Jodie submitted her PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience in Nov 2022, and is currently working as a postdoctoral research associate at UNSW. Jodie’s research investigates how pregnancy leads to long-term changes on anxiety and the response to its treatment. Using a cross-species translational approach, Jodie has found that pregnancy alters the hormonal (e.g., influence of sex hormones estrogen and progesterone), neurobiological (e.g., changes in anxiety-related gene expression in the rat brain), and behavioural features of anxiety in rats and humans. In addition, using animal models, Jodie has found that the response to common anti-anxiety medications, like Valium and Prozac, fundamentally differ from pre- to post-pregnancy. Jodie hopes that this research will lead to improved evidenced-based treatments for women with anxiety disorders across their entire lifespan. For instance, her findings suggest that clinicians may need to consider women’s reproductive history when making assessments about the presentation and maintenance of anxiety disorders, and when providing treatment recommendations. Moreover, Jodie’s research poses a significant challenge to existing neurobiological models of anxiety, which have been based almost entirely on male animals, despite anxiety disorders being twice as common in women compared to men. Jodie’s research highlights the importance of including females, and considering female-unique factors like reproductive status, in studies on anxiety, from preclinical studies in rats to studies in humans.