Profile:
Prof. Blaise’s research goals are to develop models and tools to advance the study of the biomedical sciences. He currently conducts research at the intersection of biomedical engineering and neuroscience. He has studied the neurophysiology of learning and memory  consolidation using his freely behaving mouse and rat model of long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD)—two candidate mechanisms accounting for much of the information processing performed by the brain. Dr. Blaise has also investigated the impact of prenatal protein malnutrition and neonatal stress on brain circuits involved in learning. More recently, Dr. Blaise has been conducting research whose ultimate aims are to help better understand the linkages between emotionality and memory. For instance, does one’s emotional state alter the ways in which concurrent events and experiences are remembered? Further, stress is known to be mostly harmful to the brain (e.g., as in post-traumatic stress disorders); but are there situations in which stress might be beneficial to brain function? Prof. Blaise’s research aims are to answer some of these difficult questions.

Positions Held:
Trinity College, Chair, Engineering Department (2018-2021)
Trinity College, Associate Professor (2007-Present); Assistant Professor (2001-2007)
CT NASA Space Grant Consortium, Campus Director (2002-2012)
CT Chapter of Society for Neuroscience, Secretary (2008-Present)
Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program, Inc. (CPEP), Board of Directors Member (2002-2010);
        Vice-President (2006-2007), Secretary (2007-2008), President (2008-2010)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Member (2001-2008); Senior Member (elected
        2008-Present).
International Society for Developmental Neuroscience (ISDN), Council Member (elected 2009-2011).

Publications in Refereed Journals:

• Blaise, J. H., Park, J. E., Bellas, N. J., Gitchell, T. M., & Phan, V. (2018). Caffeine consumption disrupts hippocampal long-term potentiation in freely behaving rats. Physiological Reports, 6(5), e13632. http://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.13632
  
• Blaise, J. H., Ruskin, D. N., Koranda, J. L., & Masino, S. A. (2015). Effects of a ketogenic diet on hippocampal plasticity in freely moving juvenile rats. Physiological Reports, 3(5), e12411. http://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.12411
  
• Blaise, J. H. (2013). Long-term Potentiation of Perforant Pathway-dentate Gyrus Synapse in Freely Behaving Mice. Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE, (81), 50642. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.3791/50642
  
• Blaise, J.H., R.A. Hartman. “Stimulation of Perforant Path Fibers Induces LTP Concurrently in Amygdala and Hippocampus in Awake Freely Behaving Rats.” Neural Plasticity 2013 (2013). doi:10.1155/2013/565167
  
• Koranda, J.L., D.N. Ruskin, S.A. Masino, J.H. Blaise. A ketogenic diet reduces long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus of freely-behaving rats. J Neurophysiol 106: 662–666, 2011.
  
• Blaise, J.H. "Stress in neonates changes plasticity in adult hippocampo-amygdalar neural circuits." International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 26:844-45, 2008.
  
• Blaise, J.H., J.L. Koranda*, U. Chow*, K.E. Haines*, E.C. Dorward*. "Neonatal isolation stress alters bidirectional long term synaptic plasticity in amygdalo-hippocampal synapses in freely behaving adult rats." Brain Research, 1193:25-33, 2008.
  
• Koranda*, J.L., S.A. Masino, J. H. Blaise. "Bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the dentate gyrus of the awake freely behaving mouse." Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 167:160-166, 2008.
  
• Yorns*, W.R., J.H. Blaise, and J.D. Bronzino. "Frequency dependent changes in the paired pulse index in the hippocampus of the freely moving adult male rat." Experimental Neurology, 186:104-108, 2004.
  
• Blaise, J.H. and J.D. Bronzino. "Effects of Stimulus Frequency and Age on Bidirectional Synaptic Plasticity in the Dentate Gyrus of Freely Moving Rats." Experimental Neurology, 182:497-506, 2003.
  
• Blaise, J.H. and J.D. Bronzino. "Modulation of paired-pulse responses in the dentate gyrus: Effects of normal maturation and vigilance state." Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 28:128-34, 2000.
  
• Bronzino, J.D., J.H. Blaise, D. Mokler, J. Galler and P.J. Morgane. "Modulation of paired-pulse responses in the dentate gyrus: Effects of prenatal protein malnutrition." Brain Research, 849:45-57, 1999.
  
• Bronzino, J.D., J.H. Blaise, D. Mokler, and P.J. Morgane. "Dentate granule cell modulation in freely moving rats: vigilance state effects." Developmental Brain Research 114:143-148, 1999.
  
• Bronzino, J.D., J.H. Blaise and P.J. Morgane. "Paired pulse index: A measure of hippocampal dentate granule cell modulation." Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 25:870-873, 1997.
  
• Bronzino, J.D., J.H. Blaise, R.J. Austin-LaFrance and P.J. Morgane. "Studies of dentate granule cell modulation: Paired-pulse responses in freely moving rats at three ages." Developmental Brain Research 277-280, 1996.

Conference Presentations & Proceedings:

• P. Dahal, J.H. Blaise and T. Ning. “Chaotic analysis of hippocampal and cortical Sleep EEG during various vigilance states”. 2018 40th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Honolulu, HI, 2018, pp. 3064-3067.
  
• P. Dahal, M. Avagyan, P. S. Skardal, J.H. Blaise and T. Ning, "Characterizing chaotic behavior of REM sleep EEG using Lyapunov exponent," 2017 10th International Congress on Image and Signal Processing, BioMedical Engineering and Informatics (CISP-BMEI), Shanghai, China, 2017, pp. 1-6. doi: 10.1109/CISP-BMEI.2017.8302215
  
• J. H. Blaise and T. Ning, "Application of independent component analysis to remove linear dependencies in EEG recorded in hippocampus," 2016 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Orlando, FL, 2016, pp. 3171-3174. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591402
  
• T. Ning, J. H. Blaise, M. Avagyan and P. Dahal, "Developmental differences of dimension complexity of hippocampal EEG during REM sleep," 2016 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Orlando, FL, 2016, pp. 2851-2854. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591324
  
• Jee Eun Park, Nicholas Bellas, Thomas Gitchell, and Vy Phan. In Vivo study of the effects of chronic caffeine consumption on synaptic efficacy in the hippocampus of freely moving rodents. Northeast Undergraduate Research in Neuroscience, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT. Feb. 28, 2016.
  
• Blaise, J. Harry. Stress-related cognitive deficits: implications for anxiety disorders. Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Miami, FL, June 22-25, 2015.
  
• Blaise, J. Harry. An alternative model to study the effects of early-life stress on developmental neural plasticity in rodents. Abstracts to the 20th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience, Montreal, Canada, July 19-24, 2014.
  
• Blaise, J. Harry. Attenuation of long term synaptic plasticity following application of a restraint stressor. Neural Engineering (NER), 2013 6th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, San Diego, CA, November 2013.
  
• Blaise, J.H., M. Sunay*. Acute stress disrupts emotional memories. Proceedings of the 2011 Annual Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Fall Meeting, October 12-14, Hartford, CT, CD-ROM, 2011.
  
• Ruskin D. N., J. L. Koranda, S. A. Masino, and J. H. Blaise. Very-low Carbohydrate Diet Reduces Long-Term Potentiation in the Dentate Gyrus of Freely-behaving Rats. Proceedings of the 2011 Annual Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Fall Meeting, October 12-14, Hartford, CT, CD-ROM, 2011.
  
• Blaise, J.H., M. Sunay*. Acute stress disrupts LTP of amygdalo-hippocampal synapses in  neonatally isolated adult rats. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, November 13-17, 2010, San Diego, CA.
  
• Blaise, J.H., R.M. Clark*, K.E. Haines*. Role of early life stress in corticolimbic plasticity. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, October 17-21, 2009, Chicago, IL.
  
• Chow*, U., K. E. Haines*, J. L. Koranda, J.H. Blaise. "Effects of neonatal isolation on amygdalo-hippocampal synaptic efficacy in freely behaving rats." Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, November 3-7, 2007, San Diego, CA.
  
• Hernandez*, C.L., D.M. Ramos, J.L. Koranda, J D. Bronzino, J.H. Blaise. "Theta-burst and paired-pulse analysis of the dentate gyrus-CA3 synapse in freely moving rats." Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, November 3-7, 2007, San Diego, CA.
  

• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research, $3,500, 2004.
• National Science Foundation Bioengineering Division Award # BES-0451285, $69,291, September 1, 2004-August 31, 2005.
• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research, $7,000, 2005.
• HHMI Grant to Trinity College Summer Research Scholars Grant, $7,800, 2005.
• HHMI Grant to Trinity College Summer Research Scholars Grant, $15,600, 2006.
• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research, $7,000, 2006.
• NASA EpSCOR Grant, $12,500, 2006.
• CT NASA Space Grant Consortium Faculty Research Grant, $6,000, November 1st, 2007-October 31st, 2008.

• Trinity College Faculty Research Expense Grant, $11,932, 2008-2010.

• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research,
  $3,500, 2011.
  
• CT NASA Space Grant Consortium Faculty Research Grant, $6,000, September 1st, 2011-August 31st, 2012.
• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research,
  $14,000,  2013.
• NASA CT Space Grant Consortium Curriculum Development Grant, $7,500,
  2014.
• Trinity College Faculty Research Grant to support undergraduate research,
  $10,500, 2015.
• Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority (CHEFA) grant to support biomedical engineering curriculum development at the middle school level in the State of Connecticut, $55,931, 2016.