Dr. Jeff Kelly

Dr. Jeff Kelly joined Maryville College in the fall of 2024 after completing a PhD in Neuroscience & Behavior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. During Jeff’s PhD they studied the neural, endocrine, and phenotypic impacts of environmental and social stressors in zebrafish and Syrian hamsters. They received their MPhil from Liverpool John Moores University in 2019 where they investigated how environmental shifts induce plasticity in isotocin neuropeptide systems, and how the broader social decision-making neural network responds to social cues in zebrafish. Previously, Jeff also spent time working in Evolutionary Behavioral Ecology at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Memory Neurobiology at the University of Tromsø, and Neuropsychopharmacology at the University Montana. 

Jeff’s ongoing research pertains to stress neurobiology and neural & phenotypic plasticity responses to external stressors. One line of research investigates how the neuropeptide kisspeptin modulates fear & anxiety responses and interacts with adrenal & gonadal endocrine axes in zebrafish.  A second line of research engages field work in local Appalachian River systems to determine how environmental shifts and pollutants impacts local fish health, development, and neuroendocrine function. Jeff is also interested in developing brain-computer interfaces for individuals with disabilities.