BIO
Jennifer Bray is an associate professor in the UW-Stevens Point Department of Biology. Her primary teaching responsibilities include human physiology, neurobiology, and a seminar course on neurodegenerative diseases. Bray mostly advises students who are interested in pre-professional programs, such as medical school and physician assistant programs. She is also the faculty mentor for the pre-med/PA and neuroscience student organizations on campus.
Bray is an alumna from UWSP and graduated in 2000 with a B.S. in Biology. She studied developmental neurobiology as a graduate student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. After graduating with her Ph.D. in 2010, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Donna Gruol at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she studied the effects of alcohol exposure on the brain. Her research interests continue to explore the long-term effects of alcohol exposure and neuroinflammatory factors on hippocampal synaptic plasticity in the mouse brain.
AWARDS
- Pucci Family Faculty Award, Department of Biology (2017 and 2023)
- University Leadership Mentor Award (2019 and 2021)
- UWSP University Excellence in Teaching Award (2015)
PUBLICATIONS
Bray, J.G., Reyes, K.C., Roberts, A.J., and Gruol, D.L. (2018). Altered Hippocampal Synaptic Function in Transgenic Mice with Increased Astrocyte Expression of CCL2 after Withdrawal from Chronic Alcohol. Neuropharmacology 135, 113-125.
Bray, J.G. Roberts, A.J. and Gruol, D.L. (2017). Transgenic Mice with Increased Astrocyte Expression of CCL2 Show Altered Behavioral Effects of Alcohol. Neuroscience, 354:88-100.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- Research Society on Alcoholism
- Society for Neuroscience