Biography

Dr. Fry is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. He is a Behavioral Neuroscientist and expert on the role of midbrain dopaminergic circuitry as it pertains to diverse facets of human experience, including learning and memory, reward, addiction, and neuropsychiatric illness. Prior to joining the Biomedical Sciences faculty, his research focused on the use of in-vivo optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques in pre-clinical models of schizophrenia. Dr. Fry’s current research involves a combination of Pavlovian learning theory and Bayesian Inference to understand the manner in which the brain processes incoming sensory information and gives rise to such phenomena as hallucinations. He is also currently investigating the unique impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient populations with schizophrenia.

Dr. Fry conducts research with exceptional undergraduate students through the Burnett Honors College thesis program. Interested applicants should consider whether their research goals align with his areas of interest and send an email with a proposal for their project.

He currently teaches Neurobiology, Advanced Neurobiology, Clinical Neuroanatomy, and Human Histology.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Fry, B. R., Fex, V., Sawa, A., Niwa, M., & Johnson, A. W. (2024). The role of midbrain dopamine cells projecting to the insular cortex in mediated performance: Implications for animal models of reality testing. Behavioral Neuroscience, 138(3), 164-177.

Fry, B. R., Roberts, D., Thakkar, K., Johnson, A.W. (2022). Variables influencing conditioning-evoked hallucinations: overview and future applications. Psychological Medicine, 52(14), 2937-2949.

Fry, B. R., Pence, N. T., McLocklin, A., & Johnson, A. W. (2021). Disruptions in effort-based decision-making following acute optogenetic stimulation of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells. Learning & Memory, 28(4), 104-108.

Fry, B. R., Russell, N., Gifford, R., Robles, C. F., Manning, C. E., Sawa, A., … & Johnson, A. W. (2020). Assessing reality testing in mice through dopamine-dependent associatively evoked processing of absent gustatory stimuli. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 46(1), 54-67.

Zona, L. C., Fry, B. R., LaLonde, J. A., & Cromwell, H. C. (2017). Effects of anandamide administration on components of reward processing during free choice. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 158, 14-21.