Janine Kwapis

Director of the Center for Molecular Investigation of Neurological Disorders; Associate Professor of Biology

Janine Kwapis

Research Summary

Molecular and epigenetic mechanisms underlying learning and memory and age-related memory impairments.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Not the same as it ever was: A review of memory modification, updating, and distortion in humans and rodents

Chad A. Brunswick, Catherine M. Carpenter, Nancy A. Dennis, Janine L. Kwapis, 2025, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

Unconditioned perspectives: New vistas on learning from the Pavlovian society

Melissa J. Sharpe, Nicole C. Ferrara, Natalie C. Tronson, Jennifer N. Perusini, Janine L. Kwapis, Sydney Trask, 2024, Communications in behavioral biology. Part A: [Original articles]

Long-lasting effects of disturbing the circadian rhythm or sleep in adolescence

Gretchen C. Pifer, Nicole C. Ferrara, Janine L. Kwapis, 2024, Journal of Electrophysiological Techniques

Pharmacological HDAC3 inhibition alters memory updating in young and old male mice

Chad W. Smies, Lauren Bellfy, Destiny S. Wright, Sofia G. Bennetts, Mark W. Urban, Chad A. Brunswick, Guanhua Shu, Janine L. Kwapis, 2024, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

Connecting the Dots: Potential Interactions Between Sex Hormones and the Circadian System During Memory Consolidation

Hannah M. Boyd, Karyn M. Frick, Janine L. Kwapis, 2023, Journal of Biological Rhythms on p. 537-555

The clock gene Per1 is necessary in the retrosplenial cortex—but not in the suprachiasmatic nucleus—for incidental learning in young and aging male mice

Chad A. Brunswick, Derek J. Baldwin, Kasuni K. Bodinayake, Alexandria R. McKenna, Chen Yu Lo, Lauren Bellfy, Mark W. Urban, Emily M. Stuart, Shoko Murakami, Chad W. Smies, Janine L. Kwapis, 2023, Neurobiology of Aging on p. 77-90

The clock gene Per1 may exert diurnal control over hippocampal memory consolidation

Lauren Bellfy, Chad Smies, Alicia Bernhardt, Kasuni Bodinayake, Aswathy Sebastian, Emily Stuart, Destiny S. Wright, Chen-Yu Lo, Chen Yu Lo, Shoko Murakami, Hannah Boyd, Shoko Murakami, Hannah M. Boyd, Megan von Abo, Megan J. von Abo, Istvan Albert, Istvan Albert, Janine Kwapis, 2023, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 1789-1797

From the stomach to locus coeruleus: new neural substrate for ghrelin’s effects on ingestive, motivated and anxiety-like behaviors

I Maric, L López-Ferreras, Y Bhat, M Asker, S Börchers, L Bellfy, S Byun, Janine Kwapis, Karolina P. Skibicka, 2023, Frontiers in Pharmacology on p. 1286805

Memory retrieval, reconsolidation, and extinction: Exploring the boundary conditions of post-conditioning cue exposure

Nicole C. Ferrara, Janine L. Kwapis, Sydney Trask, 2023, Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience

Time to learn: The role of the molecular circadian clock in learning and memory

Chad W. Smies, Kasuni K. Bodinayake, Janine L. Kwapis, 2022, Communications in behavioral biology. Part A: [Original articles]

Most-Cited Papers

Epigenetic regulation of the circadian gene Per1 contributes to age-related changes in hippocampal memory

Janine L. Kwapis, Yasaman Alaghband, Enikö A. Kramár, Alberto J. López, Annie Vogel Ciernia, André O. White, Guanhua Shu, Diane Rhee, Christina M. Michael, Emilie Montellier, Yu Liu, Christophe N. Magnan, Siwei Chen, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Pierre Baldi, Dina P. Matheos, Marcelo A. Wood, 2018, Nature Communications on p. 3323

CaMKII regulates proteasome phosphorylation and activity and promotes memory destabilization following retrieval

Timothy J. Jarome, Nicole C. Ferrara, Janine L. Kwapis, Fred J. Helmstetter, 2016, Communications in behavioral biology. Part A: [Original articles] on p. 103-109

The retrosplenial cortex is involved in the formation of memory for context and trace fear conditioning

Janine L. Kwapis, Timothy J. Jarome, Jonathan L. Lee, Fred J. Helmstetter, 2015, Communications in behavioral biology. Part A: [Original articles] on p. 110-116

A neuroscientist's guide to transgenic mice and other genetic tools

Shaghayegh Navabpour, Janine L. Kwapis, Timothy J. Jarome, 2020, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews on p. 732-748

Promoter-specific effects of DREADD modulation on hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory formation

Alberto J. López, Enikö Kramár, Dina P. Matheos, André O. White, Janine Kwapis, Annie Vogel-Ciernia, Keith Sakata, Monica Espinoza, Marcelo A. Wood, 2016, Journal of Neuroscience on p. 3588-3599

Context and Auditory Fear are Differentially Regulated by HDAC3 Activity in the Lateral and Basal Subnuclei of the Amygdala

Janine L. Kwapis, Yasaman Alaghband, Alberto J. López, André O. White, Rianne R. Campbell, Richard T. Dang, DIane Rhee, Ashley V. Tran, Allison E. Carl, DIna P. Matheos, Marcelo A. Wood, 2017, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 1284-1294

HDAC3-mediated repression of the Nr4a family contributes to age-related impairments in long-term memory

Janine L. Kwapis, Yasaman Alaghband, Alberto J. López, Jeffrey M. Long, Xiang Li, Guanhua Shu, Kasuni K. Bodinayake, Dina P. Matheos, Peter R. Rapp, Marcelo A. Wood, 2019, Journal of Neuroscience on p. 4999-5009

BDNF rescues BAF53b-dependent synaptic plasticity and cocaine-associated memory in the nucleus accumbens

André O. White, Enikö A. Kramár, Alberto J. López, Janine L. Kwapis, John Doan, David Saldana, M. Felicia Davatolhagh, Yasaman Alaghband, Mathew Blurton-Jones, Dina P. Matheos, Marcelo A. Wood, 2016, Nature Communications on p. 11725

Contextual Information Drives the Reconsolidation-Dependent Updating of Retrieved Fear Memories

Timothy J. Jarome, Nicole C. Ferrara, Janine L. Kwapis, Fred J. Helmstetter, 2015, Neuropsychopharmacology on p. 3044-3052

GluR2 endocytosis-dependent protein degradation in the amygdala mediates memory updating

Nicole C. Ferrara, Timothy J. Jarome, Patrick K. Cullen, Sabrina A. Orsi, Janine L. Kwapis, Sydney Trask, Shane E. Pullins, Fred J. Helmstetter, 2019, Scientific Reports on p. 5180

News Articles Featuring Janine Kwapis

Jul 14, 2025

The breadth of the brain

Researchers in the Penn State Neuroscience Institute study the brain’s many aspects in a variety of ways, with implications from mental health to aging and disease.

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Apr 15, 2025

Four Penn State undergraduates earn Goldwater Scholarships

Four Penn State undergraduates were named Goldwater Scholars for 2025-26, based on their outstanding academic merit and research experience. Goldwater Scholars are selected for their potential as leaders in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

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Jan 03, 2025

Fourth annual Big Ten Neuroscience Symposium to convene at Penn State

The Penn State Neuroscience Institute, through the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Penn State College of Medicine, will host the Big Ten Neuroscience Annual Meeting on July 21 and 22 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College.

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Nov 13, 2024

Neuroscience student wins National Research Service Award fellowship

Chad Brunswick, a Ph.D candidate in the Huck Institutes’ intercollege graduate degree program in Neuroscience, has been awarded a prestigious National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Institute on Aging, one of the constituent institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Aug 28, 2024

Brain Scientists Finally Discover the Glue that Makes Memories Stick for a Lifetime

A long-running research endeavor reveals key chemical players that cement memories in place—and still more have yet to be discovered

Full Article

Aug 23, 2024

New CMIND director named

Janine Kwapis, the Paul Berg Early Career Professor in the Biological Sciences at Penn State, has been appointed director of the University's Center for Molecular Investigation of Neurological Disorders (CMIND), an interdisciplinary research unit within the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

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Aug 09, 2024

Memory problems in old age linked to a key enzyme, study in mice finds

A team of researchers from Penn State has identified an enzyme that contributes to age-related impairments in memory updating. When blocked, older mice were better able to incorporate new information and performed similarly to their younger counterparts. The researchers said the findings may lead to the development of potential therapeutic targets for improving cognitive flexibility in old age.

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Apr 23, 2024

Penn State biologist receives new investigator award for aging–biology research

Janine Kwapis, Paul Berg Early Career Professor in the Biological Sciences at Penn State, has been selected to receive a Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research from the American Federation for Aging Research.

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Feb 21, 2023

Kwapis appointed Paul Berg Early Career Professor in the Biological Sciences

Janine Kwapis, assistant professor of biology at Penn State, has been appointed as the first Paul Berg Early Career Professor in the Biological Sciences in recognition of her research contributions, teaching, and service to the Department of Biology and the Eberly College of Science.

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