The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is proud to announce that senior Jeslyn Brouwers has been honored as the recipient of the 2024–2025 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.As an international student from Thailand and the Netherlands, Brouwers first discovered her passion for psychology at the International School of Bangkok. She is deeply grateful to her high school psychology teacher, Ms. Ginny Voigt, for introducing her to the field and inspiring her to imagine publishing her … read more about Senior Jeslyn Brouwers Receives 2024-2025 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research »
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is thrilled to announce that senior Cai Liu, pursuing a double major in Psychology and Sociology, has been honored as the recipient of the 2023-2024 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Cai’s undergraduate thesis, titled “Cross-Cultural Differences between Love and Gratitude,” consists of a two-part study comparing the experiences of love and gratitude across three distinct regions—North America, Latin America, and East Asia. Recently, she completed… read more about Senior Cai Liu Receives 2023-2024 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research »
We are excited to announce the 2021-2022 Bruner Awardee, Jingxuan Liu! She is a double-major in Psychology and Statistics and is confident that knowledge of statistics will complement her passion for research in psychology. Jing learned about the Award through her mentors Dr. Elika Bergelson and Dr. Bridgette Hard. She was encouraged to apply because of her exemplary demonstration of her passion for psychology, which started in the classroom. “Although I didn’t come to Duke as a psych major, I took Psych 101 during… read more about Senior Jingxuan "Jing" Liu Receives 2021-2022 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research »
Makeba Parramore Wilbourn, Associate Professor of the Practice of Psychology and Neuroscience, has received Duke's Advisor of the Year Award. Academic Advising at Duke has upwards of 300 volunteer advisors working with first and second year students. Each year, based on feedback provided by students’ major declaration survey, advisees share their experiences working with advisors. Based on the student survey feedback two Advisors of the Year are selected: one faculty member and one staff member.… read more about Makeba Parramore Wilbourn named Advisor of the Year »
The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has awarded Leonard White, PhD, the 2021 Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award. These national awards, given to only four individuals a year, recognize outstanding contributions to medical education made by gifted teachers. As associate professor in neurology at the Duke University School of Medicine, White has set the bar for medical education through impressive foresight, anticipating student needs and pioneering new approaches well ahead of… read more about Len White receives AAMC’s Distinguished Teaching Award »
The Psychology & Neuroscience department is pleased to announce the 2021-22 Costanzo Teaching Fellows (TFs), as well as honor the accomplishments of our Costanzo Teaching Fellows (TFs) from the 2020-21 cohort. Our Costanzo Teaching Fellows (TFs) are a group of outstanding undergraduate students who were selected to gain teaching and mentorship experience in Introductory Psychology (PSY 101), one of Duke’s largest… read more about Costanzo Teaching Fellow Program honors outstanding undergraduate teachers and welcomes new cohort »
The Duke University Department of Psychology and Neuroscience would like to congratulate junior Khalid Hassan (Psychology BS major, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies & Chemistry minors) on being accepted into the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program puts a large emphasis on investigating the cultural and historical components of our society. “I already had an interest in medicine and health, and I wanted to understand why the medical world is the way that it… read more about Psychology Major Khalid Hassan Awarded Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship »
Congratulations to Michael Xie, winner of the 2021 Karl E. Zener Award. This award is given annually to an undergraduate psychology major at Duke University who has shown outstanding performance and scholarship, as determined on the basis of both the honors thesis (evaluated by a committee of faculty members) and the total academic record. As part of Michael’s study, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Contextual Predictors of Straight Men’s Negative Evaluations of Gay Men, Michael hypothesized that straight men… read more about Michael Xie wins 2021 Zener Award »
Bridgette Martin Hard, Associate Professor of the Practice of Psychology and Neuroscience, has received the 2021 Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. This honor is well-deserved recognition for the outstanding leadership & incomparable pedagogy of Hard, who also serves as the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies in Psychology. Hard is the Principal Investigator and director of the BRITElab (Behavioral… read more about Bridgette Hard wins 2021 Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award »
Faculty members Thomas Newpher and Minna Ng were selected the winners of the best poster award at the 20th annual meeting of the Team-Based Learning Collaborative. Their poster abstract was titled: Class Size and Student Performance in Team-Based Learning. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is a popular form of small-group collaborative learning. In TBL, students work together in permanent teams throughout the course term, and are motivated… read more about Faculty members Minna Ng and Thomas Newpher win best poster award at 2021 TBLC conference »
The Duke University Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is pleased to announce that senior Nathan Liang (Psychology major, Philosophy minor) is the recipient of the 2020-2021 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Liang’s research focuses on moral psychology. He is interested in, “understanding how we think about actions and beliefs as right and wrong especially in relation to deep-seated religious and political beliefs.” Liang utilized our Undergraduate Research Grants,… read more about Senior Nathan Liang Receives 2020-2021 Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research »
Jane Leer, doctoral student in Psychology and member of the Duke Identity and Diversity Lab, has received a Promise Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Special Topic Workshop: Addressing and Reducing Inequality through Developmental Science. Leer's project proposal is titled Youths’ Perceptions of Economic Inequality from Gentrifying Neighborhoods to Rural Contexts. As an interdisciplinary researcher in psychology and… read more about Doctoral student Jane Leer receives SRCD Promise Award »
Jaelyn Nixon, first-year student in the joint Public Policy and Psychology PhD program, and member of the Duke Identity & Diversity Lab has been awarded the 2020-2021 Dean's Graduate Fellowship. Broadly, Nixon's research aspirations are motivated by the desire to reduce social injustices. She is particularly interested in the covert ways that discriminatory practices evolve and produce consequences (in terms of incarceration, education, health, & wealth… read more about Jaelyn Nixon, first-year Ph.D. student, awarded Dean's Graduate Fellowship »
Sarah Gaither, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 Michele Alexander Early Career Award. All applications were reviewed by a panel of scholars, both senior and junior, with a wide range of interests and areas of expertise. Gaither's record of scholarship, teaching, and service was described by the committee as the embodiment of this honor, and the congratulatory letter from the award committee, stated: "… read more about Assistant professor Sarah Gaither awarded the 2020 Michele Alexander Early Career Award »
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Elizabeth Marsh has been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, the oldest and most prestigious honorary society in Psychology. Marsh joins a highly select group of distinguished empirical scientists. The membership elects only a handful of Fellows each year and the Society has only two functions: to honor its members and to gather annually to hear research presentations by Fellows. Normally,… read more about Professor Elizabeth Marsh elected Fellow of the Society of Experimental Psychologists »
All Babies and Children Thrive (ABC Thrive) has awarded seed grants of up to $40,000 to four interdisciplinary teams of Duke faculty, two of which are teams from the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. The teams will explore new interventions to support positive early childhood development ranging from tools for earlier identification of children at risk for neurodevelopmental challenges, to methods for teaching young children prosocial behaviors, to improving outcomes for black children and families… read more about Two P&N faculty teams receive ABC Thrive Seed Grants to improve early childhood outcomes »
Sarah Gaither, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience has received the prestigious 2020 Sage Young Scholar Award. The Sage Young Scholar Awards recognize outstanding achievements by young scholars who are early in their research careers. The awards are intended to provide these scholars with funds that can be flexibly applied in extending their work in new and exciting directions. Previous recipients of this award have gone on to positions of intellectual… read more about Sarah Gaither receives 2020 SAGE Young Scholar Award »
Eight faculty members from the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience have been awarded Research Seed Grants via philanthropic support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological and Neuroscience Research at Duke University. The faculty projects – all chosen by review committee – show great promise both for generating exceptional research and for providing opportunities for students. In a letter to recipients, P&N Chair Scott Huettel offered… read more about 2020-2021 Faculty Research Seed Grant recipients announced »
Max Elliott, clinical psychology PhD student working with Ahmad Hariri and the Moffitt & Caspi lab, has received a prestigious F99/K00 Transition to Aging grant from the National Institutes of Health. The award was created with the objective to increase, retain, and diversify the pool of trainees in aging and geriatric research. Max is interested in further understanding the structure of mental illness through investigating the interacting relationships between genes… read more about PhD student Max Elliot receives Transition to Aging Research Award for Predoctoral Students (F99/K00) »
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is pleased to release its special funding 2019-2020 Impact Report, Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological Research at Duke University. The document highlights the program's achievements with feature stories, data, photographs, and student testimonials. A link to the full 15-page report can be found below. In a statement from leadership about the special funding opportunities provided to the department, Professor and… read more about Special Funding Report 2019-2020: Charles Lafitte Foundation Program in Psychological Research at Duke University »
Elsa Friis, a graduate student in clinical psychology, has been awarded the Richard W. Morrell Community Commitment and Advocacy Award by Emory University - Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine for her critical work during her clinical internship. This award is periodically given to a trainee or faculty member who best demonstrates the spirit and action of commitment to community. Friis is recognized for her advocacy work including the… read more about Graduate student Elsa Friis receives award for advocacy work, co-authors article on pandemic response behavioral health »
In the summer of 2020, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience issued a charge to form the P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Climate. As its first act, The Task Force created the Stella Powell-Williams Award, using internal support to supplement selected grants submitted as part of a special call for graduate and postdoctoral research projects related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity… read more about Task Force announces recipients of the 2020 Stella Powell-Williams Award »
With generous support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation, the recently-formed P&N Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Climate is assisting the department with redirecting funds previously designated for (now-prohibited) travel toward support for small and large graduate and postdoctoral research projects related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity, and thriving. The Task Force crafted a special call to highlight the wide range of research topics that would… read more about P&N graduate students awarded funding for psychological research related to identity, diversity, inclusion, equity, and thriving »
Professor Michael Tomasello has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology for his book, Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny. The Maccoby Award is presented to the author of a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on one or more of the areas represented by Division 7, including promoting research in the field of developmental psychology; fostering the development… read more about Michael Tomasello Receives Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology »
In response to the changed research climate in the era of COVID-19, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience put out a special call for Graduate/Postdoctoral Research Awards: Psychological Research related to COVID-19. With generous support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation, funds that were was previously designated for now prohibited conference attendance and travel were redirected to support small research projects related to… read more about P&N Graduates Awarded Funding for Psychological Research Related to COVID-19 »
The award gives Katherine Becker the opportunity to study global security and borders at Queen’s University Belfast beginning in fall 2020. By Carla Burkhard / Office of Scholars and Fellows, Duke University, Published May 19, 2020 Duke alumna Katherine Becker, Trinity ’17, has been awarded the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation. The award provides a full tuition-fee waiver to an exceptional female student from the United States who… read more about Psychology Alum Katherine Becker Receives Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation »
The Psychology & Neuroscience department honors the accomplishments of the Costanzo Teaching Fellows (TFs), a group of outstanding undergraduate students who were selected to gain teaching and mentorship experience in Introductory Psychology (PSY 101), one of Duke’s largest undergraduate courses. The Costanzo TFs plan and lead sections for the PSY 101 class, as well as provide one-on-one mentorship to students on a semester-long research and writing project. Although all of the Costanzo TFs are… read more about Costanzo Teaching Fellow Program Honors Outstanding Undergraduate Teachers »
Congratulations to Ceren Ebrem, winner of the 2020 Karl E. Zener Award. This award is given annually to an undergraduate psychology major at Duke University who has shown outstanding performance and scholarship, as determined on the basis of both the honors thesis (evaluated by a committee of faculty members) and the total academic record. As part of her study, Mindsets Through Language: Implications of Inferred Mindsets for Student Experience, Ceren was hoping to find if students’ intelligence mindsets could be… read more about Ceren Ebrem wins 2020 Zener Award »
Bruny Kenou '20 graduated with honors in neuroscience and minors in both psychology and chemistry. Kenou – a Rubenstein scholar, former research assistant for Edward Levin and Nancy Zucker, and advisee of Minna Ng – now heads to a two-year research fellowship with the National Institutes of Mental Health. Kenou's full feature story below written by Susan Kauffman was published May 8, 2020 in Duke Today. Bruny Kenou: Rubenstein… read more about Honors Neuroscience Student, Bruny Kenou '20, Featured in Duke Today »
2nd-year CNAP student Rachael Wright and RA Jack Dolgin have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF GRFs); 1st-year CNAP student Raphael Geddert, and P&N students Anna Smith and Morgan Taylor received Honorable Mention. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics… read more about Ph.D. Student Rachael Wright and Research Assistant Jack Dolgin Receive Prestigious NSF Fellowships »