Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Jeffrey Blaustein '73, '75 MS, '77 PhD
Dr. Jeffrey D. Blaustein is the division head of behavioral neuroscience with the Psychology Department and the founding Director of the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies at UMass Amherst.
In his research, Blaustein studies the cellular processes by which steroid hormones act in the brain to influence behaviors and mental illness, including depression and anxiety, as well as the role of stress during adolescence in programming the response of the adult brain to hormones. His research with steroid hormones and steroid receptor mechanisms has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation his entire career.
Blaustein is currently editor-in-chief of the scientific journal, Endocrinology. He is the first behavioral endocrinologist and member of a psychology department to lead this prestigious publication. He also serves on the editorial boards of three major neuroendocrine journals and is the incoming president of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. In 1988, UMass Amherst named Blaustein one of "125 Alumni to Watch."