News

Annelise Madison, Ph.D, an accomplished early-career researcher exploring the brain-body connection, has joined the University of Michigan as the newest Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center faculty recruit. Dr. Madison joins the Department of Psychology, at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts as an assistant professor of Clinical Psychology.

“Dr. Madison is a rising star in the cutting-edge field of Psychoneuroimmunology,” said Luke Hyde, Ph.D., professor of Psychology.  “She brings an incredible new set of tools that will help us think about and study depression and other forms of mental illness in new ways. Her work has an incredible breadth from basic biology to intervention and her publication record is remarkable for a scholar so early in their career.”

Madison comes to U-M from The Ohio State University where she recently completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. During her schooling, Madison authored more than 40 publications and has given more than a dozen presentations at national and international conferences.

“Dr. Madison is an innovative and creative emerging scholar,” said Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Frances and Kenneth and Family Eisenberg Family Depression Center. “Her work at the intersection of psychology, the immune system and social stress has the potential to unlock a deeper understanding of depression and psychopathology. She is the type of scholar who can take advantage of the strengths at U-M across a diverse set of fields and catalyze unique collaborations that can move the field forward”

The search was conducted by an interdisciplinary faculty search committee representing units from across the University of Michigan campus and Michigan Medicine, including Aidan Wright, Ph.D., a professor of Psychology and the Phil F. Jenkins Research Professor of Depression. “Annelise has an incredible breadth of expertise, and her work treats depression for what it is – a whole-body problem,” said Wright. “Her research has the potential to bridge multiple disciplines across the University of Michigan, linking mind, brain, body, and social processes for a holistic understanding of depression and human distress processes.”

When asked about her interest in joining the University of Michigan, Madison noted the Center’s interdisciplinary approach to mental health research. “My research program spans multiple disciplines,” she said. “By bringing together experts from a variety of fields to pursue innovations related to depression prevention and treatment, the University of Michigan and the Center position themselves at the cutting edge.”

Beyond the potential for collaboration, Madison expressed excitement about joining the resource-rich Ann Arbor campus and community. “On my campus visits, there was a palpable buzz in the air,” she said. “The biggest issue would be choosing which projects to pursue first, and that is an exciting problem to have.”