Dr. McHenry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, and Neurobiology at Duke University. She received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Florida State University in 2013, where she studied neural mechanisms of social buffering and hormone-neurotransmitter interactions for social behavior in animals. As a postdoc, she trained at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with Dr. Garret Stuber and David Rubinow, using advanced neuroscience technology to uncover hormone-regulated neural circuits for social reward. She also acquired translational training in autism and Women’s Mood Disorders. Dr. McHenry opened her lab in the Fall of 2018 and has established several research programs that use a diverse combination of modern state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques to understand social and emotional processing within the brain. One major research project is to define flexible neural circuits that bridge hypothalamic homeostatic control circuits and mesolimbic dopamine reward systems, to direct specific forms of social and motivated behavior. A second major research goal is to define distinct behavioral and neural features that underlie ‘social personality’ and specific types of motivated behavior across mammalian species. As a mentor, her goal is to empower scientists at every career stage in a supportive and inclusive atmosphere that appreciates each person's authentic self. The lab strives to maintain exceptional integrity throughout each step of the scientific process, with respect for self, others, and the human-animal interaction.

Hobbies and interests: Spending time with animals and in nature, cooking, yoga, and hiking.