People

Professor Jeffrey Cockburn

Assistant Professor: Principal Investigator

Office: PBSB 174

I have recently joined the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences as an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa.

Previously, I was a post-doctoral research associate in neuroscience at CalTech working with prof. John O'Doherty. I received my PhD in Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences from Brown University with Prof. Michael J. Frank. Prior to that, I received an interdisciplinary MSc (Computer & Cognitive Sciences) working with Prof. Clay Holroyd at the University of Victoria, where I studied computer science and philosophy as an undergrad.

I am growing my lab.
If you are creative, curious, and motivated by the mysteries of the brain, please contact me.

Hongyao Gao

Graduate Student

email: hongyao-gao@uiowa.edu

I received my B.S. in Psychology from Central China Normal University. Before coming to the University of Iowa, I worked as a research assistant in cognitive neuroscience at Beijing Normal University.

My research interests broadly focus on the dynamic processes of learning and decision-making, the computational and neural mechanisms that support them, and how these underpinnings relate to mental disorders.

Abdul Ahmed

Lab Manager & Research Intern

email: abdelrahim-ahmed@uiowa.edu

I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2023 and plan to attend medical school to pursue a career in psychiatry.

I am interested in exploring how psychiatric anxiety disorders, such as GAD, are reflected in decision-making behaviors. Additionally, I'm interested in furthering my understanding about the cognitive mechanisms behind impaired decision-making in individuals with mental health conditions, as well as the brain structures involved in these processes.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Addison Busta

Dov Kurtis

Alysha Rinehart