Janice R. Naegele is a neuroscientist whose research seeks to identify novel treatments for epilepsy and brain damage. She has published extensively on applications of stem cell transplantation for neural repair, including articles on embryonic stem cell therapy for treating epilepsy and the synaptic mechanisms underlying seizure suppression by fetal inhibitory neuron transplants. The most recent work from her laboratory focused on understanding how the synaptic connectivity of endogenous adult-born hippocampal granule cells and other neurons in the hippocampus become altered after transplanting developing mouse or human GABAergic progenitors into this region of the brain, which is vital for forming new memories. She retired from active research and teaching in 2023, but has continued mentoring scientists at all career stages through her current work as Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the Society for Neuroscience and serving on several editorial boards of scientific journals, including Epilepsy Currents.

Janice R. Naegele is Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science (Emerita) and Professor of Biology (Emerita) at Wesleyan University. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. Professor Naegele received her Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Neuroscience and did her postdoctoral research at Rockefeller University in the lab of Torsten Wiesel, where she worked with Colin Barnstable. After a three-year appointment as an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Yale University School of Medicine, she joined the tenure-track faculty at Wesleyan University in 1991. During her academic career at Wesleyan University, she served as the Chair of Biology (2006-2009), Director of the Center for Faculty Career Development (2013-2016), Vice Chair of the Faculty (2016-17) and Chair of the Faculty (2017-2018) and served on many other committees and task forces.  Professor Naegele served as the Dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023. Her research was supported by Connecticut Innovations (formerly the Connecticut Regenerative Medicine Research Fund), the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and CURE Epilepsy. She is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.  Additional honors include the Wesleyan University Prize for Faculty Leadership and Service (2023, the Louise Hansen Marshall Mentoring Award from the Society for Neuroscience (2015), and the Connecticut Women of Innovation Award for Academic Innovation and Leadership.