Justin Wang

Program: Neurosciences

Current advisor: Alexxai V. Kravitz, PhD

Undergraduate university: New York University, 2018

Enrollment year: 2020

Research summary
Dissecting striatopallidal circuits modulating feeding behavior

Over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, with the recent rise in obesity prevalence strongly correlated with widespread access to palatable, energy-dense foods. These foods, typically highly processed and rich in calories, salt, sugar, and fat, exhibit extraordinary appetitive properties, leading to pathological overeating. For instance, palatable foods can override the body’s satiety signals, while regular consumption can cause taste desensitization, making healthier options taste bland in comparison. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the reinforcing properties of such foods activate reward circuitry, leading to a dissociation between caloric need (the number of calories required to maintain stable weight) and food intake (the number of calories consumed), which ultimately results in obesity. While numerous brain areas are involved in appetite control, this research focuses on the ventral pallidum (VP), a major relay structure in the reward system which plays a key role in processing the pleasure and motivation associated with ingestive behavior. However, the potential to manipulate VP activity to suppress or reverse excessive body weight remains unexplored. In my thesis research, I plan to use a multifaceted approach to investigate VP neuronal responses during palatable food consumption and how this activity contributes to pathological consumption behavior.

Graduate publications
Barrett MR, Pan Y, Murrell CL, Karolczak EO, Wang J, Fang LZ, Thompson JM, Chang YH, Casey E, Czarny JE, So WL, Reichenbach A, Stark R, Taghipourbibalan H, Penna SR, McCullough KB, Westbrook SR, Chatterjee Basu G, Matikainen-Ankney B, Cazares VA, Delevich K, Fobbs WC, Maloney SE, Hickey AS, McCutcheon JE, Andrews ZB, Creed MC, Krashes MJ, Kravitz AV. 2025 A simple action reduces high-fat diet intake and obesity in mice. Curr Biol, 35(14):3303-3314.e2. PMCID:

Landry AP, Wang JZ, Liu J, Patil V, Gui C, Patel Z, Ajisebutu A, Ellenbogen Y, Wei Q, Singh O, Sosa J, Mansouri S, Wilson C, Cohen-Gadol AA, Zaazoue MA, Tabatabai G, Tatagiba M, Behling F, Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Sloan AE, Chotai S, Chambless LB, Rebchuk AD, Makarenko S, Yip S, Mansouri A, Tsang DS, Aldape K, Gao A; International Consortium on Meningiomas (ICOM); Nassiri F, Zadeh G. 2025 Development and validation of a molecular classifier of meningiomas. Neuro Oncol, 27(5):1258-69. PMCID: PMC12187452

Matikainen-Ankney BA, Legaria AA, Pan Y, Vachez YM, Murphy CA, Schaefer RF, McGrath QJ, Wang JG, Bluitt MN, Ankney KC, Norris AJ, Creed MC, Kravitz AV. 2023 Nucleus Accumbens D1 Receptor-Expressing Spiny Projection Neurons Control Food Motivation and Obesity. Biol Psychiatry, 93(6):512-23. PMCID: