Jennifer Blackford, PhD is the Hattie B. Munroe Professor and Director of Research at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Blackford obtained her PhD in Developmental Psychology with minors in quantitative psychology and developmental disabilities from Vanderbilt University. She obtained training in neuroimaging and genetics, supported by a National Institute of Mental Health Mentored Career Development Award (K01) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As the Director of Research at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, Dr. Blackford is building a comprehensive research infrastructure to support cutting-edge research, ranging from basic investigations in developmental neurosciences, to clinical research studies in autism and Down syndrome and applied studies of treatments for disorders of movement, severe behavior, feeding, and communication.

Dr. Blackford’s research program aims to identify and characterize the neurobiological basis of anxiety across the lifespan and the role of anxiety neurocircuitry in people with psychiatric disorders including PTSD, alcohol use disorders, and schizophrenia. Her lab pioneered investigations of the human BNST and current studies are focused on the BNST’s role in anxiety, PTSD, alcohol use disorders, and schizophrenia. Her approach uses multiple neuroimaging methods and includes measures of physiology, symptoms, and behaviors. Dr. Blackford’s research has been funded by multiple federal agencies including the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The long-term goal of her research program is to use these discoveries to develop new prevention strategies for individuals for children at high-risk for developing anxiety disorders and new treatments for individuals suffering with these disorders.