About Forrest

I completed my Ph.D. in Biological Psychology at the University of California, Davis under the advisement of Dr. Karen Bales. I completed additional training in human psychophysiology with Dr. Wendy Berry Mendes at UCSF, and I have additional training in human affect and emotion from UC Berkeley.

I’ve conducted research in several rodent models (e.g., African striped mice, prairie voles, Amargosa voles, and laboratory mice) as well as people.

I grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where I completed my undergraduate degrees in Biological Science (B.S.) and French (B.A.) at Oklahoma State University. I studied abroad in Paris, France. I’m a big fan of coffee and cats.

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Research by theme

How does paternal care take shape? What mechanisms in the brain drive male parenting?
Select publications:
- Agouti integrates environmental cues to regulate paternal behaviour
- Mothers, Fathers, and Others: Neural Substrates of Parental Care
Does variation in paternal care have consequences for child/offspring development?
Select publications:
- Revisiting paternal absence: Female alloparental replacement of fathers recovers partner preference formation in female, but not male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
- Compositional variation in early-life parenting structures alters oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptor development in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
Select publications:
- Thyroid hormones mediate the impact of early-life stress on ventral tegmental area gene expression and behavior
- Oxytocin receptor is not required for social attachment in prairie voles

Funding and Awards

F32 F32HD110180: Postdoctoral National Research Service Award, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH: 11/2023 – Present
T32 5T32MH020006: Predoctoral Training Consortium in Affective Science (UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCSF, Stanford), Institutional National Research Service Award, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH: 07/2017 – 06/2019
- Best Poster Award, Hypothalamus Gordon Research Conference (2024)
- New Investigator Award, Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (2023)
- Trainee Professional Development Award, Society for Neuroscience (2022)
- Top Ten Senior, College of Arts & Sciences, Oklahoma State University (2015)
- Outstanding Junior Award, College of Arts & Sciences, Oklahoma State University (2014)

About Forrest

Research by theme

Are fathers born or made?

Does paternal care matter?

How do hormones shape social behavior?

Funding and Awards

Funding

Select Awards