Dr Hollands makes human brain cells in a dish.

In the lab, Jennifer coax’s human stem cells to become different types of brain cells so she can study how brain diseases develop and how to treat them.

As a passionate stem cell biologist Dr Hollands’ key interests lie in the translation of stem cell research to the clinic and educating the public about stem cell research.

Jennifer completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and her PhD at Monash University in Melbourne. Now Jennifer conducts her research at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne where she uses human pluripotent stem cells to understand how the brain develops normally, what happens in brain disease, and how stem cells could help treat patients.

Jennifer is an advocate for women in STEM and has coordinated a number of stem cell research programs for Victorian high school students. She has met with members of the Australian government as part of Science and Technology Australia’s ‘Science meets Parliament’ initiative in 2018, and co-authored Clinical Translation Recommendations to the Australian Government as part of the 2015 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank on ‘The Stem Cell Revolution’.

Jennifer believes that everyone has the right to be educated in STEM and she strongly believes that the only way a resilient future can be built is from problem-solving teams that are diverse in knowledge and perspectives.

Electorate: Cooper
MP: Ged Kearney