University of Denver, Department of Psychology

🎉 Student Spotlight: Trudy Mickel 🎉

We're proud to celebrate our Ph.D. student Trudy Mickel on the publication of her article, "Thin Doesn't Win: Eating Disorders in Sports," with the non-profit The Hidden Opponent.

In this impactful piece, Trudy explores the realities of eating disorders in athletics and challenges the misconception that being thinner leads to better performance. Her work helps bring awareness to an important issue affecting athletes at every level.

Link: https://www.thehiddenopponent.org/post/thin-doesn-t-win-eating-disorders-in-sports

Join us in congratulating Trudy on this incredible accomplishment! 👏

What an incredible evening celebrating the achievements of our Psychology community! 🎉

Last week, we gathered for the 2026 Psychology Spring Awards Ceremony to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

From academic excellence and research contributions to leadership, service, and teaching, this year's honorees represent the very best of DU Psychology.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating their success. We are proud to be part of such a talented, supportive, and inspiring community.

📸 Swipe through to see highlights from the evening!

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Heidi Vuletich on being named a 2026 Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science!

This prestigious designation recognizes outstanding early-career researchers whose innovative work is already advancing the field and shows exceptional promise for future contributions to psychological science.

We are so proud to see this national recognition of her impactful research and contributions to the field. 👏

✨ Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Erika Manczak

We’re excited to share that Erika has been awarded a grant from the Mental Research Institute (MRI), an organization dedicated to supporting innovative research that advances understanding of human behavior and relationships.

Her project, “Offspring distress as a threat to health: Adolescents’ depressive symptoms as predictors of parents’ chronic disease risk,” explores the powerful connection between adolescent mental health and long-term physical health outcomes within families.

MRI grants support cutting-edge, systemic approaches to psychology and are typically awarded to projects that aim to improve understanding of human relationships and wellbeing.

Congratulations to Erika on this exciting achievement and impactful work! 👏

Curious about how the brain shapes the way we think, feel, and behave? 🧠

The Cognitive Neuroscience concentration—offered within the Psychology major at the University of Denver—explores the connection between mind and brain through an interdisciplinary approach combining Psychology and Biological Sciences. Students gain insight into the biological and physiological foundations of behavior, while also engaging with topics like brain imaging, clinical applications, and pharmacology.

This concentration is a great fit for students interested in careers in healthcare, research, or clinical practice—or anyone looking to better understand how the brain works.

To learn more, visit: https://liberalarts.du.edu/academics-admissions/programs-ug/bs-psychology

Exploring the future of developmental cognitive neuroscience!

This year at DCN Research Night, graduate students took the stage to present flash talks highlighting innovative research from cognitive control and AI in child development to emotion perception and adaptive recovery. Inspiring work from an incredibly talented group of scholars!

The turnout was amazing, and we thank everybody who attended for supporting our department!

Presenters:

Evrim Baykal, ASC, MAC Lab
Ashley Boyne, Clinical, BRAVE Lab
Rachel Brough, ASC, MAC Lab
Jenna Chin, Developmental, Family & Child Neuroscience Lab
Lindsay Goolsby, ASC, SPA Lab
Lili Hauser, ASC, VPEC Lab

We extend a huge congratulations to our psychology student, Katie Lamberton, on being a finalist for the Boettcher Foundation's 2026 Colorado Student Leader of the Year Award.

This is a statewide competition hosted by the Boettcher Foundation, where universities from around Colorado nominate one campus representative from their leadership program to compete for this award. Finalists show academic excellence and intellectual curiosity, extraordinary support of their campus leadership programs, exceptional service to their schools and broader communities, and outstanding character and personal resilience.

We are so proud of Katie for how much she has contributed to our department and the university with her leadership and mentorship.

Go Katie!

Here is a clip highlighting the finalists on 9NEWS: https://lnkd.in/gVWWUCd4

Congratulations to our very own Chair of the Psychology Department, Kateri McRae, on receiving the 2026 Inaugural Service Award for the Social & Affective Neuroscience Society!

Dr. McRae's research explores how the brain supports emotion and cognition. She studies cognitive reappraisal, which looks at how shifting our perspective can strengthen emotional well-being. She identifies different ways people can generate and apply these strategies. Through her research, teaching, and leadership, she is deeply committed to advancing both science and community well-being.

We are so proud!

To read more about this award, please visit: https://socialaffectiveneuro.org/awards/

Join us for DCN Research Night!

Join us to experience what Cognitive Neuroscience research is all about!

Enjoy some super cool presentations from our graduate students, as well as opportunities to network with peers and people in our department.

If you're here to learn some fun facts and gain insights on new research, or even just for the snacks, we would love to have you!

RSVP here: https://udenver.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dmwbvFW56Tmz8xg?Q_CHL=qr

Reach out to Dr. Michelle Rozenman [email protected] with any questions

Congratulations to Dr. Angela Narayan on receiving a $25,000 research grant from the Mental Research Institute! 🎉

Dr. Narayan's project, "Positive Childhood Experiences as Protective Factors for Better Relationships, Parenting Practices, and Mental Health Across Three Generations," explores how positive early experiences shape family well-being across generations.
This important work highlights the lasting impact of childhood experiences on mental health and relationships. This research will inform how we support families for years to come.

We're proud to have Dr. Narayan as part of our Psychology Department family. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition! 👏