Rate My Professor Jennifer Cornish

Jennifer Cornish is PhD Professor of Psychology at Macquarie University, serving as Academic Director of the Graduate Research Academy and affiliated with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Office. She earned her PhD in neuropharmacology from Monash University in 1997, following a BSc (Hons). Her career at Macquarie University includes roles such as Associate Dean of Higher Degree Research in the Faculty of Human Sciences from 2005 to 2020, and she heads the Behavioural Neuropharmacology Laboratory. Cornish is a member of the Lifespan Health and Wellbeing Research Centre and the Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, an Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence. Previously recognized as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, she has advanced to full Professor of Psychology.

Her research specializes in neuropharmacology of brain circuitry, focusing on dopamine's role in regulating brain function and neurotransmitter interactions underlying behaviors linked to drug abuse and dietary intake, including reward, addiction, psychoses, depression, anxiety, and memory. Key interests encompass methamphetamine addiction and induced psychosis, ADHD, anxiety disorders, and pharmacotherapies like oxytocin and cannabinoids for mental health, evaluating their effectiveness, side effects, and impact on quality of life. With 117 research outputs, her work has garnered over 6,288 citations on Google Scholar. Notable publications include 'A CBD-rich hemp extract is superior to CBD alone in reducing relapse to methamphetamine-seeking in rats' (2026, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry), 'Adolescent alcohol binge drinking and withdrawal: behavioural, brain GFAP-positive astrocytes and acute methamphetamine effects in adult female rats' (2024, Psychopharmacology), 'A Comparison of Methamphetamine-Induced Psychosis and Schizophrenia' (2018, cited 167 times), and 'Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective' (2021). Awards include the inaugural Anne Swinbourne: Women in Learning Award (2024) from the Australian Learning Group and the ALTC 2009 Citation Award for promoting passion for biological psychology. Her contributions influence therapeutics for addiction and mental health.