Jared Schwartzer

he/him

  • Associate Professor of Psychology and Education
  • Director of the Science Center
Jared Schwartzer

Jared Schwartzer is a behavioral neuroscientist studying how various environmental factors during pregnancy impact offspring brain and behavioral health. His work has focused on topics of maternal inflammation, air pollution, and electronic cigarette use during pregnancy to understand the neurodevelopmental impacts of various public health issues. His lab uses a combination of behavioral observations and biological diagnostic tools to identify biomarkers that link behavior differences to brain inflammation. This work highlights the importance of a gene-environment interaction, such as genetic predisposition, when evaluating the adverse effects of environmental insults.

Before coming to Mount Holyoke, Jared Schwartzer was a postdoctoral fellow in the Autism Research Training Program at the University of California, Davis MIND Institute where he studied with leaders in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders. While at UC Davis, Jared Schwartzer taught an introductory seminar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

As a doctoral student at Northeastern University, Jared Schwartzer was awarded a Lagerspetz Award for outstanding research from the International Society for Research on Aggression. More recently, he has received funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to explore the link between maternal allergies and asthma and its consequences on offspring brain and behavior development. His research has been published in journals such as Translational Psychiatry, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, and Neurotoxicology and Teratology.

The Schwartzer Lab

Ongoing research in the  focuses on the growing field of immune-induced mental health by translating clinical observations into testable hypotheses. This work lies at the intersection of behavioral neuroscience, neuroimmunology, and biomedical research to identify how interactions between the immune system and nervous system throughout gestation shape offspring brain and behavior development. We employ a range of molecular and behavioral approaches to untangle the complex gene-environment interactions that lead to neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorders

Courses

  • Psychopharmacology
  • Statistics 
  • Clinical Neuroscience 
  • Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience

Areas of Expertise

Behavioral neuroscience, neuroimmunology, brain development, neurotoxicology

Education

  • Ph.D., M.A, B.S., Northeastern University

HAPPENING AT MOUNT HOLYOKE

Recent Campus News

The latest Survey of Earned Doctorates report shows that ³ÉÈËÊÓƵCollege is one of the leading baccalaureate sources of women who earn scientific doctoral degrees.

Two ³ÉÈËÊÓƵCollege students have been selected for the second round of the Beckman Scholars Program. As part of the 15-month program, students delve deeply into advanced research projects with the mentorship of a College faculty member.

For the first time in its history, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵCollege has been selected as a Beckman Scholars Program awardee by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The foundation chose the College after a rigorous application process.

Recent Publications

Church JS, Renzelman ML [MHC ’20], Schwartzer JJ. Ten-week high fat and high sugar diets in mice alter gut-brain axis cytokines in a sex-dependent manner. J Nutr Biochem. 2022 Feb;100:108903.

Schwartzer JJ, Garcia-Arocena D, Jamal A, Izadi A, Willemsen R, Berman RF. Allopregnanolone Improves Locomotor Activity and Arousal in the Aged CGG Knock-in Mouse Model of Fragile X-Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome. Front Neurosci. 2021 Dec 3;15:752973.

Church J.S., Tamayo J.M., Ashwood P., Schwartzer J.J. (2021) Repeated allergic asthma in early versus late pregnancy differentially impacts offspring brain and behavior development. Brain Behav Immun., 93, 66-79.

Schwartzer J.J., Onore C.E., Rose D.R., Ashwood P. (2017) C57BL/6L bone marrow transplant increases sociability in BTBR T+ Itpr3tf/J mice. Brain Behavior & Immunity. 59:55-61

Schwartzer J.J., Careaga M., Coburn M.A. [MHC ‘ 17], Rose D.R., Hughes H.K., Ashwood P. (2017) Behavioral impact of maternal allergic-asthma in two genetically distinct mouse strains. Brain, Behavior & Immunity. 63:99-107

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