Media, Awards, Announcements

The Hamilton Lab (PI: Jessica L. Hamilton, PhD) and Department of Psychology Diversity and Climate Committee was recently awarded funding to hold an event to empower teen mental health advocates through the 2023 IDEA Innovation Grant from the Rutgers University Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE). Undergraduate research assistants Ritika Merai and Jas Sarna will help co-lead a day-long workshop to bring together up to 40 passionate students from high schools

There is a critical need for early diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. Elizabeth Torres, Ph.D., Rutgers University, shares new developments in that could aid in early detection of autism.

More from: Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference (https://www.uctv.tv/autism-tree-project) Explore More Health & Medicine on UCTV (https://www.uctv.tv/health)

UCTV features the latest in health and medicine from University of California medical schools. Find the information you need on

Congratulations to Maggie Albright-Pierce, the recipient of a Graduate Student, Professional Student, and Postdoctoral Scholar Development (GPPD) Career Development Grant from the POD Network. The POD Network is an organization that provides professional development for a community of scholars and practitioners of educational development in higher education. 

Maggie is a Ph.D. Student in the Psychology program. She works in the RAMP Lab, and is a member of both the TA Project and The Rutgers

A study conducted by Prof. Elizabeth Torres, PhD student Theodoros Bermperidis at the Sensory Motor Integration Lab, and collaborators from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California sheds light on the origins of Psychiatric and Neurological disorders, tracing all the way back to the early stages of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Development and the expression trajectories of key genes. The genes identified are important for biochemical and cellular functions of the human

Dr. Anna Vaskevich and Prof. Liz Torres report in Frontiers in Neuroscience a neural correlate of a new form of random exploratory statistical learning common to neonates, but overlooked by current models of learning. Whereas traditional learning relies on a reference signal always provided to the system, to optimize prediction error, and minimize surprise, this new mode of learning, ascribes equal probability to all future events and operates under high signal regime, open to surprise. In a

Guan-En Graham, a PhD Candidate in Dr. Kasia Bieszczad’s lab, received an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders to pursue her research on epigenetic mechanisms involved in auditory learning and cortical plasticity. Congratulations Guan-En!

Dr. Richard Contrada’s article, ‘Surprising’ Ways to Win Arguments and Influence People, suggests five debating tactics that may help in winning arguments.

Read the full article in Psychology Today: 'Surprising' Ways to Win Arguments and Influence People | Psychology Today

Dr. Maurice Elias’s published on USA TODAY. His article, "Alarm on children’s mental health has been ringing for decades. Too few have listened," focuses on the most immediate public health action we can take is to ensure schools are committed to and supported in building all students’ social, emotional, character and civic competencies.

Read the full article here: Full article below: Children's mental health: How to help schools so we don't fail kids

Our clinical student Valerie Wong was awarded the 2022 APAGS/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship. The APAGS/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship recognizes outstanding research-oriented students who are entering their first or second year of graduate study, and provides funds to help them begin successful research programs: https://www.apa.org/about/awards/apags-psi-chi?tab=1.

Valerie’s proposed project, "Cognitive Mechanisms of Positive Emotion and Restrictive Eating", will examine how

Dr. Jessica L. Hamilton and her research were featured in the Wall Street Journal about the importance of delaying school start times for high school students. Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses on sleep, social media, and suicide risk among adolescents.

Read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/high-schools-are-starting-too-early-sleep-scientists-say-11664248551

Read her recent open-access paper on sleep, emotional reactivity to social stress, and suicidal ideation among