Kelli A. Duncan

Kelli A. Duncan is Associate Dean of the Faculty and Academic Resources and Professor of Biology at Vassar College, holding the Patricia Shoer Goldman-Rakic '59 Professorship Chair. She joined Vassar in 2011 after completing her PhD at Georgia State University and postdoctoral work at Lehigh University.

Her research examines steroid hormone roles in nervous system repair following traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly how steroids mediate post-injury inflammation. Current investigations address hormone-brain interactions across developmental stages and aging processes.

Duncan's publications focus on neuroprotective mechanisms of steroids like estrogen and progesterone, utilizing zebra finch models to study gene expression patterns and therapeutic interventions. Recent work emphasizes sex differences in neuroinflammatory responses.

• Excellence in Teaching Award at Vassar College (2015)
• Excellence in Teaching Award at Michigan State University (2006 & 2009)
• Faculty Spotlight Award (2015)

She teaches courses including BIOL 316 Seminar in Neurobiology and NEUR 105 Introduction to Neuroscience and Behavior, and contributes to international collaborations like the Vassar-University of Global Health Equity partnership.