Dr. Jennifer R. Gatchel obtained her MD/PhD from Baylor College of Medicine, working with Dr. Huda Y. Zoghbi, studying molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration. She graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from her medical school class and received the Hilde Bruch Award for highest honors in Psychiatry. She was subsequently a Chief Resident in Psychopharmacology during her Psychiatry residency training in the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean HospitalProgram. Massachusetts General Hospital researcher Jennifer Gatchel, MD, PhD, is using brain imaging technology to learn more about the connections between mental illness and cognitive decline in aging populations. She went on to complete the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical Fellowship and is currently an Instructor in Psychiatry at HMS and an Assistant Psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at McLean Hospital.

Dr. Gatchel’s research is focused on understanding the relationships among Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)-associated proteins amyloid and tau, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive decline in the preclinical and prodromal stages of AD and related dementias. She is utilizing a combination of neuroimaging and detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessments, towards developing better prevention and treatment strategies for individuals at risk for AD. Dr. Gatchel is the recipient of the HMS Department of Psychiatry Dupont Warren Fellowship and Livingston Award, the BrightFocus Foundation Research Fellowship, and the Alzheimer’s AssociationClinical Fellowship. She received the 2016 New Investigator award in Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Neurodegenerative Diseases from the Alzheimer’s Association, and the 2017 Outstanding Emerging Research Scientist Award from the Bright Focus Foundation.

In her clinical role, Dr. Gatchel sees older adult patients with mood and cognitive disorders and utilizes transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat depression. She is passionate about advocating for patients with dementia and their families, promoting healthy brain aging and positive mental health, and training the next generation of geriatric psychiatrists and clinician-researchers. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking and sampling cuisines, being amused by her Russian blue cats, Cosmo and Whiskers, and pursuing the most beautiful beaches, near and far.