Jamie successfully defends her dissertation
Jamie Palmer Delarosa presented her dissertation titled, “Ventral Hippocampal Parvalbumin Interneurons in Schizophrenia-relevant Behavior and Alcohol Intake.” Congratulations on a huge accomplishment, Dr. Palmer Delarosa!
Daniel receives a Dean’s Prestigious Supplement Fellowship
Daniel San Miguel was awarded a Dean’s Prestigious Supplement Fellowship from the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Congratulations, Daniel!
Kripa presents her summer project at the WiN Impact Assembly
Kripa Phillip presented her summer research at the Women in Neuroscience Research Symposium and Impact Assembly. Kripa was mentored by Megan Hall. Way to go, Kripa!
Daniel receives an NIH F31 award
Daniel San Miguel was awarded a prestigious F31 award from the National Institute of Mental Health. His project titled, Ventral hippocampal circuit regulation of stress-induced fear and anxiety, will examine the effect of chronic stress on the hippocampal to prefrontal cortex pathway. Way to go, Daniel!
The Donegan Lab is awarded a CNS Mini Catalyst Award
In collaboration with Dr. Justin Havird, the Donegan lab was selected to receive a CNS Mini Catalyst 2.0 award. The title of the project is The role of mitochondrial form and function in neurodegenerative diseases. The CNS Catalyst 2.0 Grant Program is an internal seed funding mechanism intended to catalyze new scholarly activity by helping investigators overcome barriers that limit their ability to generate preliminary data for external funding.
Kripa receives an Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Kripa Philip was awarded an undergraduate research fellowship to support her project examining the effect of chronic stress on the pathway from the ventral hippocampal to the prefrontal cortex. Way to go Kripa!
Jennifer receives a BBRF Young Investigator Award
The Donegan lab received a Young Investigator award. This project will examine the effect of chronic stress on the hippocampal to prefrontal cortex pathway and determine whether the pathway contributes to fear and anxiety-like behaviors.
Shovani receives an Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Shovani Shrestha was awarded an undergraduate research fellowship to support her project examining the effect of chronic stress on the pathway from the ventral hippocampal to the prefrontal cortex. Way to go Shovani!
Daniel and Jamie attend SFN 2025
Daniel and Jamie presented their latest research at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. Good job, you two!
Faith Toney joins the Donegan Lab
Faith Toney, MS, joins the Donegan lab as our new lab manager as we send Jade off to graduate school. She has some big shoes to fill but we are so happy to have her. Welcome, Faith!
The Donegan Lab is awarded a CNS Catalyst Award
In collaboration with Husniye Kantarci, the Donegan lab was selected to receive a CNS Catalyst 2.0 award. The title of the project is Oligodendrocyte Control of Cortical Excitability and Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorders. The CNS Catalyst 2.0 Grant Program is an internal seed funding mechanism intended to catalyze new scholarly activity by helping investigators overcome barriers that limit their ability to generate preliminary data for external funding.
Jamie Palmer was awarded Continuing Fellowship from the UT Graduate School
Jamie Palmer was selected to receive a prestigious Continuing Fellowship, a testimony to her academic record as a graduate student at UT. This fellowship will support Jamie’s work during the 2025-2026 Academic Year. Congrats, Jamie!
Sifallah presents his research at the National Collegiate Research Conference
Sifallah Bouyadjera was selected to present his research at the National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC) at Harvard University. The NCRC, the nation’s largest student-run research conference provides a platform for undergraduates from across the nation to share their interest in research. Sifallah’s poster was titled “Investigating the role of the ventral hippocampus in stress-induced anxiety”. Congrats, Sifallah!
The Donegan Lab celebrates the holidays
The Donegan lab celebrates the end of another great year with dinner at Jennifer’s house. From left, Jamie Palmer, Jade Wollenberg, Megan Hall, Daniel San Miguel and Jennifer Donegan.
Donegan Lab graduate students present their research at the Society for Neuroscience conference
Daniel San Miguel and Jamie Palmer attended the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) conference in Chicago. Above, Daniel and Jamie pose with Savannah Boyen (previous lab member) in front of Daniel’s poster. Daniel’s poster was titled “Investigating the Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Chronic Unpredictable Stress”. Jamie’s poster was titled “Assessing the role of ventral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons in alcohol intake and schizophrenia-like behaviors.” Way to go!
Sifallah Bouyadjera selected to present his research at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium
Sifallah Bouyadjera, one of our fantastic undergraduate research assistants, was selected to present at Rice University’s 16th annual Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium in November. His talk will be titled, “Investigating The Ventral Hippocampal Microcircuit Using Chronic Unpredictable Stress and Viral-Mediated Designer Receptors.” Congrats, Sifallah!
Daniel San Miguel receives travel award to attend the AI Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) Workshop
Daniel was selected to receive support to attend the RAG workshop in Oregon. This NSF-funded program was focused on harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence to benefit our communities and our planet. Congratulations, Daniel!
Jerry Garcia presents his summer research at the UTEP
Jerry Garcia worked in our lab over the summer as part of the LSAMP Summer Research Academy. This highly competitive program places students in research experiences at UT System campuses across the state for an 8-week, full-time research experience. Jerry’s poster was titled “The Effect of Binge-Like Drinking on the Activation of Cells Within the Ventral Hippocampus”. It was a blast working with you this summer Jerry!
Emily Holder presents her summer research to the Women in Neuroscience program
Emily Holder worked in our lab as part of the Women in Neuroscience program. This competitive program aims to increase diversity in science by providing paid internships to high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. The title of her presentation was “The Effect of Ventral Hippocampal Parvalbumin Interneurons in Binge-like Drinking Behavior.” We enjoyed having you in the lab Emily!
The Donegan lab kicks off summer
The Donegan lab kicks off summer with a (hot) lunch at Cosmic Saltillo. We welcomed our new UT undergrads (Kripa, Sivani, Lorenzo) and summer students (Jerry and Emily). Unfortunately, we also said goodbye to some fantastic undergrads (Lauren and Morgan), our part-time technician (Savannah), and our psychiatry resident (Jonathan). We will miss you all so much and can’t wait to hear about your next adventure!
Lauren, Morgan, and Savannah graduate!
Congratulations to our undergraduate volunteers, Lauren (not pictured), Savannah, and Morgan on your graduation from UT! Hook ’em!
The Donegan Lab is awarded a Hamilton Syringe Grant
The Donegan lab received a grant from the Hamilton Company to purchase syringes, needles, and accessories that will be used to perform stereotaxic surgeries.
Jennifer Donegan is selected to attend a 3-day workshop at the Allen Institute
Jennifer was selected to attend the workshop titled, “Describe Your Neurons Like the Allen Institute.” The goal of the workshop is to give participants in-depth exposure to how Allen Institute defines “cell types.” In addition, participants will work with the Allen Institute’s free, open resources & tools for research, including the Cell Types Knowledge Explorer and Allen Brain Cell (ABC) Atlas.
Jennifer Donegan gives a talk at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Meeting
Jennifer discussed the role of the hippocampus in cognitive flexibility at the symposium titled, “Beyond Pavlovian Fear Conditioning: Diverse Symptoms of PTSD.” The symposium was chaired by Dr. Denise Cai and Dr. Michael Drew.
Jamie Palmer presents a poster at the Society for Neuroscience Meeting
Jamie presented her poster, titled “Examining the role of parvalbumin interneurons in alcohol intake in the maternal immune activation model.” As a SFN travel awardee, Jamie presented her work at both the Travel Award Reception and in a general poster session. Way to go Jamie!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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).
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.