dopamine Reward Circuit Activation Similarities between Food and Addiction
SUNYProvost
Role: Principal Investigator
$264,000
Journal Articles:
- Carias E, Fricke D, Vijayashanthar A, Smith L, Somanesan R, Martin C, Kalinowski L, Popoola D, Hadjiargyrou M, Komatsu DE, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Weekday-only chronic oral methylphenidate self-administration in male rats: Reversibility of the behavioral and physiological effects. Behav Brain Res. 2019; 356.
- Carias E, Hamilton J, Robison LS, Delis F, Eiden R, Quattrin T, Hadjiargyrou M, Komatsu D, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Chronic oral methylphenidate treatment increases microglial activation in rats. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2018; 125(12).
- Robison LS, Alessi L, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Chronic forced exercise inhibits stress-induced reinstatement of cocaine conditioned place preference. Behav Brain Res. 2018; 353.
- Blum K, Jacobs W, Modestino EJ, DiNubile N, Baron D, McLaughlin T, Siwicki D, Elman I, Moran M, Braverman ER, Thanos PK, Badgaiyan RD, Thanos P. Insurance Companies Fighting the Peer Review Empire without any Validity: the Case for Addiction and Pain Modalities in the face of an American Drug Epidemic. SEJ Surg Pain. 2018; 1(1).
- Martin C, Fricke D, Vijayashanthar A, Lowinger C, Koutsomitis D, Popoola D, Hadjiargyrou M, Komatsu DE, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Recovery from behavior and developmental effects of chronic oral methylphenidate following an abstinence period. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2018; 172.
- Robison LS, Swenson S, Hamilton J, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Exercise Reduces Dopamine D1R and Increases D2R in Rats: Implications for Addiction. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018; 50(8).
- Blum K, Modestino EJ, Badgaiyan RD, Baron D, Thanos PK, Elman I, Siwicki D, Febo M, Gold MS, Thanos P. Analysis of Evidence for the Combination of Pro-dopamine Regulator (KB220PAM) and Naltrexone to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder Relapse. EC Psychol Psychiatr. 2018; 7(8).
- Hamilton J, Swenson S, Hajnal A, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery normalizes dopamine D1, D2, and DAT levels. Synapse. 2018.
- Michaelides M, Miller ML, Egervari G, Primeaux SD, Gomez JL, Ellis RJ, Landry JA, Szutorisz H, Hoffman AF, Lupica CR, Loos RJF, Thanos PK, Bray GA, Neumaier JF, Zachariou V, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Hurd YL, Thanos P. Striatal Rgs4 regulates feeding and susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. Mol Psychiatry. 2018.
- Blum K, Thanos PK, Wang GJ, Febo M, Demetrovics Z, Modestino EJ, Braverman ER, Baron D, Badgaiyan RD, Gold MS, Thanos P. The Food and Drug Addiction Epidemic: Targeting Dopamine Homeostasis. Curr Pharm Des. 2018; 23(39).
- Thanos PK, Zhuo J, Robison L, Kim R, Ananth M, Choai I, Grunseich A, Grissom NM, George R, Delis F, Reyes TM, Thanos P. Suboptimal maternal diets alter mu opioid receptor and dopamine type 1 receptor binding but exert no effect on dopamine transporters in the offspring brain. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2018; 64.
- Blum K, Modestino EJ, Gondre-Lewis M, Chapman EJ, Neary J, Siwicki D, Baron D, Hauser M, Smith DE, Roy AK, Thanos PK, Steinberg B, McLaughlin T, Fried L, Barh D, Dunston GA, Badgaiyan RD, Thanos P. The Benefits of Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARSâ„¢) Testing in Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Int J Genom Data Min. 2018; 2018(1).
- Uddin SMZ, Robison LS, Fricke D, Chernoff E, Hadjiargyrou M, Thanos PK, Komatsu DE, Thanos P. Methylphenidate regulation of osteoclasts in a dose- and sex-dependent manner adversely affects skeletal mechanical integrity. Sci Rep. 2018; 8(1).
- Blum K, Chen ALC, Thanos PK, Febo M, Demetrovics Z, Dushaj K, Kovoor A, Baron D, Smith DE, Roy AK, Fried L, Chen TJH, Chapman E, Modestino EJ, Steinberg B, Badgaiyan RD, Thanos P. Genetic addiction risk score (GARS) â„¢, a predictor of vulnerability to opioid dependence. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2018; 10.
- McLaughlin T, Blum K, Steinberg B, Siwicki D, Campione J, Badgaiyan RD, Braverman ER, Modestino EJ, Gondré-Lewis MC, Baron D, Mash DC, Giordano J, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Hypothesizing Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs Mass Shooters Suffer from Reward Deficiency Syndrome: "Born Bad". J Reward Defic Syndr Addict Sci. 2017; 3(2).
- Robison LS, Ananth M, Hadjiargyrou M, Komatsu DE, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Chronic oral methylphenidate treatment reversibly increases striatal dopamine transporter and dopamine type 1 receptor binding in rats. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2017; 124(5).
- Febo M, Blum K, Badgaiyan RD, Perez PD, Colon-Perez LM, Thanos PK, Ferris CF, Kulkarni P, Giordano J, Baron D, Gold MS, Thanos P. Enhanced functional connectivity and volume between cognitive and reward centers of naïve rodent brain produced by pro-dopaminergic agent KB220Z. PLoS One. 2017; 12(4).
- Robison LS, Michaelos M, Gandhi J, Fricke D, Miao E, Lam CY, Mauceri A, Vitale M, Lee J, Paeng S, Komatsu DE, Hadjiargyrou M, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Sex Differences in the Physiological and Behavioral Effects of Chronic Oral Methylphenidate Treatment in Rats. Front Behav Neurosci. 2017; 11.
- Thanos PK, Kim R, Delis F, Rocco MJ, Cho J, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Effects of chronic methamphetamine on psychomotor and cognitive functions and dopamine signaling in the brain. Behav Brain Res. 2017; 320.
- Febo M, Blum K, Badgaiyan RD, Baron D, Thanos PK, Colon-Perez LM, Demortrovics Z, Gold MS, Thanos P. Dopamine homeostasis: brain functional connectivity in reward deficiency syndrome. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2017; 22.
- Thanos PK, Restif C, O'Rourke JR, Lam CY, Metaxas D, Thanos P. Mouse Social Interaction Test (MoST): a quantitative computer automated analysis of behavior. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2017; 124(1).
- Blum K, Gold M, Demetrovics Z, Archer T, Thanos PK, Baron D, Badgaiyan RD, Thanos P. Substance use disorder a bio-directional subset of reward deficiency syndrome. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2017; 22.
- Blum K, Badgaiyan RD, Braverman ER, Dushaj K, Li M, Thanos PK, Demetrovics Z, Febo M, Thanos P. Hypothesizing that, A Pro-Dopamine Regulator (KB220Z) Should Optimize, but Not Hyper-Activate the Activity of Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR-1) and Induce Anti-Craving of Psychostimulants in the Long-Term. J Reward Defic Syndr Addict Sci. 2016; 2(1).
- Thanos PK, Kim R, Delis F, Ananth M, Chachati G, Rocco MJ, Masad I, Muniz JA, Grant SC, Gold MS, Cadet JL, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Chronic Methamphetamine Effects on Brain Structure and Function in Rats. PLoS One. 2016; 11(6).
- Thanos PK, Hamilton J, O'Rourke JR, Napoli A, Febo M, Volkow ND, Blum K, Gold M, Thanos P. Dopamine D2 gene expression interacts with environmental enrichment to impact lifespan and behavior. Oncotarget. 2016; 7(15).
- Thanos PK, Malave L, Delis F, Mangine P, Kane K, Grunseich A, Vitale M, Greengard P, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Knockout of p11 attenuates the acquisition and reinstatement of cocaine conditioned place preference in male but not in female mice. Synapse. 2016; 70(7).
- Roux A, Jackson SN, Muller L, Barbacci D, O'Rourke J, Thanos PK, Volkow ND, Balaban C, Schultz JA, Woods AS, Thanos P. Ethanol Induced Brain Lipid Changes in Mice Assessed by Mass Spectrometry. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2016; 7(8).
- Blum K, Febo M, Thanos PK, Baron D, Fratantonio J, Gold M, Thanos P. Clinically Combating Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) with Dopamine Agonist Therapy as a Paradigm Shift: Dopamine for Dinner? Mol Neurobiol. 2015; 52(3).
- Kaczocha M, Glaser ST, Maher T, Clavin B, Hamilton J, O'Rourke J, Rebecchi M, Puopolo M, Owada Y, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Fatty acid binding protein deletion suppresses inflammatory pain through endocannabinoid/N-acylethanolamine-dependent mechanisms. Mol Pain. 2015; 11.
- Blum K, Thanos PK, Badgaiyan RD, Febo M, Oscar-Berman M, Fratantonio J, Demotrovics Z, Gold MS, Thanos P. Neurogenetics and gene therapy for reward deficiency syndrome: are we going to the Promised Land? Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2015; 15(7).
- Thanos PK, Roushdy K, Sarwar Z, Rice O, Ashby CR, Grandy DK, Thanos P. The effect of dopamine D4 receptor density on novelty seeking, activity, social interaction, and alcohol binge drinking in adult mice. Synapse. 2015; 69(7).
- Thanos PK, Michaelides M, Subrize M, Miller ML, Bellezza R, Cooney RN, Leggio L, Wang GJ, Rogers AM, Volkow ND, Hajnal A, Thanos P. Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Alters Brain Activity in Regions that Underlie Reward and Taste Perception. PLoS One. 2015; 10(6).
- Delis F, Rombola C, Bellezza R, Rosko L, Grandy DK, Volkow ND, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Regulation of ethanol intake under chronic mild stress: roles of dopamine receptors and transporters. Front Behav Neurosci. 2015; 9.
- Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Logan J, Alexoff D, Fowler JS, Thanos PK, Wong C, Casado V, Ferre S, Tomasi D, Thanos P. Caffeine increases striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in the human brain. Transl Psychiatry. 2015; 5.
- Thanos PK, Robison LS, Steier J, Hwang YF, Cooper T, Swanson JM, Komatsu DE, Hadjiargyrou M, Volkow ND, Thanos P. A pharmacokinetic model of oral methylphenidate in the rat and effects on behavior. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2015; 131.
- Roux A, Muller L, Jackson SN, Baldwin K, Womack V, Pagiazitis JG, O'Rourke JR, Thanos PK, Balaban C, Schultz JA, Volkow ND, Woods AS, Thanos P. Chronic ethanol consumption profoundly alters regional brain ceramide and sphingomyelin content in rodents. ACS Chem Neurosci. 2015; 6(2).
- Blum K, Thanos PK, Oscar-Berman M, Febo M, Baron D, Badgaiyan RD, Gardner E, Demetrovics Z, Fahlke C, Haberstick BC, Dushaj K, Gold MS, Thanos P. Dopamine in the Brain: Hypothesizing Surfeit or Deficit Links to Reward and Addiction. J Reward Defic Syndr. 2015; 1(3).
- Blum K, Thanos PK, Gold MS, Thanos P. Dopamine and glucose, obesity, and reward deficiency syndrome. Front Psychol. 2014; 5.
- Thanos P, Delis F, Rosko L, Volkow ND. Passive Response to Stress in Adolescent Female and Adult Male Mice after Intermittent Nicotine Exposure in Adolescence. J Addict Res Ther. 2013; Suppl.
- Thanos PK, Robison LS, Robinson JK, Michaelides M, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Obese rats with deficient leptin signaling exhibit heightened sensitivity to olfactory food cues. Synapse. 2013; 67(4).
- Delis F, Thanos PK, Rombola C, Rosko L, Grandy D, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Chronic mild stress increases alcohol intake in mice with low dopamine D2 receptor levels. Behav Neurosci. 2013; 127(1).
- Thanos PK, Stamos J, Robison LS, Heyman G, Tucci A, Wang GJ, Robinson JK, Anderson BJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Daily treadmill exercise attenuates cocaine cue-induced reinstatement and cocaine induced locomotor response but increases cocaine-primed reinstatement. Behav Brain Res. 2013; 239.
- Thanos PK, Subrize M, Delis F, Cooney RN, Culnan D, Sun M, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Hajnal A, Thanos P. Gastric bypass increases ethanol and water consumption in diet-induced obese rats. Obes Surg. 2012; 22(12).
- Alzghoul L, Bortolato M, Delis F, Thanos PK, Darling RD, Godar SC, Zhang J, Grant S, Wang GJ, Simpson KL, Chen K, Volkow ND, Lin RC, Shih JC, Thanos P. Altered cerebellar organization and function in monoamine oxidase A hypomorphic mice. Neuropharmacology. 2012; 63(7).
- Hajnal A, Zharikov A, Polston JE, Fields MR, Tomasko J, Rogers AM, Volkow ND, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Alcohol reward is increased after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in dietary obese rats with differential effects following ghrelin antagonism. PLoS One. 2012; 7(11).
- Wang GJ, Smith L, Volkow ND, Telang F, Logan J, Tomasi D, Wong CT, Hoffman W, Jayne M, Alia-Klein N, Thanos P, Fowler JS. Decreased dopamine activity predicts relapse in methamphetamine abusers. Mol Psychiatry. 2012; 17(9).
- Michaelides M, Thanos PK, Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Thanos P. Dopamine-related frontostriatal abnormalities in obesity and binge-eating disorder: emerging evidence for developmental psychopathology. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2012; 24(3).
- Komatsu DE, Thanos PK, Mary MN, Janda HA, John CM, Robison L, Ananth M, Swanson JM, Volkow ND, Hadjiargyrou M, Thanos P. Chronic exposure to methylphenidate impairs appendicular bone quality in young rats. Bone. 2012; 50(6).
- Vakalopoulos I, Thanos P, Gkotsos G, Radopoulos D. Are vascular disorders a common cause of erectile dysfunction in non hypogonadal, non neuropsychiatric patients? Hippokratia. 2011; 15(3).
- Zhang S, Huang J, Uzunbas M, Shen T, Delis F, Huang X, Volkow N, Thanos P, Metaxas DN. 3D segmentation of rodent brain structures using hierarchical shape priors and deformable models. Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv. 2011; 14(Pt 3).
- Thanos PK, Tucci A, Stamos J, Robison L, Wang GJ, Anderson BJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Chronic forced exercise during adolescence decreases cocaine conditioned place preference in Lewis rats. Behav Brain Res. 2010; 215(1).
- Thanos PK, Kim R, Cho J, Michaelides M, Anderson BJ, Primeaux SD, Bray GA, Wang GJ, Robinson JK, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Obesity-resistant S5B rats showed greater cocaine conditioned place preference than the obesity-prone OM rats. Physiol Behav. 2010; 101(5).
- Michaelides M, Pascau J, Gispert JD, Delis F, Grandy DK, Wang GJ, Desco M, Rubinstein M, Volkow ND, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Dopamine D4 receptors modulate brain metabolic activity in the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum at rest and in response to methylphenidate. Eur J Neurosci. 2010; 32(4).
- Pfaffly J, Michaelides M, Wang GJ, Pessin JE, Volkow ND, Thanos PK, Thanos P. Leptin increases striatal dopamine D2 receptor binding in leptin-deficient obese (ob/ob) mice. Synapse. 2010; 64(7).
- Thanos PK, Bermeo C, Rubinstein M, Suchland KL, Wang GJ, Grandy DK, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Conditioned place preference and locomotor activity in response to methylphenidate, amphetamine and cocaine in mice lacking dopamine D4 receptors. J Psychopharmacol. 2010; 24(6).
- Thanos PK, Habibi R, Michaelides M, Patel UB, Suchland K, Anderson BJ, Robinson JK, Wang GJ, Grandy DK, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) deletion in mice does not affect operant responding for food or cocaine. Behav Brain Res. 2010; 207(2).
- Thanos PK, Ivanov I, Robinson JK, Michaelides M, Wang GJ, Swanson JM, Newcorn JH, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Dissociation between spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats in baseline performance and methylphenidate response on measures of attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity in a Visual Stimulus Position Discrimination Task. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2010; 94(3).
- Thanos PK, Bermeo C, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. D-cycloserine accelerates the extinction of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in C57bL/c mice. Behav Brain Res. 2009; 199(2).
- Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos PK, Fowler JS, Thanos P. Imaging of brain dopamine pathways: implications for understanding obesity. J Addict Med. 2009; 3(1).
- Thanos PK, Michaelides M, Ho CW, Wang GJ, Newman AH, Heidbreder CA, Ashby CR, Gardner EL, Volkow ND, Thanos P. The effects of two highly selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonists (SB-277011A and NGB-2904) on food self-administration in a rodent model of obesity. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2008; 89(4).
- Thanos PK, Michaelides M, Benveniste H, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. The effects of cocaine on regional brain glucose metabolism is attenuated in dopamine transporter knockout mice. Synapse. 2008; 62(5).
- Wang GJ, Tomasi D, Backus W, Wang R, Telang F, Geliebter A, Korner J, Bauman A, Fowler JS, Thanos PK, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Gastric distention activates satiety circuitry in the human brain. Neuroimage. 2008; 39(4).
- Thanos PK, Michaelides M, Benveniste H, Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Effects of chronic oral methylphenidate on cocaine self-administration and striatal dopamine D2 receptors in rodents. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2007; 87(4).
- RodrÃguez-Gómez JA, Lu JQ, Velasco I, Rivera S, Zoghbi SS, Liow JS, Musachio JL, Chin FT, Toyama H, Seidel J, Green MV, Thanos PK, Ichise M, Pike VW, Innis RB, McKay RD, Thanos P. Persistent dopamine functions of neurons derived from embryonic stem cells in a rodent model of Parkinson disease. Stem Cells. 2007; 25(4).
- Rice O, Saintvictor S, Michaelides M, Thanos P, Gatley SJ. MicroPET investigation of chronic long-term neurotoxicity from heavy ion irradiation. AAPS J. 2006; 8(3).
- Alexoff DL, Vaska P, Marsteller D, Gerasimov T, Li J, Logan J, Fowler JS, Taintor NB, Thanos PK, Volkow ND, Thanos P. Reproducibility of 11C-raclopride binding in the rat brain measured with the microPET R4: effects of scatter correction and tracer specific activity. J Nucl Med. 2003; 44(5).
- Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Thanos PP, Logan J, Gatley SJ, Gifford A, Ding YS, Wong C, Pappas N, Thanos P. Brain DA D2 receptors predict reinforcing effects of stimulants in humans: replication study. Synapse. 2002; 46(2).
- Thanos PK, Okajima S, Tiangco DA, Terzis JK, Thanos P. Insulin-like growth factor-I promotes nerve regeneration through a nerve graft in an experimental model of facial paralysis. Restor Neurol Neurosci. 1999; 15(1).
Service Activities:
- Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Admissions; Member (2018)
- Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Curriculum; Coordinator (2017)