Jennifer Donegan, Ph.D.

Jennifer Donegan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Dell Medical School. She holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Neuroscience at The University of Texas at Austin and is a member of the Institute for Early Life Adversity Research.

Donegan graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a B.S. in psychology. She obtained her Ph.D. in neuroscience from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Prior to joining Dell Med, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Donegan’s research focuses on understanding how stress throughout the lifespan affects neural circuit function. Specifically, her research examines the effect of early life and adult stress on the function of ventral hippocampal circuits known to be involved in schizophrenia. Her lab uses a combination of techniques, including behavioral phenotyping, in vivo extracellular electrophysiology and molecular assays. The ultimate goal of the Donegan laboratory is to understand how neural circuit function is disrupted in schizophrenia so that new therapeutic targets can be identified. Donegan has received numerous awards for her work, including a Schizophrenia International Research Society Travel Award and a BRAIN Initiative Pathway to Independence Award.