I study the structure and function of neural systems that regulate energy balance, neuroendocrine function and behavioral state in the mammalian brain. I am particularly interested in how neural circuits in the hypothalamus are organized, how they help control motivated behaviors and autonomic function, and how they respond to changes in nutrient status. A major goal of my laboratory is to map these circuits using atlas-based approaches.

• Marshal of Faculty – College of Science - College of Science, UTEP (12/15/2019)
• Outstanding Performance Award, 2018–2019 (Spring) - UTEP Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (05/13/2019)
• Marshal of Students – College of Science - College of Science (12/15/2018)
• Official UTEP Nominee, 2019 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award - College of Science > UTEP Faculty Senate > UTEP Office of the Provost (11/16/2018)
• Outstanding Performance Award, 2018–2019 (Fall) - UTEP Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (09/20/2018)
• Student's Choice Award for Outstanding Teaching - Department of Biological Sciences (05/09/2017)
• Outstanding Performance Award, 2013-2014 - ORSP (09/23/2014)
• Outstanding Performance Award, 2013-2014 - UTEP Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (06/04/2014)
• Informal Personal Commendation - President Diana Natalicio (05/18/2014)
• Travel Fellowship - Winter Conference on Brain Research (01/01/2010-12/31/2010)
• NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award - National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidneys Disorders (NIDDK), NIH (01/01/2008-12/31/2008)
• Co-recipient, eSciences Funding Award from Microsoft Research - Microsoft Corporation (01/01/2004-12/31/2004)
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award - National Institute of Mental Health (01/01/2004-12/31/2004)
• Dean’s Dissertation Research Grant - Graduate Division, UC Riverside (01/01/2000-12/31/2000)
• Frances Marlatt Baugh Award for Outstanding Graduate Research - Division of Biomedical Sciences, UC Riverside (01/01/1998-12/31/1998)
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year - Department of Cell Biology & Neuroscience, UC Riverside (01/01/1998-12/31/1998)
• Graduate Student Research Award - Division of Biomedical Sciences, UC Riverside (01/01/1997-12/31/1997)
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year - Division of Biomedical Sciences, UC Riverside (01/01/1997-12/31/1997)
• James & Margaret Lesley Prize for Completed Original Research - Division of Biomedical Sciences, UC Riverside (01/01/1995-12/31/1995)

• Ph D in Neuroscience, University of California at Riverside (2002)
• MS in Biochemistry, University of California at Riverside (1996)
• BS in Biology, University of California at Riverside (1994)

• Female rats display greater nicotine withdrawal-induced cellular activation of a central portion of the interpeduncular nucleus versus males: A study of Fos immunoreactivity within provisionally assigned interpeduncular subnuclei Drug and Alcohol Dependence 221 (2021), Felix Matos-Ocasio, Veronika E. Espinoza, Paola Correa-Alfonzo, Arshad Khan, Laura E. O'Dell.
• Distributions of hypothalamic neuron populations co-expressing tyrosine hydroxylase and the vesicular GABA transporter in the mouse The Journal of Comparative Neurology 528 11 (2020), Kenichiro Negishi, Mikayla A. Payant, Kayla S. Schumacker, Gabor Wittman, Rebecca M. Butler, Ronald M. Lechan, Harry W. Steinbusch, Arshad Khan, Melissa J. Chee.
• Overexpression of corticotropin-releasing factor in the nucleus accumbens enhances the reinforcing effects of nicotine in female versus male rats Neuropsychopharmacology (2020), Kevin P. Uribe, Victor L. Corres, Briana E. Pinales, Rodolfo J. Flores, Bryan Cruz, Zhiying Shan, Adriaan W. Bruijnzeel, Arshad Khan, Laura E. O'Dell.
• Cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes associated with student engagement in a novel brain chemoarchitecture mapping course-based undergraduate research experience Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education 18 1 (2019), Christina E. D'Arcy, Anais Martinez, Arshad Khan, Jeffrey Olimpo.
• Mapping molecular datasets back to the brain regions they are extracted from: Remembering the native countries of hypothalamic expatriates and refugees Advances in Neurobiology 21 (2018), Arshad Khan, Alice H. Grant, Anais Martinez, Brendan S. Thatcher, Vishwanath T. Anekonda, Benjamin W. Thompson, Zachary S. Roberts, Daniel H. Moralejo, James E. Blevins.
• Contextual fear retrieval-induced Fos expression across early development in the rat: An analysis using established nervous system nomenclature ontology Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2018), Anthony J. Santarelli, Arshad Khan, Andrew M. Poulos.
• Cryptic diversity in Rhampholeon boulengeri (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), a pygmy chameleon from the Albertine Rift biodiversity hotspot Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 122 May 2018 (2018), Daniel F. Hughes, Krystal A. Tolley, Mathias Behangana, Wilber Lukwago, Michele Menegon, J. M. Dehling, Jan Stipala, Colin R. Tilbury, Arshad Khan, Chifundera Kusamba, Eli Greenbaum.
• Computer vision evidence supporting craniometric alignment of rat brain atlases to streamline expert-guided, first-order migration of hypothalamic spatial datasets related to behavioral control Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 12 7 (2018), Arshad Khan, Jose M. Perez, Claire E. Wells, Olac Fuentes.
• Microarray analysis of aging-associated immune system alterations in the rostral Ventrolateral Medulla of F344 rats Physiological Genomics (2017), Sivasai Balivada, Chanran K. Ganta, Yongqing Zhang, Hitesh N. Pawar, Richard J. Ortiz, Kevin G. Becker, Arshad Khan, Michael Kenney.
• Tracking the coupling of external signals to intracellular programs controlling peptide synthesis and release in hypothalamic neuroendocrine neurons Elsevier 2 (2017), Arshad Khan, Ellen M. Walker, Alan G. Watts.
• Rescuing perishable neuroanatomical information from a threatened biodiversity hotspot: Remote field methods for brain tissue preservation validated by cytoarchitectonic analysis, immunohistochemistry, and iodine-enhanced X-ray microcomputed tomography PLoS One 11 (2016), Daniel F. Hughes, Ellen M. Walker, Paul M. Gignac, Anais Martinez, Kenichiro Negishi, Carl S. Lieb, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Rescuing perishable neuroanatomical information from a threatened biodiversity hotspot: Remote field methods for brain tissue preservation validated by cytoarchitectonic analysis, immunohistochemistry, and iodine-enhanced X-ray microcomputed tomography PLoS One (2016), Daniel F. Hughes, Ellen M. Walker, Paul M. Gignac, Anais Martinez, Kenichiro Negishi, Carl S. Lieb, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Elucidation of the anatomy of a satiety circuit: Focus on connectivity of the parabrachial nucleus The Journal of Comparative Neurology (2016), Györgyi Zséli, Barbara Vida, Anais Martinez, Ronald M. Lechan, Arshad Khan, Csaba Fekete.

• Viral tracing of feeding control circuits (2019), Volume Ann Arbor, Michigan, Arshad Khan.
• Re-examining freshmen potential: Application of the CURE format to big data neuroanatomy problems (2019), Volume Minneapolis, MN, Christina E. D'Arcy, Arshad Khan, Jeffrey T. Olimpo.
• High spatial resolution mapping of anorexigenic neuropeptides expressed in the hypothalamus: A chemoarchitecture study in the adult male rat (2018), Volume San Diego, CA, K A. Burnett, Briana E. Pinales, Eric J. Perez, D Rodarte, A M. Cardona, K J. Galvan, G G. Hernandez, A C. Lezama, Karen T. Lorenzana, A Vasquez, P Parada, J I. Paz, J Rascon, R Thomason, K Bautista, Jessica Barnesq, Christina D'Arcy, Arshad Khan.
• Automatic derivation of atlas plate correspondences between rat brain atlases using feature-based matching and dynamic programming (2018), Volume San Diego, California, Jose G. Perez, Olac Fuentes, Arshad Khan.
• Hypothalamic chemoarchitecture of the adult male rat: High spatial resolution mapping of copeptin, LIM homeobox 6, and melanin-concentrating hormone (2018), Volume San Diego, CA, Anais Martinez, Luisa M. Barraza Escudero, D Castro, S A. Chavez, M Coronado, S Gallegos, Andrea Pineda Sanchez, M S. Ruiz, V G. Ruiz, Kenichiro Negishi, Arshad Khan.
• Organization and functional recruitment of neuronal populations in rat prefrontal cortex that project to the basolateral amygdalar nuclei: A combined retrograde tracing and Fos activation study of context fear conditioning across development (2018), Volume San Diego, CA, Anthony J. Santarelli, Arshad Khan, Andrew M. Poulos.
• Hypothalamic Neuroendocrine Function: Hindbrain Control and Time of Day Differences During Glycemic Challenges (2018), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Linking Transcriptomic, Proteomic and Peptidomic Datasets of the Circadian System to Brain Locations (2018), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Hypothalamus – Structure and Function (2018), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Mapping of Circadian System Circuits in Rodents (2018), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Field-based brain tissue preservation methods and comparative multi-scale structural analyses reveal the cranial diversity of chameleons (2018), Volume San Francisco, CA, Daniel F. Hughes, Paul M. Gignac, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Diencephalic and mesencephalic neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area, with special reference to the lateral hypothalamic area: A quantitative mapping study in the adult rat (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Ellen M. Walker, Berenise De Haro, Jordan A. Schueler, Savanna D. Gonzalez, Jazmine Arnal, Soyoung Jeon, Richard H. Thompson, Arshad Khan.
• Further elaboration of the distribution of Agouti-Related Peptide-immunoreactive axons using a canonical rat brain atlas in the adult male rat: High spatial resolution analysis of rostral forebrain regions (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Briana E. Pinales, Joel D. Hahn, Arshad Khan.
• Hypothalamic chemoarchitecture of the adult male rat: Further elaboration of results from a high spatial resolution longitudinal mapping study (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Grace Flores-Robles, Kenichiro Negishi, Robert A. Pacheco, Andrea Enriquez, Ezequiel Acevedo, Brandon Avila, Erick Dominguez, Efrain E. Hernandez, Arturo Medina, Elizabeth Mejia, Marlina A. Novoa, Antonio T. Provencio, Fe D. Renteria, Evelyn Sifuentes, Yolat Tellez, Arshad Khan.
• Immunohistochemical study and atlas mapping of neuronal populations that co-express tyrosine hydroxylase and the vesicular GABA transporter in the hypothalamus (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Melissa J. Chee, Kenichiro Negishi, Kayla S. Schumacker, Rebecca M. Butler, Arshad Khan.
• Mapping the chemoarchitecture of the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus in the adult male rat to a canonical brain atlas (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Sarah Rodarte, Anais Martinez, Teresa N. Tran, Briana E. Pinales, Arshad Khan.
• Mapping the connections between the medial prefrontal cortex and the diencephalon: A combined anterograde and retrograde tract-tracing study in the adult male rat (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Kenichiro Negishi, Jeannette Almeraz, Arshad Khan.
• Towards automatic registration of histological data to canonical brain atlases (2017), Volume Washington, D.C., Jose G. Perez, Olac Fuentes, Arshad Khan.
• Functional Tracing Using Opto- & Chemogenetic Approaches (2017), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Atlas Mapping Techniques (2017), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Multi-label Immunohistochemistry: Methods & Applications (2017), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Trans-synaptic (Viral) & Genetic Tracing Techniques (2017), Volume Faculté des Sciences, Mohammad V University, Rabat, Morocco, Arshad Khan.
• Elucidating the cranial diversity of Chamaeleonidae by incorporating validated field-based brain tissue preservation methods into multi-scale structural analyses (2017), Volume Austin, TX, Daniel F. Hughes, Paul M. Gignac, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Brain circuits regulating energy balance: Trailblazing through an undiscovered country (2017), Volume Seattle, WA, Arshad Khan.
• Brain circuits regulating energy balance: Trailblazing through an undiscovered country (2017), Volume Albany, New York, Arshad Khan.
• Documenting brain diversity in field-caught lizards, from skull to cell: Initial development of a processing pipeline for top down, multi-scale structural analyses of a single brain by inte-grating specialized microcomputed tomography (diceCT), Nissl-based cytoarchitectonics, and immunohistochemistry (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Daniel F. Hughes, Paul M. Gignac, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Documenting brain diversity in field-caught lizards, from skull to cell: Initial development of a processing pipeline for top down, multi-scale structural analyses of a single brain by integrating specialized microcomputed tomography (diceCT), Nissl-based cytoarchitectonics, and immunohistochemistry (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Daniel F. Hughes, Paul M. Gignac, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Elaboration of hypothalamic chemoarchitecture of the adult male rat: A high spatial resolution mapping study of melanin-concentrating hormone, hypocretin/orexin, and calbindin immunoreactivities in multiple subjects (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Christina D'Arcy, Anais Martinez, L F. Aranda, Hope L. Cervantes, Laura E. Chacon, Rebeca P. Cordero, V Fernandez, G A. Garcia, S Holguin, Abel Jacquez, Tania G. Miramontes, B Montano, P C. Munoz, Ivan R. Valenzuela, Jonathan S. Yu, Arshad Khan.
• Further elaboration of arcuate hypothalamic nucleus circuitry based on retrograde studies in the adult male rat (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Anais Martinez, Briana E. Pinales, Arshad Khan.
• Further elaboration of forebrain and midbrain neuronal populations projecting to the ventral tegmental area, with an emphasis on the lateral hypothalamic area (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Ellen M. Walker, Berenise De Haro, Jordan A. Schueler, Richard H. Thompson, Arshad Khan.
• High spatial resolution mapping of Agouti-Related Peptide-immunoreactive axons to a canonical rat brain atlas (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Briana E. Pinales, Joel D. Hahn, Arshad Khan.
• Initial chemoarchitectural analysis of the infralimbic, prelimbic, and anterior cingulate areas of cerebral cortex in the adult male rat: Novel maps within a canonical atlas space (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Kenichiro N. Negishi, Sarah N. Rodarte, Olivia Kolenc, Arshad Khan.
• Migration, spatial alignment, and registration of multi-scale neuroscientific datasets related to the control of motivated behaviors within canonically defined maps of the lateral hypothalamic area (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Alice E. Hernandez, Arshad Khan.
• Neural tract tracing-based modeling of contextual fear circuits across development in rats (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Anthony J. Santarelli, Kenichiro N. Negishi, Arshad Khan, Andrew M. Poulos.
• Using multi-scale, mixed media methods to visualize and map electrophysiologically identified glucose-sensing neurons within canonical brain atlas space (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Eduardo Peru, Ammy M. Santiago, Vanessa H. Routh, Arshad Khan.
• Elaboration of hypothalamic chemoarchitecture of the adult male rat: a high spatial resolution mapping study of melanin-concentrating hormone, hypocretin/orexin, and calbindin immunoreactivities in multiple subjects (2016), Volume San Diego, Christina E. D'Arcy, Anais Martinez, Luis Aranda, Hope Cervantes, Lauren Chacon, Rebeca Cordero, Valeria Fernandez, Gabriel Garcia, Samantha Holguin, Abel Jaquez, Tania Miramontes, Bianca Montano, Paloma Munoz, Ivan Valenzuela, Johnathan Yu, Arshad Khan.
• Curating central injection studies from the literature using a general-purpose knowledge management strategy (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Gully A. Burns, Alice E. Hernandez, Arshad Khan.
• Implementation of a brain mapping course-based undergraduate research experience in introductory biology: Impacts on novices' competency and affect (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Christina D'Arcy, Anais Martinez, Claire E. Wells, Arshad Khan, Jeffrey Olimpo.
• Implementation of a brain mapping course-based undergraduate research experience in introductory biology: Impacts on novices’ competency and affect (2016), Volume San Diego, CA, Christina E. D'Arcy, Anais M. Martinez, Claire E. Wells, Arshad M. Khan, Jeffrey T. Olimpo.
• Incorporating DiceCT into Multi-Scale Structural Studies of the Brain for Highly Divergent Lineages of Acrodont Lizards: Validation of Preservation Methods Conducted in the Field (2016), Volume Washington, DC, Daniel F. Hughes, Ellen M. Walker, Paul M. Gignac, Anais Martinez, Kenichiro Negishi, Carl S. Lieb, Eli Greenbaum, Arshad Khan.
• Implementation of a Connectomics Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Introductory Biology (2016), Volume UTEP, Christina E. D'Arcy, Arshad Khan, Jeffrey Olimpo.
• Implementation of a connectomics course-based undergraduate research experience in introductory biology (2016), Volume El Paso, TX, Christina E. D'Arcy, Arshad Khan, Jeffrey T. Olimpo.
• Connections of the paraventricular hypothalamus (2016), Volume National Institute of Drug Abuse, Arshad Khan.

• SC1: Interrogating brain circuits that control feeding caused by fasting or by craving
• In-vitro electrical pulse stimulation as exercise mimetic for human myotubes
• ORSP Grand Challenges Grant - High-Throughput 3D-Visualization of the Mammalian Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems