Michael Swank, Ph.D.

Michael Swank, Ph.D., is an experienced researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He has an extensive background in neuroscience and cancer biology.

Swank’s research has focused on:

• Psychological and neuroscientific study of public attitudes about virtual health
• Treatment pathways for patients with opioid use disorder
• National Institutes of Health grant-funded study on the roles of psychology and neurobiology in nutrition and diet.

Swank has used his clinical research experience to help develop strategies for improving public health. He’s known for his expert preparation and editing of academic manuscripts, research protocols and grants.

His professional experience includes:

• Assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine
• Assistant professor of general psychology, general neuroscience, visual and auditory systems at Furman University
• Research scientist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Teaching and research assistant at University of Texas Health Science Center
• Published author featured in various medical journals and publications

Swank’s diverse research experience in the fields of psychology, behavioral science, addiction treatment, cancer, nutrition, telehealth and telemedicine have informed his work in biomedical writing. He has also co-authored papers on psychology and behavioral neuroscience.

Publications of Michael Swank, Ph.D.

• Swank, M.W. et al. (2021). Dramatic Increases in Telehealth-Related Tweets during the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Sentiment Analysis. Healthcare.
• Champagne-Langabeer, T., Swank, M.W. & Langabeer, J.R. 2nd. (2020) Routes of non-traditional entry into buprenorphine treatment programs. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. 1
• Lee, C.S. et al. (2015). Ca2 permeation and/or binding to CaV1.1 fine-tunes skeletal muscle Ca2 signaling to sustain muscle function. Skeletal Muscle.
• Schafe, G.E. et al. (2008). Phosphorylation of ERK/MAP kinase is required for long-term potentiation in anatomically restricted regions of the lateral amygdala, in vivo. Learning and Memory.
• Swank, M.W. et al.  (2006). A novel method of loading samples onto mini-gels for SDS-PAGE: increased sensitivity and Western blots using sub-microgram quantities of protein. Journal of Neuroscience Methods.
• Kumar, V. et al. (2005). Regulation of dendritic morphogenesis by Ras-PI3K-AktmTOR and Ras-MAPK signaling pathways. Journal of Neuroscience.
• Fornage, M. et al. (2003). Gene expression profiling and functional proteomic analysis reveal perturbed kinase-mediated signaling in stroke susceptibility. Physiological Genomics.
• Yuan, L. et al. (2002). Protein kinase modulation of dendritic K+ channels in hippocampus involves a MAP Kinase Pathway. Journal of Neuroscience.
• Selcher, J.C. et al. (2002). Protein kinase signal transduction cascades in mammalian associative conditioning. Neuroscientist.
• Swank, M.W. & Sweatt, J.D. (2001). Increased histone- and lysine acetyltransferase activity and biphasic activation of the ERK/RSK cascade in insular cortex during novel taste learning. Journal of Neuroscience.
• Schafe, G.E. et al. (2000). Activation of ERK/MAP kinase in the amygdala is required for memory consolidation of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Journal of Neuroscience.