Eric Parise, Ph.D., M.S.

Biography

Dr. Eric Parise's research investigates the role of the brain's extracellular matrix (ECM) in stress-related and substance use disorders, with a focus on how stress and drugs of abuse remodel ECM structures to influence synaptic plasticity and behavior. He earned a B.S. in Psychology, an M.S. in Psychobiology, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Florida State University, where his undergraduate and doctoral work examined the long-term impact of developmental exposure to drugs of abuse and antidepressants on the brain's reward circuitry. His master’s research centered on reward-related feeding behavior, while his dissertation focused on the prophylactic effects of ketamine on stress responses and the involvement of the mesocorticolimbic pathway. Dr. Parise completed his postdoctoral training in Dr. Eric Nestler's laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he led studies on the role of the ECM in stress, depression (including postmortem human brain analyses), and addiction. His work was the first to identify the ECM protease HTRA1 as a key modulator of stress sensitivity. His research integrates fiber photometry, viral-mediated gene transfer, complex behavioral paradigms, and advanced molecular approaches to uncover novel ECM-based targets for therapeutic intervention. Dr. Parise joined the Department of Biomedical Science at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University as an Assistant Professor in the summer of 2025. His laboratory combines molecular, genetic, and behavioral neuroscience approaches to develop ECM-targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of mood and substance use disorders.