Elena Choleris

Elena Choleris is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph, within the College of Social & Applied Human Sciences. She specializes in Neuroscience & Applied Cognitive Science, focusing on the neuroendocrinology of social behavior in rodents. Her research examines the hormonal and neurotransmitter bases of social cognition, including social learning, recognition, and stress responses. She advises undergraduate students in Neuroscience and accepts graduate and experiential learning students.

Choleris holds a Ph.D. in Animal Biology – Ethology from the University of Parma, Italy, and a Laurea in Biological Sciences from the same institution. Her work integrates ethological, pharmacological, molecular, and genetic approaches to study social behaviors, with collaborations at institutions like The Rockefeller University and King's College London.

Her research emphasizes the rapid effects of estrogens, oxytocin, and dopamine on social cognition and memory. Key projects include understanding how hormones regulate social recognition, pathogen avoidance, and mate choice. She has mentored numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, contributing to over 200 publications in journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

Choleris is actively involved in promoting diversity in STEM and has edited books on oxytocin and social behavior. Her lab's work bridges basic science with translational insights into psychiatric disorders like autism spectrum disorder, leveraging rodent models to explore neural mechanisms underlying social behavior.