Ellen Herbener

Dr. Ellen Herbener is an Associate Professor with a dual appointment in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She holds a PhD from Harvard University and completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Her research focuses on emotional and social functioning abnormalities in schizophrenia, utilizing affective neuroscience and functional imaging to study mechanisms underlying anhedonia and avolition. She co-investigates an NIH grant examining learning and reward processing in schizophrenia. Dr. Herbener mentors graduate students in Psychology and psychology interns in Psychiatry, teaching courses on Lifespan Development and Clinical Interviewing.

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science, University of Chicago
• Doctoral Degree, Harvard University
• Psychology Internship, Cambridge Hospital
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Research Interests: Dr. Herbener’s work integrates clinical psychology with neuroscience to explore emotional deficits in schizophrenia. Her studies employ behavioral paradigms and fMRI to identify neural mechanisms behind symptoms like anhedonia. She collaborates with the Center for Cognitive Medicine and the Psychosis Clinic in Psychiatry, bridging translational research and clinical practice.

Labs/Teams: Member of the Center for Cognitive Medicine and the Psychosis Clinic (Psychiatry Department), and the Clinical Psychology Division (Psychology Department).