About Dr. Bredemann

Dr. Teruko Bredemann is a Research Associate in the dept. of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology (CDIB) and an Adjunct Professor in the dept. of Psychology. She has been a Capstone PY 490 course master for 3 years.

Teruko Bredemann completed her undergraduate degree at UNC Charlotte in Psychology and graduated Summa Cum Laude in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience. She completed her Ph.D. at UAB Birmingham in Behavioral Neuroscience in the dept. of Psychology. During graduate school, she was awarded a 3yr Minority Fellowship and her work was supported by a Nationial Association of Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) 2 yr award. In 2011, Teruko won a prestigous travel award from the American College of Neuropharmacology (ACNP) to present her work at their 50th Annual Conference in Hawaii.

Currently Dr. Bredemann works in the laboratory of Dr. Lori McMahon in Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology as a research associate where her expertise includes rodent survival surgery, behavioral assays, electrophysiology and brain histology. She has also been teaching in the dept. of Psychology since 2010.

Teaching Experience:

2012-16     Course master, Psychology Capstone 490, UAB Birmingham, AL

2014          Course master, Physiological Psych, Samford University, Birmingham Alabama

2011-13     Course master, Biological Psychology 253, UAB Birmingham, AL

2011-12     Course master, Abnormal Psychology 218, UAB Birmingham, AL

2010          Lecturer/teachers aid, Abnormal Psychology 218, UAB Birmingham, AL

2010          Mentor, Lab Instructor, Undergraduate Neuroscience, UAB Birmingham, AL

2009          Guest lecturer, Abnormal Psychology, UAB Birmingham, AL

2008          Teachers Aid, Psychology 101, UAB Birmingham, AL

2008          Instructor, Association for Chemoreception Sciences, Educational Outreach, Sarasota, FL

2008          Instructor, ESL, Briarwood Presbyterian: Japanese services, Birmingham, AL

2007          Mentor, Science and Technology Honors program, UAB Birmingham

2006          Teachers Aid /Lab Instructor, Neurobiology Course, Daulphin Island Sea lab, Mobile, AL

2005          Instructor, Biology Supplemental instruction, UNC Charlotte, NC

2002-03     Instructor, Positive coping/parenting, Pathways Substance Abuse Rehabilitation, Gastonia, NC

2001-03     Math and Science Instructor, Gaston Literacy Counsel, Gastonia, NC

1999-01     Instructor, Didactics program, Children’s Comprehensive Services, Birmingham, AL 

UAB Psychology Courses

Research Interest:

   Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a mental illness that disproportionately affects women twice as much as men. It has been shown that women are more susceptible to depression when ovarian hormones are absent or fluctuating as in postpartum depression, or menopause.  My work focuses on the role of ovarian estrogen loss in the development of MDD using the Learned Helplessness (LH) model of depression like behavior in rats.

     Helpless behavior could be indicative of detrimental changes in synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, a brain region required for normal learning and memory.  The long-term goal of these studies is to gain new information regarding how MDD impacts synapses in the absence of estrogen and to inform the use of hormone replacement therapy as a treatment option for women with MDD. 

Publications:

1.    Smith CC, Smith LA, Bredemann TM, McMahon LL. 17β Estradiol recruits GluN2B-containing NMDARs and ERK during induction of long-term potentiation at temporoammonic-CA1 synpases. Hippocampus. 2015 Jul 18. doi 10.1002/hipo.22495.

2.    Bredemann TM, McMahon LL. 17β Estradiol increases resilience and improves hippocampal synaptic function in helpless ovariectomized rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014 Apr;42:77-88. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.01.004. Epub 2014 Jan 17

3.    Vedder LC, Bredemann TM, McMahon LL. Estradiol replacement extends the window of opportunity for hippocampal function. Neurobiol Aging. 2014 Apr 12. pii: S0197-4580(14)00294-2. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.04.004.

4.    Taylor EW, Wang K, Nelson AR, Bredemann TM, Fraser KB, Clinton SM, Puckett R, Marchase RB, Chatham JC, McMahon LL. (2014) O-GlycNAcylation of AMPA receptor GluA2 is associated with a novel form of  long-term depression at hippocampal synapses. J Neurosci. 2014 Jan 1;34(1):10-21. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4761-12.2014

5.    Smith CC, Vedder LC, Nelson AR, Bredemann TM, McMahon LL (2010) Duration of estrogen deprivation, not chronological age, prevents estrogen’s ability to enhance hippocampal synaptic physiology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Nov 9;107(45):19543-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1009307107.

6.    Bredemann TM, McMahon LL, (2010) 17 β estradiol Decreases the Stress Induced Acquisition of Learned Helplessness in Female Rats. Annual meeting, Society for Biological Psychiatry. Published abstract: 158-17b

7.    Bredemann TM, McMahon LL., (2009) Research highlight: Remodeling synapses in learned helplessness. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 3:280.

Awards/Honors:

2015   Nomination "Excellent Peer", "Community Minded" and "Dr. Congeniality", UAB Postdoc Awards

2011   Fellowship recipient, American College of Neuropharmacology, Waikola Beach, Hawaii

2010   Invited speaker, Intelligence Community National Security Colloquium, Fairfield, Alabama

2010   Center for Clinical and Translational Science TL1 predoctoral training grant, UAB

2010   Center for Clinical and Translational Science training program award, UAB

2005   Comprehensive Minority Faculty Student Development Program (CMFSDP) fellowship. UAB

2005   Invited speaker, American Psychological association, Research Symposium, Atlanta, GA     

2004   PEO Program for Continuing Education Scholarship, University of NC, Charlotte, NC

2004   Nomination for Psychology student of the year, University of NC, Charlotte, NC

2003   James S. McCormack Rotary Scholarship, University of NC, Charlotte, NC

2003   Nomination finalist for the W.I.N.G.S. undergraduate Award, University of NC, Charlotte, NC