Dr. Kiran Soma is a professor in the Department of Psychology and a member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia. He has published over 120 papers on neural circuits, hormones, behaviour, and immune function, and these papers have received over 7000 citations.

Research interests include behavioural neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, neuroethology, diet, exercise, stress.

Selected Publications – Neurosteroids

Tobiansky DJ, Kachkovski GV, Enos RT, Schmidt KL, Murphy EA & Soma KK  (2020)  Sucrose consumption alters steroid and dopamine signalling in the female rat brain.  Journal of Endocrinology  245: 231-246.

Low KL, Tomm RJ, Ma C, Tobiansky DJ, Floresco SB & Soma KK  (2020)  Effects of aging on testosterone and androgen receptors in the mesocorticolimbic system of male rats.  Hormones and Behavior  120: 104689 (9 pp).

Tobiansky DJ, Wallin-Miller KG, Floresco SB, Wood RI & Soma KK  (2018)  Androgen regulation of the mesocorticolimbic system and executive function.  Frontiers in Endocrinology  9: 279 (18 pp).

Tomm RJ, Tse MT, Tobiansky DJ, Schweitzer HR, Soma KK* & Floresco SB*  (2018)  Effects of aging on executive functioning and mesocorticolimbic dopamine markers in male Fischer 344 × Brown Norway rats.  Neurobiology of Aging  72 (Dec): 134-146.  *co-PIs

Tobiansky DJ, Korol AM, Ma C, Hamden JE, Jalabert C, Tomm RJ & Soma KK  (2018)  Testosterone and corticosterone in the mesocorticolimbic system of male rats: effects of gonadectomy and caloric restriction.  Endocrinology  159: 450-464.

Heimovics SA, Merritt JR, Jalabert C, Ma C, Maney DL & Soma KK  (2018)  Rapid effects of 17β-estradiol on aggressive behavior in songbirds: environmental and genetic influences.  Hormones and Behavior  104: 41-51.

Low KL, Ma C & Soma KK  (2017)  Tyramide signal amplification permits immunohistochemical analyses of androgen receptors in the rat prefrontal cortex.  Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry  65: 295-308.

Selected Publications –  Immunosteroids

Hamden JE*, Salehzadeh M*, Jalabert C, O’Leary TP, Snyder JS, Gomez-Sanchez CE & Soma KK  (2019)  Measurement of 11-dehydrocorticosterone in mice, rats and songbirds: effects of age, sex and stress.  General and Comparative Endocrinology  281: 173-182.  *co-first authors

Taves MD, Hamden JE & Soma KK  (2017)  Local glucocorticoid production in lymphoid organs of mice and birds: functions in lymphocyte development.  Hormones and Behavior  88: 4-14.

Taves MD, Plumb AW, Korol AM, Van Der Gugten JG, Holmes DT, Abraham N* & Soma KK*  (2016)  Lymphoid organs of neonatal and adult mice preferentially produce active glucocorticoids from metabolites, not precursors.  Brain, Behavior, and Immunity  57: 271-281.  *co-PIs

Taves MD, Losie JA, Rahim T, Schmidt KL, Sandkam BA, Ma C, Silversides FG & Soma KK  (2016)  Locally elevated cortisol in lymphoid organs of the developing zebra finch but not Japanese quail or chicken.  Developmental and Comparative Immunology  54: 116-125.

Taves MD, Plumb AW, Sandkam BA, Ma C, van der Gugten JG, Holmes DT, Close DA, Abraham N* & Soma KK*  (2015)  Steroid profiling reveals widespread local regulation of glucocorticoid levels during mouse development.  Endocrinology  156: 511-522. *co-PIs

See Google Scholar for papers and citations.

• Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2020)
• Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Fund Sabbatical Fellowship (2017)
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow (2015)
• Killam Faculty Research Prize (2012)
• Killam Faculty Research Fellowship (2010)