Professor Jennifer Rodger is a neuroscientist specialising in brain plasticity, non-invasive brain stimulation and personalised treatments for neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. She leads Brain Plasticity Research at the Perron Institute and co-leads its Neuropharmacogenetics program, connecting fundamental neuroscience with clinical translation.

Internationally trained, Professor Rodger completed her Biochemistry degree at the University of Bath, with research placements in Israel and South Africa. She earned her PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from Paris VI, now Sorbonne University, with the highest distinction before moving to The University of Western Australia to pursue research in neural regeneration.

Her research investigates the mechanisms that enable neural circuits to form and adapt. Her multidisciplinary program combines repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, pharmacogenetics, computational modelling, optogenetics and neuroimaging to understand individual differences in brain plasticity and treatment response, with applications across youth depression, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Professor Rodger’s research underpins the rTMS Clinic at Perron, where brain stimulation is integrated with specialist psychiatric care and clinical research. A particular focus is improving treatment for adolescents and young adults with depression by identifying biological and genetic factors that influence treatment response.

Since 2024, Professor Rodger and her collaborators have secured more than $9 million for research and infrastructure supporting youth depression, pharmacogenetics, personalised antidepressant treatment and paediatric neuroimaging. She also co-coordinates UWA’s undergraduate and Master’s neuroscience programs and leads a large multidisciplinary group, mentoring researchers from Honours through to postdoctoral development.

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