Dr. Bert Moore
The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) at UT Dallas has added four new tenure-track faculty to its ranks this fall. Specializing in psychology and neuroscience, the new faculty will help bolster the school’s academic and research programs.
“This fall, BBS grew to over 2,400 students in our 13 undergraduate and graduate programs,” said Dr. Bert Moore, dean of the school and Aage and Margareta Møller Distinguished Professor. “We strive to continue providing new dimensions to our training and research through our recent hires.”
In addition to the new faculty, several construction projects have increased the number of the school’s classrooms, laboratories and offices.
The Callier Center for Communication Disorders in Dallas had a makeover of its lobby area, which will welcome patients and researchers with a new look by the end of October. Renovations to the J Building and parking lot have created space for a new state-of-the-art center for autism treatment, training and research. The Autism Center is expected to be completed in November.
On the main campus, BBS has moved its advising offices and added lab spaces for two of the new faculty members on the second floor of the Erik Jonsson Academic Center.
The Callier Center in Richardson also will be growing soon.
“We are excited that the Board of Regents approved expanding our Callier Center Richardson facility for which ground will be broken in early 2015,” Moore said. “This addition will provide new, state-of-the-art clinical areas for training students in communication sciences, as well as for other programs in the school.”
Moore said that the facility will be directly adjacent to the new home for the neuroscience program in the Biosciences and Bioengineering Building, scheduled to open next year.
New Tenure-Track Faculty
Dr. Gregory Dussor
Dr. Gregory Dussor, associate professor of neuroscience
Previously: Associate professor at the University of Arizona
Research Interests: Neurobiology of pain, migraine, neuropharmacology
Quote: “Migraine is the most common neurological disorder and one of the most prevalent disorders on the planet. The pathology contributing to migraine is poorly understood, and it is not adequately treated by current therapeutics. The focus of the research in my laboratory is gaining a better understanding of the underlying causes of the pain of migraine. Our long-term goal is to identify mechanisms contributing to migraine pain that can be targeted to develop more effective therapeutics.”
Dr. Heidi Kane
Dr. Heidi Kane, assistant professor of social psychology
Previously: Research scientist at Wayne State University
Research Interests: Close relationships, stress, support and coping, health
Quote: “For better or for worse, our experiences in and perceptions of close relationships have a remarkable influence on our health. My research investigates how social and cognitive process shape interpersonal experiences and how these experiences “get under the skin” to impact health. I focus on stress and coping processes within close relationships and study these processes in relation to health relevant outcomes in the context of sleep, maternal fetal health and asthma.”
Dr. Amy Pinkham
Dr. Amy Pinkham, associate professor of psychological sciences and cognitive neuroscience
Previously: Assistant professor at Southern Methodist University
Research Interests: Social cognition, schizophrenia, autism, functional outcome, neuroimaging, eyetracking, severe mental illness
Quote: “Individuals with severe mental illness often face significant difficulties in social and occupational functioning. My work attempts to understand the neural and cognitive factors that contribute to these difficulties in the hope that we may be able to offer more effective treatment. The school’s focus on interdisciplinary research programs and brain bases of behaviors provides an outstanding environment for pursuing this goal.”
Dr. Theodore Price
Dr. Theodore Price, associate professor of neuroscience
Previously: Associate professor at the University of Arizona
Research Interests: Neurobiology of pain, molecular mechanisms of plasticity, neuropharmacology
Quote: “Chronic pain costs our health care system more than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined, yet despite the obvious medical need, we have very few tools to treat chronic pain. Our laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms that cause pain to become chronic. We then use these discoveries to develop new therapeutics with the potential to reverse plasticity that causes chronic pain. Ultimately our goal is to hit the reset button on chronic pain to restore quality of life for patients suffering from this neurological disorder.”
News Center is publishing profiles of tenured and tenure-track professors who have recently joined the University. The following schools’ profiles have been published: