Jennifer Donegan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D., Neuroscience
UT Health San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Lab: 210-567-4273
Email: donegan@uthscsa.edu
Lab Association: Daniel Lodge, Ph.D.
Research Interests

• schizophrenia                                   • stem cells
• dopamine

Research Summary
My research is exploring the use of embryonic stem cells to reverse deficits in a developmental model of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic patients show changes in inhibitory GABAergic interneurons, which are thought to underlie behavioral and physiological symptoms of the disorder. Using a battery of behavioral assays and in vivo extracellular electrophysiology, we are testing the hypothesis that GABAergic interneurons, derived from embryonic stem cells, can reverse the schizophrenia-like changes seen in our rodent model.
 
Accomplishments, Awards and Honors 
UT Health San Antonio Center for Biomedical Neuroscience (CBN) Annual Retreat Poster Award – May 2016
Schizophrenia International Research Society Poster Award Finalist – April 2016
Schizophrenia International Research Society Travel Award – Feb 2016
UT Health San Antonio Pharmacology Graduate Student Symposium Poster Award – Nov 2015
William Thomas Booth Travel Award -UT Health San Antonio Pharmacology – August 2015
UT Health San Antonio Center for Biomedical Neuroscience (CBN) Annual Retreat Poster Award – May 2015
HSC News – ‘Low levels of pro-inflammatory agent help cognition in rats’ – Feb 2014
Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Meeting Travel Award – 2013
 
Appointments, Boards, Committees, and Memberships 
Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
 
Lectures and Presentations 

  • ASPET Undergraduate Research Program – Lecture on Synaptic Transmission – Summer 2014-2017
  • ASPET Undergraduate Research Program – Lecture on Cell Culture Techniques – Summer 2014-2017

 
Selected Publications

  • Donegan, J.J., Boley, A.M., and Lodge, D.J. (2018) Stem cell derived interneuron transplants in a rodent model of autism Neuropsychopharmacology Article accepted
  • Donegan, J.J. and Lodge, D.J. (2017) Perineuronal nets in the ventral hippocampus are required for the long-lasting antidepressant effects of ketamine Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. Apr 1;20(4): 354-358 doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyw095 PMID: 27806991
  • Donegan, J.J. and Lodge, D.J. (2017) Cell-based therapies for the treatment of schizophrenia Brain Res. Jan 15;1655: 262-269 doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.08.010. Epub 2016 Aug 18. PMID: 27544423
  • Donegan, J.J., Tyson, J.A., Branch, S. Y., Beckstead, M.J., Anderson, S. A., Lodge, D.J. (2017) Stem cell derived interneuron transplants as a treatment for schizophrenia: preclinical validation in a rodent model Mol Psychiatry Oct;22(10): 1492-1501 doi: 10.1038/mp.2016.121. Epub 2016 Aug 2 PMID: 27480492
  • Carreno, F.R., Donegan, J.J., Boley, A.M., Shah, A., DeGuzman, M., Frazer, A., and Lodge, D.J. (2016) Activation of a ventral hippocampus-medial prefrontal cortex pathway is both necessary and sufficient for an antidepressant response to ketamine Mol Psychiatry. Sep;21(9): 1298-308 doi: 10.1038/mp.2015.176. Epub 2015 Dec 1. PMID: 26619811
  • Selected Abstracts
  • Donegan, J.J., Boley, A.M., Lodge, D.J. Embryonic Stem Cell Transplants as a Therapeutic Strategy in a Rodent Model of Autism – Society for Neuroscience – San Diego, CA. 2016
  • Donegan, J.J. and Lodge, D.J. Contribution of Hippocampal Projections to Discrete Symptoms of Schizophrenia – UTHSCSA Department of Pharmacology Graduate Student Symposium – San Antonio, TX. 2016
  • Donegan, J.J., Boley, A.M., Lodge, D.J. Embryonic Stem Cell Transplants as a Therapeutic Strategy in a Rodent Model of Autism – Center for Biomedical Neurosciences Retreat – San Antonio, TX. 2016
  • Donegan, J.J., Tyson, J.A., Branch, S.Y., Beckstead, M.J., Anderson, S.A., Lodge, D.J. Embryonic stem cell transplants as a therapeutic strategy in a rodent model of schizophrenia – Schizophrenia International Research Society – Florence, Italy 2016)
  • Donegan, J.J., Tyson, J.A., Anderson, S.A., Lodge, D.J. Embryonic stem cell transplants as a therapeutic strategy in a rodent model of schizophrenia – Society for Neuroscience – Chicago, IL. 2015