Jennifer Thomas, PhD

Co-Leader,  Investigator Development Team

Dr. Jennifer Thomas is a Professor in the Dept of Psychology and co-Director of the Center for Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State University. She has been studying the effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs on brain and behavioral development for over 30 years. Her research primarily focuses on consequences, risk factors, mechanisms of alcohol-induced teratology, and treatments for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). For example, her translational research program has identified a number of pharmacological, nutritional, and environmental interventions that can reduce the severity of behavioral alterations associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Moreover, she is now investigating the consequences of prenatal cannabis and nicotine exposure on the developing fetus