MSU Psychology

Congratulations to Bing Mo, a fourth-year graduate student in PSY’s Behavioral Neuroscience research area, on being awarded the Duncan McCarthy Award by the Michigan Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.  

As a PhD candidate, Bing studies addiction as a form of maladaptive learning and memory, with a particular focus on how associative learning processes contribute to co***ne-seeking behavior.

Her current research examines mediated devaluation as a potential strategy to reduce co***ne seeking by modifying drug-associated memory representations, as well as the neural circuits underlying these effects, including the mesolimbic dopamine system. 

Congrats again, Bing! 💚

New research from Drs. Rebecca Campbell and Katie Gregory takes a deeper look at mothers' decisions to disclose (or not) their experience of sexual assault to their children.

Full article here: https://rcgv.msu.edu/when-my-past-came-back-to-me/

*NEW ARTICLE* RCGV co-directors, Dr. Rebecca Campbell & Dr. Katie Gregory, recently published a new research article. Learn more at rcgv.msu.edu

Meet Megan Riley, an Honors Psychology major with minors in Health Promotion and Human Behavior and Social Services. This summer, Megan is working as a research assistant to collect data for a study while also developing an independent research project.

Scroll to see why this work is important to Megan and how it is helping her in her future goals. 💚

Brianna Lind ‘22 credits working in several psychology labs as a student and post-bacc researcher in helping her figure out her path. Today, Brianna just completed her second year in a clinical psychology PhD program!   

Take a look back at Brianna’s time at MSU to see what she learned here, who helped her along the way, and what advice she has for PSY students. 💚

Congrats to Anna Foote and Milee Zarate-Bayani on earning full merit scholarships from Michigan State University!

The scholarships are considered some of the most competitive awards in the nation. They cover full tuition, room and board, and a stipend for up to eight semesters of undergraduate study.

Awardees also receive a spot in the MSU Honors College’s Professorial Assistantship program, which provides a two-year paid research placement with a faculty mentor.

Congrats again Anna and Milee. We’re excited to have you join MSU Psychology! 💚

Congratulations to Dr. Beau Zhang on earning a PhD in Psychology! 🎓

Dr. Zhang’s research area is Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience with a dissertation titled, “Dissecting the biphasic pupil responses to perceptual switches during bistability.”

Congrats again, Dr. Zhang! 💚🤍

Congratulations to Dr. Jan Brascamp on receiving an Excellence in Peer Review Award from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)! This honor recognizes Dr. Brascamp’s outstanding contributions to the Journal of Vision. 💚

Congratulations to the 2026 recipients of the ARVO journals achievement awards! For Excellence in Peer Review―Thomas Ach (Universitätsklinikum Bonn); Jan Brascamp (Michigan State University); Stuart Gardiner (Devers Eye Institute). For Excellence in Editorial Service Awards―Rigmor Baraas (University of South-Eastern Norway Kongsberg); Joshua Solomon (City St George’s, University of London); and Dirk-Uwe Bartsch (UC San Diego). Many thanks to the awardees for their dedicated service.

Meet Peyton McLaughlin, a psychology and criminal justice double major, who has been working in the Belief Systems Lab for three semesters. This year, her team earned a first-place award at UURAF for their research project, “To What Extent Does Your Social Group (Or ‘Close Others’) Agree or Disagree with Your Political Views?”   

Scroll to learn more about Peyton and her research.

Congratulations to PSY grad student Christophe Delay on being awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA F31). This competitive award is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health. 

Delay, who works in the Clinical Neuroscience Lab, is working to understand the stress mechanisms that are largely thought to result in the start of many mental health problems, like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, in college-aged students.

This award will allow Delay to fully focus on his studies and research as it pays his salary and research costs for the remainder of his PhD education. 💚🤍