Jessica Bolton, assistant professor of neuroscience at Georgia State University, has received the Robert Ader New Investigator Award by the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society. The award recognizes outstanding research or clinical contributions from an early-career scientist in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, which is the intersection of psychology, neurology, and immunology.
Dr. Bolton’s research endeavors focus on how stress in early-life experiences affects the developing brain. Her current work focuses on how brain immune cells in the hypothalamus and amygdala affect an individual’s risk for depression or drug addiction.
Since 2021, Dr. Bolton has served as an assistant professor in Georgia State University’s Neuroscience Institute and the Center for Neuroinflammation and Cardiometabolic Diseases. Prior to her current role, she spent six years with the University of California, Irvine, serving as a postdoctoral fellow and visiting assistant professor of neuroscience.
Dr. Bolton is a graduate of Southwestern University in Texas, where she majored in animal behavior with a minor in chemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from Duke University.