Jennifer C. Felger, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and Laboratory Director of the Emory Behavioral Immunology Program, at Emory University School of Medicine. She is also an Associate Member of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University.

Dr. Felger was honored with the 2017 Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research with her work on “The Neurocircuitry of Inflammation-Induced Anhedonia in Depression.” Her work combines basic and clinical approaches

to understand the mechanisms by which inflammation affects neurotransmitter systems and neurocircuits in the brain to affect behavior in patients with major depression or medical illnesses like cancer. For this project, Dr. Felger examined whether increased inflammation affects reward circuitry in the brain to lead to reduced motivation and anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure) in patients with major depressive disorder. The project laid the foundation for her ongoing studies

that aim to identify novel therapeutic strategies to treat behavioral symptoms in patients with high inflammation.

Dr. Felger received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Masters in Clinical Research from Emory University, and has completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuroendocrinology and Neuroimmunology at The Rockefeller University. She has been awarded Early Career and/or Travel Awards from the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Winter Conference on Brain Research and American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and has received a R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health as well as funding from the Dana Foundation and the American Cancer Society