Nearly 60 million people in the United States are living with a mental illness, yet the available treatments remain inadequate. In the Donegan Lab, our goal is to understand how neural circuits are altered in psychiatric disease so that we can find new and more effective therapeutic strategies. Toward this end, we use rodent models to examine molecules, neural circuits, and ultimately behavior, to determine how various risk factors can lead to mental illness.

In this lab, we value:

Teamwork We believe that working together allows us to combine our knowledge and resources to do better science. We collaborate both within and outside of the lab to improve our efficiency and promote new discoveries.

Curiosity We believe that seeking out new knowledge and challenging previously held beliefs drives discovery. We aim to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie complex behaviors associated with psychiatric disease.

Innovation We believe that innovation is required to move science forward. In our lab, we use novel techniques and develop new ideas to change our understanding and approach to mental illness.

Importantly, we believe that incorporating a variety of perspectives is key to solving difficult research problems. Our lab welcomes and supports people from all backgrounds.