News
Conor Smithson wins Provost’s Pathbreaking Discovery Award
Mar. 10, 2025—Conor Smithson wins Provost’s Pathbreaking Discovery Award This premier award is from the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and the Dean of the Graduate School. This award celebrates doctoral students who demonstrate truly exceptional research and scholarship. This award celebrates doctoral students who demonstrate truly exceptional research...
Brock Carlson successfully defends dissertation
Mar. 6, 2025—Brock Carlson’s dissertation BINOCULAR POPULATION RESPONSES IN THE EARLY VISUAL SYSTEM Under the direction of Dr. Alexander Maier and Dr. Geoffrey Woodman, Brock successfully defended his dissertation on March 4th, 2025. Congratulations to Dr. Carlson! Binocular vision emerges from the convergence of monocular inputs in the primary visual cortex (V1), yet the specific mechanisms governing...
André Bastos wins CNS 2025 Young Investigator Award
Mar. 3, 2025—André was awarded the 2025 Young Investigator Award. The purpose of the Young Investigator Award is to recognize outstanding contributions by scientists early in their career. Two awardees are named by the Awards Committee, and are honored at the CNS Annual meeting. His lecture is titled Multi-Area, high-Density, Laminar Neurophysiology (MaDeLaNe) recordings suggest Predictive Coding is...
Ashley Watts wins 2025 APS Taylor Spence Award
Mar. 3, 2025—Vanderbilt University researcher, Ashley Watts, in the Department of Psychology, has been named a recipient of the 2025 APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, recognizing her innovative work in understanding the complex relationship between psychopathology and addiction. Watts, who completed her PhD at Emory University in 2018, is one of seven...
Vanderbilt’s Psychology Department ranked #8, Graduate Psychology Program #12
Sep. 25, 2024—Vanderbilt University has earned a remarkable achievement by being ranked #8 in the 2025 U.S. News Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs! (Our department is tied at this rank with other excellent programs that include those at Columbia, Cornell and Duke). This ranking highlights the excellence of Vanderbilt’s psychology department, recognizing its dedication to both research and...
Adriane Seiffert wins Inaugural Psychology Department Award for Innovation in Teaching
Sep. 9, 2024—The Department of Psychology is thrilled to announce that Dr. Adriane Seiffert, Principal Senior Lecturer and Research Assistant Professor of Psychology, is the inaugural recipient of the Psychology Department Award for Innovation in Teaching: Instruction and Course Design. This award recognizes her outstanding contributions to enhancing student learning and engagement through innovative teaching methods. In...
Erin Duran wins the 2024 Trisha James Outstanding Staff Award
Sep. 9, 2024—Erin Duran, program coordinator in the Vanderbilt Psychology Department, has been honored with the 2024 Trisha James Outstanding Staff Award. Erin’s commitment to her colleagues and her passion for fostering a positive and supportive environment have made her an invaluable part of our community. Erin received four glowing nomination letters, one of which was signed...
Thomas Palmeri named Centennial Professor
Sep. 9, 2024—Dr. Thomas Palmeri, a Distinguished Professor in Psychology, has been named Centennial Professor. This honor, one of the highest at the university, highlights his groundbreaking contributions to the fields of visual categorization, category learning, and computational modeling. With over 570 yearly citations since 2013 his influence is broadly felt across psychology and neuroscience. Palmeri leads...
Jordan Gunn receives the College of Arts & Science Outstanding Student Teaching Assistant Award
Jul. 30, 2024—Ph.D. candidate, Jordan Gunn received the College of Arts & Science Outstanding Student Teaching Assistant Award. Established in 1985, this award is given each year for exceptionally effective classroom and/or laboratory instruction by a graduate teaching assistant. The Committee on Graduate Education selects an award winner from departmental nominations. The winner receives a cash prize and an engraved plaque. Jordan...
Tim McNamara named Dean of College of Arts and Science
Jul. 30, 2024—Vanderbilt University has named Timothy P. McNamara, as Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science. McNamara’s appointment for a two-year term, announced by C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, follows McNamara’s exemplary service as interim dean since July 2023. McNamara, whose appointment is effective July 1...