RPRP Staff

Jennifer L. Payne, MD, is the Vice Chair of Research and a Professor at UVA in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, as well as the Director of the Reproductive Psychiatry Research Program (RPRP). She is certified by the by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology in Psychiatry and is an expert in reproductive psychiatry.

Dr. Payne has been conducting clinical research for over 20 years, with a particular emphasis in perinatal psychiatry for the majority of her research career. Her research interests include epigenetic biomarkers of postpartum depression (for which she holds 2 patents), the genetic, biological basis, prevention and treatment of postpartum depression, as well as premenstrual and perimenopausal mood disorders and psychiatric management. Her interests also include defining best practices for management of psychiatric disorders in pregnancy and postpartum.

Dr. Payne has multiple peer-reviewed publications centering on her clinical research, as well as those reviewing forms of depression, with the goal of understanding the etiology of different forms of depression.

Anne Louise Stewart, MD, is program director for the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship and associate program director for the adult psychiatry program. She joined the UVA team as one of the consultation- liaison psychiatry faculty after completing a CL fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern. She is passionate about scholarly education and developing new curriculums. She enjoys caring for patients alongside residents and fellows as well as being part of the reproductive psychiatry research program.

Elizabeth Wenzel, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow under mentorship by Dr. Payne in the RPRP. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois Chicago where she investigated how surging neuroactive steroid metabolites of progesterone in early pregnancy influence depression and anxiety symptoms in perinatal women. Her current work focuses on stress experiences and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning in women who develop postpartum depression with and without identified epigenetic biomarkers of hormone sensitivity and risk for postpartum depression. Dr. Wenzel is currently a UVA BRAIN Institute Postdoctoral Fellow.

Email: rds3uy@uvahealth.org

Read some of her recent work here!