Archived News

 Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Cohn for receiving the first Association for the Advancement of Affective Computing (AAAC) Fellow Award for his contributions to the Affective Computing Field. 

Congratulations are in order for Esther Palacios-Barrios, a graduate student in the Clinical-Developmental program. Esther has won a 2019 Ford Foundation Fellowship, an award meant to increase diversity among university faculty. See Article.

Kirk Erickson, Professor in the Department of Psychology, is leading a five year study funded by the National Institue on Aging to identify how exercise can reduce declining mental function in old age. Such discoveries can help researchers develop effective drugs against Alzheimers. See Article.

Apologizing Too Much? In the New York Times Article titled, "No, You Don't Have to Stop Apologizing," Assistant Professor Karina Schumann describes why studies generally find women to be more apologetic than men. See Article. 

Congratulations to Professor Jeffrey Cohn and colleagues for receiving the "FG2019 Test of Time Award" for their 2000 paper "Comprehensive Database for Facial Expression Analysis." The award was presented at the 14th IEEE International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition Ceremony. See Article.

Congratulations to Ivy Yen, a Psychology and Lingustics double major and 2019 graduate, for receiving a prestigious and competitive Fulbright Scholarship. Ivy is on her way to teach English in South Korea!  See Article. 

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awardess - Esther Esmeralda Palacios-Barrios (Advisor: Jaime Hanson); Shirley Duong (Advisor: Melissa Libertus) Honorable Mention: Sarah L. Aghjayan (Advisor: Kirk Erickson); Julia Sarah Feldman (Advisor: Danny Shaw)

Professor Kirk Erickson comments on a new study that demonstrates the relationship between exercise and cognitive function throughout the lifespan. See Article

"Poverty is a sledgehammer,” said Jamie L. Hanson, an assistant professor in Pitt's Department of Psychology who studies the effects of poverty on the brain. “It hits at so many different places in people’s lives, from disrupting and challenging family situations, to kind of these larger-scale stressful experiences in your community, to maybe not having all of the economic resources, and these things then interact.” See Article

Molly Bowdring, a fourth-year PhD student in clinical psychology, took the lead on a recent paper that linked alcohol use with perceived physical attractiveness. See Article

Jamie Amemiya has received the National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, one of the most competitive and prestigious dissertation fellowships in Educational Science!

Department of Psychology Professor Kirk I. Erickson and John M. Jakicic, chair of the Department of Health and Physical Activity in the School of Education, are helping rewrite the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. See Article

Erika Forbes and Jennifer Silk Named Association for Psychological Science Fellows See Article

Congratulations to Jamie Hanson for Being a Recipient of 18th Annual Steven D. Manners Award See Article 

Congratulations to Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, who won an early career award from the American Psychological Association to study body image and social media in teens. See Article

Faculty member Kirk Erickson is featured in articles on excercise and brain health. See Article1  See Article 2 

Faculty member Karina Shumann and Grad Student Anna Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis are featured in articles for their research on apologies. See Article1 See Article 2

CNN calls upon the expertise of Karina Schumann, a faculty member in the social program, to report on the role of apologies in recent sexual misconduct cases. See Article

Congrats to Melissa Libertus, a featured researcher in Pittwire. Melissa is a faculty member in the Cognitive and Developmental Programs, with an internationally recognized program of research examining the development of math abilities and strategies for boosting math achievement. See Article.

Kudos to Jess Edelstein, a Psychology alum (A&S ’11). Jess is an inventor and entrepreneur who has built a multimillion dollar company that markets PiperWai, an aluminum-free, stain-free deodorant. She credits her Psychology degree with giving her the tools and knowledge needed to run a successful business, such as understanding research methods, motivating employees, and recognizing reactions to stress. It also helps that when she puts her mind to something, she makes it happen out of pure enthusiasm, passion, and stubbornness! See Article

Melinda Ciccocioppo was awarded one of the few Diversity in the Curriculum awards from the University for her hard work in transforming her Intro Psych class! The award was offered to faculty who made changes to a course in order to positively impact diversity and inclusion in the classroom.  Changes made to Melinda's course included coverage of research by female psychologists and psychologists of color who are often overlooked in Introduction to Psychology textbooks, as well as more in-depth discussions of gender and sexuality, prejudice, racial identity development, and multicultural approaches to therapy.  Audible gasps were heard when it was noted that she reaches over 1200 students per year. See Article

City of Pittsburgh achieved an excellent rating for LTGBQ friendly policies. See Article

The University of Pittsburgh has been awarded the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine. The honor recognizes higher education institutions that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Pitt was one of only two institutions in the commonwealth chosen for the honor. See Article

GROUP Podcast - Thanks to Kathryn Roecklein, who took the time as a featured expert on the GROUP podcast about mental health and mental illness, to discuss seasonal affective disorder and light therapy treatment. See Article

Jana Iverson's work on the link between walking and language development in children with autism is featured in the latest issue of Spectrum, which highlights the latest developments in autism research. See Article

Congrats to the Office of Child Development, headed by Bob McCall, has been awarded the Chancellor’s University Prize for Strategic, Inclusive and Diverse Excellence (UPSIDE) Award. This is a major honor that recognizes the more than 30 years of community engagement that has immeasurably improved the lives of Pittsburgh children and families. See Article

Well done! Melissa Kukowski, who earned a B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience, has been named a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in South Korea. See Article

Kudos to Jamie Amemiya, Allison Liu, and Emily Braham, who have been awarded University Council Research in Diversity Awards. Each of their projects will help to advance research that tackles issues of research and inclusion, and foster new diversity-related collaboration within Pitt.         See Article

Shout out to Anne Keenan (B.S. in Psychology, ’81), who has established Reading Recycled, a nonprofit that has delivered more than 18.000 books to children in the Philadelphia area. See Article

Powerful and moving — take a moment to listen to Alyssa Cypher’s TEDxPittsburghWomen talk on creating new narratives for those affected by mental illness through her Inside Our Minds project. Alyssa, a Psychology grad, is the Executive Director for Inside Our Minds and Data and Communications Specialist for the National Alliance of Mental Illness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q73gzkZ48o

Mary Kay Stein and Collaborators Receive $2.5 Million Grant to Study Teacher Learning See Article

Congrats to Ed Orehek, whose research on the social psychology of goal setting was featured in a Lifehacker article on how to help friends with their fitness goals See Article

NBC News: Kathryn Roecklein provides advice to NBC News on how to increase your mood and alleviate winter depression See Article

Three cheers for Jana Iverson, who has been selected to receive a 2018 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Her efforts to establish our Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program and her commitment to experience based learning outside of the classroom is an inspiring example of excellence in undergraduate education. See Article

Congratulations to Jamie Hanson and Tristen Inagaki, who were both selected as 2017 Rising Stars by the Association for Psychological Science. This designation is presented to outstanding psychological scientists in the early stages of their faculty careers. It recognizes researchers who have already advanced the filed and indicates their potential for sustained impact. See Article

Powerful and moving — take a moment to listen to Alyssa Cypher’s TEDxPittsburghWomen talk on creating new narratives for those affected by mental illness through her Inside Our Minds project. Alyssa, a Psychology grad, is the Executive Director for Inside Our Minds and Data and Communications Specialist for the National Alliance of Mental Illness See Article

Shout out to Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, a graduate student in the Clinical program, whose work on teen marijuana use was recently featured in Live Science, a online news and information source for science and technology fans. See Article

Thanks to Lauren Hallion, for talking to Today online about how to relax and not let anxiety get the better of you See Article

Congrats to Lauren Oberlin and her PhD advisor, Kirk Erickson, for her recently featured review paper demonstrating that exercise and physical activity can promote recovery from stroke See Article

Lindsay Taraban's  Child Development paper is featured on popular parenting site! See Article