Dr. Wells WILL be accepting Ph.D. students for Fall 2024.

Jenna L. Wells is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. Dr. Wells studies how emotion in close relationships contributes to mental and physical health over the lifespan, with a focus on later life. Her training is in clinical psychology, and she utilizes methods derived from basic affective science (e.g., behavioral coding, text analysis). She is particularly interested in individuals providing care for a loved one with neurodegenerative disease, such as dementia. A central aim of her work is to identify predictors of individual differences in caregivers’ vulnerability and resilience to adverse outcomes. A second line of her research examines positive interpersonal processes and their associations with long-term health and well-being in individuals and dyads. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to identify intervention targets for individuals who are vulnerable to the adverse effects of caregiving and other interpersonal stressors.