Co-Directors of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN):
John Detre and Sharon Thompson-Schill |
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July 15, 2014, Volume 61, No. 01 |
Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell announced the appointment of John A. Detre and Sharon Thompson-Schill, as Interim Co-Directors of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN), effective July 1, 2014.
The Center for Cognitive Neuroscience is a University-wide, multidisciplinary center dedicated to understanding the neural bases of human thought. Its research addresses central challenges of cognitive neuroscience—including perception, attention, learning, memory, language, decision-making and emotion—through such diverse methods as neuroimaging, behavioral testing, magnetic stimulation, gene studies, computational modeling and pharmacological intervention.
Drs. Detre and Thompson-Schill will serve as Interim Co-Directors of CCN at an exciting time in cognitive research, when the CCN will be at the forefront of the University’s and the nation’s efforts to meet the challenge of President Obama’s BRAIN (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative. Their proven academic and scientific leadership, which brings together the cross-School resources of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine, will help lead Penn’s cognitive neuroscientists in charting new directions for the Center.
Dr. Thompson-Schill, who has served as director of the CCN since 2010, is Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor, director of undergraduate studies and incoming chair of psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences. Editor of Cognitive Neuroscience and associate editor of the Journal of Experimental Psychology, she has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Association for Psychological Science and currently serves as treasurer of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language. Her numerous awards include the Searle Scholars Award, the Young Investigator Award from the Cognitive Neuroscience Society and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, Penn’s highest teaching award. She was also an inaugural Penn Fellow, a University-wide program that recognizes and provides leadership development to select Penn faculty members in mid-career. Dr. Thompson-Schill first came to Penn in 1996 as a postdoctoral fellow in psychology and neurology and then joined the Penn faculty in 1999. She earned a PhD (1996) in cognitive psychology from Stanford University and a BA (1991) in psychology from Davidson College.
Dr. Detre is professor of neurology and radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, where he serves as vice chair for research in the department of neurology and directs the Center for Functional Neuroimaging in the department of radiology. He first came to Penn in 1989 as a research fellow in the department of biochemistry and biophysics and completed his neurology residency here in 1993. An author of more than 250 papers, Dr. Detre is a member of numerous national societies, serves on the Board of Trustees of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and has received awards and honors including PSOM’s 2011 Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator Award, which recognizes the invention and development of new techniques and approaches that are of major benefit for patient care. Dr. Detre earned his MD (1986) and BS (1981) from Yale University. |