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Research Scientist and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
VA Portland Health Care System and Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, United States
Jennifer M. Loftis, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist at the VA Portland Health Care System, Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, and Core Faculty in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Her translational research program studies the psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms contributing to mood disorders, cognitive impairments, and addiction and tests immunotherapeutic strategies to treat these conditions. This work includes: investigating the impact of hepatitis C and alcohol use on immune response and neural circuits; testing hypotheses regarding the effects of inflammatory factors on central nervous system and psychiatric function; evaluating interventions to reduce depression and anxiety, enhance cognition, and improve substance use disorder recovery outcomes; and more recently, studying the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on mental health. To support this research, Dr. Loftis has been awarded grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health, and local foundations. She has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of psychiatry, neuroscience and immunology. Dr. Loftis has and will continue to teach students, post-doctoral fellows, and residents in the laboratory. She has served as a mentor for the National Science Foundation’s STEM program and is currently a mentor in the VA Mentorship program, OHSU’s Partnership for Scientific Inquiry, and Saturday Academy’s Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering program. In addition to her research expertise, she has clinical experience, which she acquired during the years she worked as a mental health provider in community clinics, hospitals, and addiction treatment programs. Her goal as a scientist is to maintain a productive research program, one that allows for the pursuit of research, teaching, and community service and one that contributes to our understanding of the pathological mechanisms associated with neuropsychiatric impairments and inflammation in order to improve mental health and quality of life.
I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM
Thursday, November 10, 2022
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM
