Faculty Directory
Connect with faculty experts in neuroscience
Program Leadership and Coordinators
Sonia Cavigelli
- Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Neuroscience
- Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
Cassie Vomero
- Academic Program Coordinator: Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Neuroscience: Biotechnology Masters
Huck Graduate Programs Office
101 Huck Life Sciences Building
University Park, PA 16802
Paul Bartell
- Associate Professor of Avian Biology
The regulation of biological clocks in birds at the systems level.
Roger Beaty
- Associate Professor of Psychology
The cognitive neuroscience of creative thinking and problem solving.
Orfeu Buxton
- Elizabeth Fenton Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health
The causes of chronic sleep deficiency in the workplace, home, and society; the health consequences of chronic sleep. . .
Laura Cabrera
- Huck Early Career Chair in Neuroethics
- Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics
The ethical and societal implications of neurotechnologies used for treatment as well as for enhancement purposes.
Sonia Cavigelli
- Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Neuroscience
- Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
Development of temperament/personality; relationship of temperament and social status to stress and health; individual. . .
Eric Claus
- Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
Identifying neural and cognitive mechanisms that support behavior change in substance use disorders.
Nikki Crowley
- Director, Penn State Neuroscience Institute – University Park
- Huck Chair in Neural Engineering
Investigation of peptidergic transmission throughout the brain, using cell-specific and pathway-specific manipulations to. . .
Timothy Currier
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Joining the Huck in January 2027. Open to taking graduate students. Developmental mechanisms that build properly functioning. . .
Nancy Dennis
- Professor of Psychology
The cognitive and neural mechanisms that support learning and memory in young and older adults.
Patrick Drew
- Associate Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
- Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, of Neurosurgery, of Biology, and of Biomedical Engineering
Optical imaging of brain dynamics during sleep and behavior; Role of blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid movement in. . .
Chris Engeland
- Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Nursing
How stress, age, gender, and hormones affect inflammation / health. Biomarker feasibility for predicting health outcomes.
Nicole Etter
- Assistant Professor of Health and Human Development
The relationship between tactile sensation and skilled oral behaviors (e.g. speech and swallowing) in healthy young, aging,. . .
Lisa Gatzke-Kopp
- Professor of Human Development and Family Studies
Developmental neuroscience of psychopathology with a focus on aggression, hyperactivity, and substance abuse; relationship. . .
Santhosh Girirajan
- Professor of Genomics
- Professor of Anthropology
Understanding the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Bruce Gluckman
- Director of the Center for Neural Engineering
- Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, of Neurosurgery, and of Biomedical Engineering
The dynamics of neural systems, how group dynamics form or emerge from the coupled dynamics of individual units, and how to. . .
Thomas Gould
- Jean Phillips Shibley Professor and Department Head of Biobehavioral Health
Using genetic, pharmacological, behavioral, and molecular biological techniques to study the neurobiology of learning and. . .
Joshua Gross
- Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Biobehavioral Health
Cellular- and transgenic mouse model-based approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms of G protein-coupled receptor. . .
John Hayes
- Professor of Food Science
- Director, Sensory Evaluation Center
Perception of taste, smell and chemesthesis; eating behavior; individual differences in sensation and food preferences; COVID. . .