In June 2026, Michigan PNI Lab Senior Lab Manager Jack Chermside presented a project that he and Dr. Madison have been working on at the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society 2026 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The project was titled, “Examining the Effect of Existential Distress on IL-6 Sensitivity and Sleep in Breast Cancer Survivors.” The…
Adventures in Science Communication
Lauren Kim’s New Publication: Primed to Feel, Not to Flare
Does childhood adversity make the body more reactive to inflammation — or does it change how inflammation feels? In a new randomized, placebo-controlled study of 172 breast cancer survivors, researchers gave a typhoid vaccine (a safe way to trigger a brief, measurable rise in the inflammatory marker IL-6) on one visit and a saline placebo…
New Publication: Omega-3 Supplementation and Social Isolation
Our lab’s latest paper, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, reveals a striking sex difference in how omega-3 supplementation affects social perception. In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial in medical students, females who took omega-3 supplements for 12 weeks reported reduced perceived social isolation, while males showed no such effect. Supplemented females…
Adventures in Science Communication
Lauren’s Insight: This year, I had the chance to join the Science Communication Fellows Program through the Museum of Natural History—a program that helps researchers turn their work into hands-on, inquiry-based activities for community outreach. Through it, Maryam, our senior lead RA, and I got to share our lab’s PNI research at two events: one…
Senior Send-off!
Last Friday, we had the chance to celebrate and say goodbye to our graduating seniors. This group has made a lasting impact on the PNI Lab, with several of them having been in the lab since it began. Over time, they’ve helped shape the lab in meaningful ways: developing new roles, building studies from the ground up,…
Sharing our Research!
We have had many recent opportunities to share about the research we have been conducting in the PNI Lab. During St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Dr. Madison, our Principal Investigator, and Lauren, a PhD student in the lab, travelled to Chicago to present our research at the annual conference hosted by the Society for Biopsychosocial…
Rush Study Update!
The Michigan PNI lab has wrapped up the first leg of its multi-year naturalistic stress sorority rush study (RUSH study)! Our RAs have put in many hours all around the clock to ensure every visit ran smoothly, and we are excited to have started this study and are looking forward to the future of RUSH!…
The Michigan PNI Lab Has Moved Into a New Lab Space!
An exciting update for the PNI lab! We have moved into a new lab space for our RAs! Moving into this new space has been a turning point for our team. The new environment has fostered a stronger sense of collaboration and community, creating opportunities for every RA to feel meaningfully included in the research…
Inside the PNI Lab Meetings: Skill sessions in Immunology and Statistics!
The weekly Michigan PNI Lab meetings have continued to grow and mature throughout the semester as each member brings new and impactful ideas. These meetings are filled to the brim with a number of items: an opening mindfulness moment, a RA gold star award, roundtable RA check-ins (where RAs present the past week’s achievements, struggles,…
The Michigan PNI Lab Hosts a Biopac Training!
On March 18th and 19th, the Michigan PNI Lab hosted a two-day, all-day Biopac training session. Because we will be collecting some pretty novel stress physiology data types, Thomas, a trainer from Biopac, flew into Ann Arbor to provide both lectures and hands-on training. We were fortunate to have nearly every member of the PNI…