Marilyn Petro, Ph.D.
The Psychology Department at Nebraska Wesleyan University provides a conduit for undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate and professional degrees, as well as pursuing exciting and innovative careers with their bachelor degrees.
August 2018 – August 2023 Professor of Psychology, Nebraska Wesleyan University
August 2012 - August 2018 Associate Professor of Psychology, Nebraska Wesleyan University
August 2006 – 2012 Assistant Professor of Psychology, Nebraska Wesleyan University
August 2005 – May 2006 Adjunct Professor of Psychology
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Department of Psychology
Developed and taught:
Basic Learning Principles
Perception
October 1998 – June 2006 Adjunct Instructor
Southeast Community College
Academic Transfer - Social Sciences
8800 O Street
Lincoln, NE 68520-1299
Taught: Introduction to Psychology
Taught: Academic and Career Orientation
August 2004 – June 2006 also taught Distance Learning sections of Introduction to Psychology
October 1997- May 1999 Mentor
Lincoln Public Schools
5901 O Street
Lincoln, NE 68510
Worked with highly gifted children (ages 8 -13) in areas of
mathematics, English and sciences
January 1992 - May 1992 Visiting Assistant Professor
January 1991 - May 1991 Department of Psychology
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0308
Taught: Biopsychology
February 1986 - May 1987 Research Coordinator
Cincinnati Medical Research Institute
Medi-Center North, Suite 25
10550 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Coordinated Phase 3 & 4 studies examining the
effects of psychoactive drugs.
May 1982 - November 1983 Research Technician in the laboratory of
Dr. Avanelle Kirksey, Dept. of Foods and Nutrition,
Purdue University. Coordinated USDA funded grant to determine
the effects of oral contraceptives on human milk nutrients, in
conjunction with Judy Roepke, Ball State University.
October 1980 - August 1983 Research technician in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Story,
Dept. of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University.
Performed various analyses to determine the effects of dietary
fiber on serum cholesterol levels.
August 1979 - May 1980 Teaching Fellow, Dept. of Psychology, Miami University.
Taught laboratory sections of statistics and research design.
Also, developed and taught a course on animal social behavior.
June 1979 - July 1979 Instructor, Miami University - Middletown Campus.
Developed and taught a course on the theories of aggression.
May 1977 - May 1979 Animal laboratory supervisor, Dept. of Psychology,
Miami University. Supervised four part-time caretakers
in the care of the department's animal labs and kept inventory of
supplies.
August 1976 - May 1977 Graduate Assistant, Dept. of Psychology,
Miami University. Assisted in the teaching of
general psychology and animal behavior courses.
Also, assisted supervisor with cognitive research.
1980 - Doctor of Philosophy, Experimental Psychology
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Dissertation Title: Effects of Undernutrition upon the Motivation
of DBA/2j Mice
1978 - Master of Arts, Psychology
Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
Thesis Title: Auditory Discrimination Learning in Chicks after Exposure to Auditory and Visual Stimuli
1975 - Bachelor of Science, Psychology
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Introduction to Psychological Science - FYW
Professional Seminar
Perception
Psychology of Sleep and Dreaming
Basic Learning Principles
Research Methods in Psychology
Research Methods Laboratory
Introduction to Senior Research
Senior Research
Independent Study
The central hypothesis driving my research interest is that age-related inflammation in the brain is linked to observed cognitive deficits, specifically spatial learning and memory. My research is conducted with undergraduate students as part of extracurricular research experience in psychology. We have observed that resveratrol (an anti-inflammatory plant compound) protected the middle-aged mouse brain from ethanol-induced damage as measured by a spatial learning and memory task. We found that resveratrol-supplemented diets led to lowered expression of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 in the hippocampus, which is key to spatial learning. Additionally, we found that an enriched housing environment also had beneficial effects on the middle-aged mouse’s spatial abilities. The reduced expression of IL-6 was more pronounced in animals which had an early learning experience. This early experience also had a beneficial effect on expression of BDNF, SIRT-1 and TNF-alpha in the hippocampus. I am interested in continuing to examine ways to reduce age-related neuroinflammation and related cognitive declines.
Professional Presentations and Publications:
Cypert, R., & Petro,M.(2019). Prosody instruction intervention as a means to improved reading comprehension. Applied Cognitive Psychology, first published online July 22, 1-7. doi: 10.1002/acp.3593Petro,
M. S., Agarkova, I., & Petro, T. M. (2016). Effect of chlorovirus ATCV-1 infection on behavior of C57Bl/6 mice. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 297,46-55. doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2016.05.009
Petro, M. S.(2015). Effect of ATCV-1 on Behavior of C57Bl/6 Mice. Invited talk. Stanley Medical Institute Annual Meeting, Baltimore,
MD.Petro, M. S.,& Siemsen, B. (2014). Behavioral experience and resveratrol affect spatial memory and hippocampal factors in mice. Association for Psychological Science meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Mitchell, A. A., Ferraro III, F. M., & Petro, M. S.(2015). Implementing interteaching in the classroom.Midwestern Psychological Association meeting, Chicago, IL.
Ferraro III, F. M., Petro, M. S., & Mitchell, A. A. (2014). The fourth hour: Changes to psychology courses at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Nebraska Psychological Society/Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas joint meeting, Fort Hays, KS.
Alogna, V. K., Attaya, M. K., Aucoin, P., Bahnik, S., Birch, S., Birt, A. R., . . . Zwaan, R. A. (2014). Registered replication report: Schooler and Engstler-Schooler (1990). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 556 -578.
Petro, M.S,& Mitchell, A. A. (2012, January). Does a free-writing or think-pair-share activity better enhance understanding and retention of psychological concepts?Poster presentation at meeting of National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL. Accepted for presentation October 10, 2011.
Frank Ferraro III, &Petro, M. S. (2012, January). Mouse Tales: Establishing a mouse research laboratory for undergraduate students.Round-table presentation at meeting of National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL. Accepted for presentation October 10, 2011.
Petro, M. S. (2009, October 3). The Extreme Rat Challenge: 35 years of engaged learning. Invited presentation at Great Plains Conference on Teaching in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vermillion, SD.
Koke, V., & Petro, M. S.(2009). Complex environmental enrichment and spatial reference memory in middle-aged mice. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 14(1), 14-19.
Ranney, A., & Petro, M. S.(2009). Resveratrol protects spatial learning in middle aged C57BL/6 mice from effects of ethanol. Behavioural Pharmacology, 20,330-336.
Petro, M. S., & Ahlum, M. B. (2009, January). Write me a paragraph: Structured writing and retention. Poster presentation at meeting of National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Petro, M. S.(2009, January). From the Rat Olympics to the Extreme Rat Challenge. Round-table discussion presented at meeting of National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL.
Petro, M. S., & Ferraro III, F. M. (2007, October 30). Engaging Students in the Use of Animal Models in Behavioral Research. Presentation at Faculty Scholarship Dinner, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE.
Spiller, G. A., Story, J. A., Wong, L. G., Nunes, J. D., Alton, M., Petro, M. S., Furomoto, E.J., Whittam, J. H., & Scala, J. (1986). Effect of increasing levels of hard wheat fiber on fecal weight, minerals and steroids and gastrointestinal transit time in healthy young women. Journal of Nutrition, 116, 778-785.
Anderson, A. W., Story, L., Sieling, R., Chin, W. L., Petro, M. S.,& Story, J. A. (1984).Hypocholesterolemic effects of oat bran or bean intake for four hypercholesterolemic men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 40, 1146-1155.
Story, J. A., Le Page, S. L., Petro, M. S., West, L. G., Cassidy, M. M., Lightfoot, F. G., & Vahouny, G.V. (1984). Interactions of alfalfa plant and sprout saponins with cholesterol in vitro and in cholesterol-fed rats. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 39, 917-929.
Spiller, G. A., Wong, L. G., Nunes, J. D., Story, J. A., Petro, M. S., Furomoto, E. J.,Alton-Spiller, M., Whittam, J. H., & Scala, J. (1984). Effect of four levels of hard wheat bran on fecal composition in transit time in healthy young women. Federation Proceedings, 43, 392.
Story, J. A., Petro, M. S., Spiller, G. A., Wong, L. G., Whittam, J. H., & Scala, J. (1983). Modification of human fecal steroid excretion by a dietary fiber supplement. Poster presented at Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Chicago, IL.
Thomas, J. N., Kelly, J. J., Petro, M. S.,& Story, J. A. (1982).Modification of cholesterolregression in rats by pectin and lignin. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, New Orleans, LA.
Petro, M. S., & Capretta, P. J. (1980). Effects of undernutrition upon the motivation of inbred mice. Poster presented at the national meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Ft. Collins, CO.
Petro, M. S., Capretta, P. J., & Cooper, A. J. (1978). Auditory discrimination learning in chicks after exposure to auditory and visual stimuli. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 12(5), 385-386.
Cooper, A. J., & Petro, M. S.(1978). The effects of intranasal zinc sulfate treatment on the growth and behavior of young mice. Paper presented at meeting of the Midwestern Animal Behavior Society, West Lafayette, IN.
Beckwith, B. B., O’Quin, R. K., Petro, M. S., Kastin, A. J., & Sandman, C. A. (1977). The effects of neonatal injections ofα-MSH on the open field behavior of juvenile and adult rats. Physiological Psychology, 5(3), 295-299.
Professional Memberships
American Psychological Society
American Psychological Association
Society for the Teaching of Psychology
Midwest Psychological Association
Nebraska Psychological Association
Phi Kappa Phi
Psi Chi
Ad Hoc reviewer for the Journal of Psychological Inquiry
Ad Hoc reviewer for Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research
Professional Memberships:
Association for Psychological Science
American Psychological Association
Midwest Psychological Association
Psi Chi
Phi Kappa Phi
Awards:
May 2013
Technology Fund Grant for Operant Console to update the Learning Lab
February 2013
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor for Kimberly Homsey research project, Effects of Musical Complexity on Spatial Task Performance in C57BL/6j Mice
February 2011
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor for Megan Kautz research project, The Influence of Attachment and Chronic Stress on the Development of Obesity in a Mouse Model
February 2011
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor for Katlyn Paloucek poster presentation “Psychological and Physiological Responses to Touch” at Midwestern Psychological Associations Annual Conference May 5, 2011
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor for Brandon Hollister poster presentation “Family Structure and Attachment’s Influence on Coping Flexibility and the College Transition” at Midwestern Psychological Associations Annual Conference May 5, 2011
September 2010
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Katlyn Paloucek’s research “Psychological and Physiological Responses to Touch”
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Teresa Ulrich’s research An Investigationof the Effects of Anxiety Odors on Empathy”
February 2010
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Kayla Houck’s research “A Comparison of Enrichment Effects on Spatial Memory in C57BL/6J Mice”
December 2009
Technology Fund Grant for Nihin Kohden 4418 EEG Machine
May 2008
Ameritas Fellowship to acquire knowledge about sleep technology and purchase materials for sleep and dreaming course.
January 2008
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Vicki Koke’s research “Complex Environmental Enrichment on Spatial Reference Memory of Aged Mice.”
January 2008
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Kiley Cordes’ research “The Attraction, Selection, and Attrition Model as it Appears in the Sorting of Psychology and Business Students at Nebraska Wesleyan University.”
May 2007
Student Faculty Collaborative Research Grant, sponsor and mentor Alyssa Ranney’s research “Resveratrol and cognitive declines in healthy C57BL/6 mice.”
May 2007
Faculty Development Grant to create an aging mouse laboratory
which provided aged animals for student and personal research projects in the cognitive effects of aging.
December 2006
Kenneth R. Holder Fellowship for Instructional Improvement
Perception laboratory equipment was updated to enhance the teaching of sensation and perception.