Research

Currently, I am working on sex differences in oxidative stress management in the liver and their implications in estradiol supplementation for pre- and post-menopausal women, as well as in disease pathologies such as hyperhomocysteinemia. My projects include studying the differential effects of estradiol supplementation on homocysteine levels, a major biomarker of cardiovascular disease, and investigating the role of sex differences in the glutathione pathway in acetaminophen toxicity. In addition, I have worked on modeling co-modulation of neurotransmitters in the brain and its connection to diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and depression. In all of these studies, I use systems of ordinary differential equations to represent underlying biochemical networks. These dynamical systems not only provide insights into compelling mathematical questions, such as periodic forcing in nonlinear ODEs, but also serve as powerful tools for analyzing physiological processes and addressing clinically relevant questions.

Publications

Graduate Work

1. [2025] Allison Cruikshank, Michael C. Reed, H. Frederick Nijhout. A Mathematical Model of Oxidative Stress: Sex Differences and Cystathionine β-Synthase Deficiency. Under Review at Mathematical Biosciences.

2. [2025] Michael C. Reed, Ayako Suzuki, Allison Cruikshank, Mizuki Suzuki, H. Frederik Nijhout. Differential effects of synthetic estrogen on serum homocysteine levels before and after menopause. Under Review at PLoS One.

3. [2025] Mizuki Suzuki, Hwi Young Kim, Michael C Reed, Frederik Nijhout, Allison Cruikshank, Manal Abdelmalek, Anna Mae Diehl, Paul M. Yen, Brijesh Kumar Singh, Madhulika Tripathi, Ayako Suzuki. Elevated Homocysteine is Associated with Liver Fibrosis in MASLD in a Sex- and Menopause-Specific Manner. Gastro Hep Advances. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gastha.2025.100800.

4. [2024] Sergio Mena, Allison Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael C. Reed, Parastoo Hashemi. "Modulation of Serotonin Transporter Expression by Escitalopram under Inflammation; Implications for SSRI Effectiveness." Communications Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06240-3.

5. [2024] Allison Cruikshank, Michael C. Reed, H. Frederik Nijhout. "Sex Differences in Glutathione Metabolism and Acetaminophen Toxicity." Metabolism and Target Organ Damage. https://doi.org/10.20517/mtod.2023.44.

6. [2024] Anna Marie Buchanan, Sergio Mena, Iman Choukari, Aditya Vasa, Jesseca N. Crawford, Jim Fadel, Nick Maxwell, Lawrence Reagan, Allie Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael Reed, Parastoo Hashemi. "Serotonin as a Biomarker of Toxin-Induced Parkinsonian." Molecular Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10020-023-00773-9.

7. [2023] Allison Cruikshank, Janet Best, H. Frederik Nijhout, Michael C. Reed."Dynamical Questions in Volume Transmission." Journal of Biological Dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513758.2023.2269986.

   Undergraduate Work

8. [2023] Archer Harrold, Allison Cruikshank, Bryan Penas, Rebecca Roston. "Introducing High School Biology Students to Biochemistry with a Short, Content-Oriented Intervention." Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21782.

Teaching