October 2023
The Donegan Lab celebrates the arrival of fall weather
We celebrated finally being able to exist outdoors (this summer was H-O-T) by enjoying lunch together at Pease Park.
August 2023
Jamie Palmer receives travel award to attend SFN
Jamie Palmer received a Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience (SFN). The award, which recognizes graduate students that demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in research, will help offset the cost of attending the SFN meeting in Washington D.C.. Jamie will present a poster titled, “Examining the role of parvalbumin interneurons in alcohol intake in the maternal immune activation model.” Congratulations, Jamie!
June 2023
Miranda Lavine-Marines joins the Donegan Lab as a summer Wintern
Miranda is a recent graduate of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. She will work with graduate student, Jamie Palmer as she completes an 8 week “Winternship” through the Women in Neuroscience program. We are so glad to have you, Miranda!
May 2023
Jonathan Artz presents at the APA
Jonathan Artz presents his poster titled, “Examining hippocampal circuit dysfunction in preclinical models of maternal immune activation” at the American Psychiatric Association meeting. Way to go, Jonathan!
April 2023
Savannah Boyen is awarded a CNS Advanced Summer Research Fellowship
Savannah will receive financial support to work in the lab 35-40 hours per week over the summer. She will continue to explore the effect of maternal immune activation on hippocampal circuits. We are looking forward to having her around more!
March 2023
Donegan lab undergrads present at the CNS Undergraduate Research Forum
Savannah Boyen, Nora Li, and Lauren Rosta presented their poster titled, “Examining the effect of chronic stress on neural circuits in the ventral hippocampus” at the College of Natural Sciences Undergraduate Research Forum. Way to go, ladies!
March 2023
Jonathan Artz receives a travel award to attend the American Psychiatric Association Meeting in May 2023
With over 600 educational sessions, 50+ topics and 20+ paid courses, APA’s 2023 Annual Meeting is the best place to connect with colleagues, learn the latest in effective clinical practice and research advancements. Jonathan will present a poster titled, “Examining Hippocampal Circuit Dysfunction in Preclinical Models of Maternal Immune Activation.” Way to go, Jonathan!
October 2022
The Donegan Lab celebrates Halloween
To celebrate Halloween, the lab enjoyed ice cream and pumpkin painting at Jennifer’s house. From left, Turner, Jennifer, Elizabeth (honorary lab member), Jamie, Jade, Nora, Savannah, Lauren, Madeleine (honorary lab member).
September 2022
Nora Li presents at the Fall Undergrad Research Symposium
Nora, an undergraduate research assistant, participated in the “Science Slam” portion of the Fall Undergrad Research Symposium. She gave a 3-minute overview of the work she is doing in the lab. Way to go, Nora!
May 2022
Jade Wollenberg graduates from UT
Jade, who joined the Donegan lab last fall, graduated with a BS in Public Health. We are so excited that she will continue to work in our lab as a research assistant!
April 2022
Alyssa Marron presents the first Donegan Lab Poster at the Waggoner Center Advance
Alyssa presented our latest work in a poster titled, “Investigating the effect of chronic stress on parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the ventral hippocampus.” While still preliminary, our results suggest that chronic stress influences the function of PV interneurons.
March 2022
Alex and Alyssa were both accepted into graduate school
Alyssa will enter the University of Texas Institute for Neuroscience Graduate Program and Alex will enter the University of Florida Psychology PhD program in Fall 2022! They will be missed but we couldn’t be more proud of them!
December 2021
Jennifer Donegan is named an Anxiety & Depression Association of America Alies Muskin Career Development Leadership Award Program (CDLP) Awardee
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America CDLP program is designed to encourage early career clinicians and researchers to engage in creative discourse about anxiety, depression and co-occurring disorders in a diverse, multidisciplinary community. Awardees benefit from episodic mentoring, cross-fertilization of disciplines, networking, and the enhancement of skills to become more professionally competitive.
November 2021
Jennifer Donegan wins a travel award to attend the Society of Biological Psychiatry meeting in April 2022
The 2022 SOBP Annual meeting will provide an interactive platform for learning and discovery. The meeting program will focus on alternative and transformative frameworks for understanding psychiatric illnesses, and present enhanced and newly emerging tools for measurement and manipulation. Within these frameworks and with these tools, techniques and experimental designs are illustrated that can enhance understanding of psychiatric illness and elucidate the biological pathways and markers of illness processes.
November 2021
The Donegan Lab celebrates Labsgiving
To celebrate Thanksgiving, the Donegan Lab enjoyed a pot luck lunch at Jennifer’s house. From left, Alex, Lauren, Jade, Alyssa, and Jennifer.
August 2021
Jennifer Donegan receives a Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant
The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation provides two years of funding to promising investigators beginning careers as independent research faculty. The goal of the program is to help researchers launch careers in neuroscience and psychiatry and gather pilot data to apply for larger federal and university grants.
August 2021
The Donegan Lab welcomes new lab members
Alyssa Marron, Alexandra Sanchez, Lauren Rosta, and Jade Wollenberg will begin working in the Donegan lab in September 2021.
July 2021
Jennifer Donegan wins a travel award to attend the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) meeting in December 2021
The 60th annual ACNP meeting will be held in Puerto Rico in December 2021. The meeting is one the premiere conferences bringing together scientists and clinicians to exchange information on the brain, behavior, and psychotropic drugs.
June 2021
Jennifer Donegan joins the Dell Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Donegan joins the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as an Assistant Professor. The mission of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is to transform mental health care and illness prevention in Central Texas and beyond in a culture that supports diversity and inclusion. Dr. Donegan will contribute to this mission by studying the effects of stress on brain circuits and behaviors associated with psychiatric disease in order to identify new and more effective strategies for treatment and prevention.