FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COLLEGE PARK, Md - The University of Maryland has named Luiz Pessoa, Ph.D., a professor of Psychology in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, as the first Director for the new Maryland Neuroimaging Center (MNC).  Dr. Pessoa will provide scientific leadership and vision for brain imaging research, collaboration, and cutting-edge methodology at the MNC.  

“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of such wide-ranging vision to lead the Center”, says John Townshend, dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Prior to coming to the University of Maryland, Dr. Pessoa was an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Indiana University, where he also served as the Interim Director of the Imaging Research Facility.  His research focuses on cognitive-emotional/motivational interactions in the human brain as well as developing new quantitative methods of fMRI signal analysis.

Robert Dooling, the Director of the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) Program at the University of Maryland says, “Luiz has been a great asset in bringing the MNC to fruition and in building research connections and opportunities across the Campus and beyond.”

Dr. Pessoa’s extensive imaging expertise and collaborative efforts in the field of neuroscience will lead the Center’s contributions in brain research, advancing our understanding of neurological functions and disorders.

ABOUT THE MARYLAND NEUROIMAGING CENTER

The Maryland Neuroimaging Center is the home for neuroimaging research at the University of Maryland. The center brings together an array of state-of-the-art tools for observing the human brain in action.  The center has been designed to foster collaboration among neuroscientists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, engineers, and physicists. A special focus of the center is on understanding mechanisms of brain development and neural plasticity in typical and atypical populations, and in understanding the neural mechanisms underlying expert abilities that serve critical national priorities. The MNC is an initiative of the university's interdepartmental NACS Program, and is available to researchers from the University of Maryland and other regional centers.

###