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Rochester Christian University

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Dr. Jessica Matyas

Chair – Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science
Associate Professor of Psychology
Jessica_Matyas

Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
(248) 218-2157
jmatyas@rochesteru.edu

Education

  • Ph.D., Central Michigan University
  • M.S., Central Michigan University
  • B.A., Oakland University

Courses Taught

  • Brain & Behavior
  • Advanced Experimental Psychology
  • Research Methods in the Social Sciences
  • Learning & Memory
  • Health Psychology
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Psychology Seminar

Honors and Affiliations

  • Michigan Society for Neuroscience (MiSfN), Member
  • Society for Neuroscience (SfN), Member
  • National Neurotrauma Society (NNS), Member
  • Nu Rho Psi – Honor Society in Neuroscience, Michigan Alpha Chapter member

Professional & Academic Experience

  • Chair, Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2020-present.
  • Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Purdue Fort Wayne, 2017-2019.
  • Outreach coordinator, Department of Psychology, Purdue Fort Wayne, 2017-2019.
  • Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Maryland Baltimore, 2015-2017.
  • Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, Central Michigan University, 2010-2015.
  • Outreach coordinator, Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, Central Michigan University, 2011-2014.

Personal

Dr. Matyas is an enthusiastic researcher in the fields of experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience. She has worked with rodent models of neurodegeneration such as Alzheimer’s disease, and has a particular passion for neurotrauma (injuries to the brain and spinal cord). Her experience in animal research labs, coupled with an approachable method toward teaching, ensures that life is never boring. She has written a book entitled Famous Case Histories in Neurotrauma, which highlights such famed injuries as Phineas Gage, H.M., and Christopher Reeve.
*She is often asked how to pronounce her name. She suggests ignoring the Y: “Mat-iss”

Publications and Presentations

  • Wu, J., Sabirzhanov, B., Matyas, J., Coll-Miro, M., Yu, L., Faden, A., Stoica, B. (2019). Inhibition of microRNA-711 limits angiopoietin-1 and Akt changes, tissue damage, and motor dysfunction after contusive spinal cord injury in mice. Cell Death & Disease.
  • Sabirzhanov, B., Li, Y., Coll-Miro, M., Matyas, J. J., He, J., Kumar, A., … & Wu, J. (2019). Inhibition of NOX2 signaling limits pain-related behavior and improves motor function in male mice after spinal cord injury: Participation of IL-10/miR-155 pathways. Brain, behavior, and immunity.
  • Stewart, A.N., Matyas, J.J., Welchko, R.M., Goldsmith, A.D., Zeiler, S.E., Hochgeschwender, U., Lu, M., Nan, Z., Rossignol, J., & Dunbar, G.L. (2017). SDF-1 overexpression by mesenchymal stem cells enhances GAP-43-positive axonal growth following spinal cord injury. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.
  • Matyas, J.J., Stewart, A.N., Goldsmith, A., Nan, Z., Skeel, R., Rossignol, J., & Dunbar, G.L. (2017). Effects of bone marrow-derived MSC transplantation on functional recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury: comparisons of transplant locations and cell concentrations. Cell Transplantation.
  • Matyas, J.J., O’Driscoll, C.M., Yu, L., Coll-Miro, M., Renn, C.L., Faden, A.I., Dorsey, S., & Wu, J. (2017). Truncated TrkB.T1-mediated astrocytes dysfunction contributes to impaired motor function and neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. Journal of Neuroscience. 37(14), 3956-3971.
  • Skovira, J.W., Wu, J., Matyas, J.J., Kumar, A., Hanscom, M., Kabadi, S.V., Fang, R. and Faden, A.I. (2016). Cell cycle inhibition reduces inflammatory responses, neuronal loss, and cognitive deficits induced by hypobaria exposure following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 13(1), p.299.
  • Lowrance, S.A., Fink, K.D., Crane, A., Matyas, J., Dey, N.D., Matchynski, J.J., … & Dunbar, G.L. (2013). Bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells attenuate cognitive deficits in an endothelin-1 rat model of stroke. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. 33.4: 579-588.
  • Matyas, J.J., Cracked Craniums: A brief history of famous case studies and treatments in Neurotrauma. Purdue Fort Wayne Anthropology Club, Fort Wayne, IN, USA, 2018.
  • Matyas, J.J., Effects of varying bone marrow-derived MSC concentrations and transplant locations for reducing motor and morphological deficits in a rat model of spinal cord injury. Nanosymposium: 44th Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA, 2015.
  • Matyas, J.J., Optimizing transplantation of bone marrow-derived MSCs in a rat model of spinal cord injury: facilitating functional recovery through improvement in micro environment. American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair, Clearwater, Fl, USA 2015.
  • Matyas, J.J., Coll-Miro, M., Sabirzhanov, B., Li, Y., Kumar, A., Yu, J., Faden, A.I., & Wu, J. NOX2-mediated microglial/macrophage activation contributes to hyperesthesia after SCI through modulation of IL10/miR155 pathways. National Neurotrauma Society Annual Symposium. Salt Lake City, UT, USA (2017)
  • Matyas, J.J., Coll-Miro, M., Sabirzhanov, B., Li, Y., Kumar, A., Yu, J., Faden, A.I., & Wu, J. NOX2-mediated microglial/macrophage activation contributes to neuropathic pain and motor dysfunction after SCI through modulation of IL10/miR155 pathways. 20th Annual Program in Neuroscience Retreat, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore, MD, USA (2017)
  • Matyas, J.J., Yu, L., Dorsey, S.G., Faden, A.I., & Wu, J., Deletion of T1 isoform of tyrosine-kinase B eliminates neuropathic pain after SCI through regulation of astrocytes. National Neurotrauma Society Annual Symposium. Louisville, KY, USA (2016)
  • Matyas, J.J., Stewart, A.N., Goldsmith, A., Zeiler. S.E., Nan, Z., Rossignol, J., & Dunbar, G.L., Effects of bone marrow-derived MSC transplantation on a rat model of spinal cord injury. 46th Michigan Chapter Society for Neuroscience. Mount Pleasant, MI, USA (2015).
  • Matyas, J.J., Rechenberg, A., Lowrance, S., Andrews, M. M., Wills, L.R., Sandstrom, M., Rossignol, J., & Dunbar, G. L., Non-cognitive behavioral deficits in the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease. 43rd Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting, Washington, D.C., USA (2014).
  • Matyas, J.J., Rechenberg, A., Lowrance, S., Andrews, M. M., Wills, L.R., Sandstrom, M., Rossignol, J., & Dunbar, G. L., Behavioral Phenotypes and their Correlation to Amyloid-Beta Plaque Load in the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. 45th Michigan Chapter Society for neuroscience. Kalamazoo, MI, USA (2014).
  • Matyas, J. J., Matchynski, J.J., & Dunbar, G., 2012 Mid-Michigan Brain Awareness Week and Third Annual Brain Bee contest at Central Michigan University. 41st Society for Neuroscience Meeting, New Orleans U.S.A (2012).

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