Gable wins Kunze Prize
Social Psychology graduate student Philip Gable was named as the recipient of the 2009 Kunze Prize. This Prize is presented to a doctoral student nearing completion of the degree program who has shown superior academic achivement and successful publication in refereed journals of national or international stature; the recipient is also expected to demonstrate good citizenship through contributions to the university or the community. The award is named after George W. Kunze, a former Dean of Graduate Studies at Texas A&M University. Philip works with Professor Eddie Harmon-Jones on his research in the psychophysiology of emotion.
Setlow awarded major NIDA grant
Professor Barry Setlow was recently awarded a major grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support a research project entitled 'Neural mechanisms of enduring cocaine effects on impulsive choice'. The 5-year, million dollar project will examine the neural mechanisms by which chronic cocaine use causes long-lasting difficulties in delaying gratification. These difficulties may contribute to addiction by rendering users more likely to choose the immediate rewards of further drug use (e.g., short-term euphoria, relief from withdrawal symptoms) over the delayed but ultimately more beneficial rewards of abstinence (better health, employment, family relationships). Knowledge gained from these experiments will form an important foundation for developing novel treatments to reduce the likelihood of relapse and to enhance quality of life for addicted individuals.
Psychology graduate students win AFS Research Awards
Chris Hopwood and Annie Hsueh, graduate students from Psychology, were among a select group of students receiving awards from the Texas A&M University Association of Former Students. Dr. Hopwood, a 2008 TAMU graduate who is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, received the AFS Distinguished Doctoral Research Award. Annie Hsueh received the AFS Distinguished Masters Research Award. The AFS awards are presented to five students across the University to recognize excellence in research and teaching.
Hull wins SLATE Teaching Award
Rachel Hull, Instructional Assistant Professor and Director of Advising, was named as a recipient of the Student Led Awards for Teaching Excellence (SLATE). These teaching awards, based upon student nominations and voluntary student surveys, are awarded to those instructors scoring in the top 5% of university instructors. Approximately 2,500 instructors were eligible for these awards, which include a certificate and a cash bonus.
Cambron receives Outstanding Research Award from SPSP
Janelle Cambron, Visiting Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, received the Outstanding Research Award at the recent meetings of the Society of Personality & Social Psychology. As par5t of the award presentation, Dr. Cambron gave an invited talk entitled 'Considering the role of interpersonal contingent self-esteem in diathesis-stress and self-propagating models of depression.' The talk presented findings from multiple studies conducted both at Texas A&M and at University of Houston.
Harmon-Jones publishes new volume on methods in social neuroscience
Dr. Eddie Harmon-Jones, in collaboration with Jennifer Beer at the University of Texas, has just published a new work on neurobiological methods for the study of human social behavior entitled 'Methods in Social Neuroscience'. This volume, the first of its kind, reviews different neurobiological methods, provides examples of the method's applications, discusses its strengths and limitations, and reviews concrete experimental design considerations. The chapters of the book cover neuroimaging techniques, genetic measurement, hormonal methods, lesion studies, startle eyeblink responses, facial electromyography, autonomic nervous system responses, and modeling based on neural networks.
Bizon book on aging published by Humana Press
A volume edited by Professor Jen Bizon and Alisa Woods entitled _Animal Models of Human Cognitive Aging_ was recently published by the Humana Press. The book represents contributions from a panel of international authorities who comprehensively discuss the use of animal models as a tool for understanding cognitive changes associated with the aging process, detailing the normal and pathological processes of brain aging of humans in relation to those models. The volume comprehensively reviews frontal cortical deficits and executive function in primates as related to humans, and the use of transgenic modulation in mice to model Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases.
Edens awarded NIMH grant to study contextual processes in prisoner research
Professor John Edens was recently awarded an $800,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study contextual influences in prisoner research. This multi-site project examines prisoners’ (and other offenders’) attitudes about research participation in general, and their views and perceptions about specific factors that could potentially affect their ability to give voluntary consent to research participation. This project also examines the influence of individual differences variables on these attitudes and perceptions.
Candi LaSarge-Jendro receives 2008 Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Research
Candi LaSarge-Jendro, graduate student in Behavioral and Cellular Neuroscience within the Department of Psychology, was selected as a recipient of the Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Award for Research for 2008 from the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), for which she received a memorial plaque, certificate of recognition and a monetary award during a ceremony on December 4th.
Snyder receives 2008 TPA Outstanding Contribution to Science Award
Professor Douglas Snyder has been named as the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Contribution to Science Award by the Texas Psychological Association (TPA) in recognition of his research on marital assessment and marital therapy. A recent major contribution from Dr. Snyder involved a book for distressed couples: Snyder, D. K., Baucom, D. H., & Gordon, K. C. (2007). Getting past the affair: A program to help you cope, heal, and move on. New York: Guilford Press.
TAMU Clinical Psychology identified as Top 10 Clinical Program
The TAMU Clinical Psychology program was ranked in the Top 10 in the country in terms of faculty scholarly productivity for the 2006-2007 period, according to Academic Analytics. The Top 10 rankings of various fields may be found at:
http://www.academicanalytics.com/TopSchools/TopPrograms.aspx#11
The rankings are based upon a method for evaluating doctoral programs at Research Universities (across all Carnegie research classifications), based on a set of statistical algorithms developed by Lawrence Martin, Ph.D. and Anthony Olejniczak, Ph.D.. The index measures the annual productivity of faculty on several factors including publications (books and journal articles), citations of journal publications, Federal research funding, and awards and honors.