By Sage Wesenberg, Biochemistry and Journalism 2019 

Congratulations to postdoctoral researcher Jennifer Honeycutt in receiving the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Grant, funded by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF). Under the co-mentorship of Dr. Heather Brenhouse and Dr. Craig Ferris, this award gives Honeycutt the opportunity to conduct independent research as a principle investigator (PI) for two years, starting this upcoming January. Honeycutt’s research will combine the specialties of Brenhouse and Ferris, developmental neuropsychobiology and awake animal neuro-imaging respectively, to develop a new and highly translational method of studying neural activity using ethologically and socially relevant audio stimuli. It will help to create a useful animal model for understanding the neuroanatomical correlations between male and female rats that have experienced early life adversities.  

“I am incredibly excited and honored to receive the NARSAD award,” Honeycutt said. “I am grateful to the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for this award, the Northeastern community – particularly the Department of Psychology – for their support in my research endeavors, and especially to Dr. Heather Brenhouse and our team of incredible NEU graduate and undergraduate researchers for their hard work and dedication on the preliminary work that sparked this project.”