Dr. Lena Brundin is a certified psychiatrist with a PhD in neurobiology. Her research focuses on how neuroinflammation and kynurenine metabolites, which are generated by inflammation, influence neuronal survival and neurotransmission, thereby producing changes in emotion, behavior and motor function. In her early studies at Lund University, she analyzed the central nervous system immune responses in models of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In 2012, Dr. Brundin joined the Van Andel Research Institute, where she established the Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Brundin leads clinical and preclinical studies aimed at determining the roles of neuroinflammation and kynurenine metabolites in PD and psychiatric disorders, including suicidality in individuals with major depressive disorder (currently funded by NIH). Her laboratory specializes in analyses of immune-boosting cytokines as well as kynurenine metabolites.