Autumn 2025

A child's hands on a touchscreen near a translucent 3D brain model, while a large screen nearby displays a brain rendering.

In this issue

ALUMNI UPDATES

Recent news and professional updates from Department of Psychology graduates

NEWS | Department of Psychology named one of top psychology programs in U.S. and world

The 2025 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Global Academic Subjects now ranks the department seventh among U.S. psychology programs and eighth among psychology programs around the globe.

NEWS | Interactive brain exhibit at COSI highlights department research

Sponsored by the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging (CCBBI), "Seeing the Brain" opened in October and will remain on display for two years.

From left: Emma Bartley, Lily Brouder and Eunjee Ko

NEWS | Doctoral students honored for research presentations

Emma Bartley, Lily Brouder and Eunjee Ko received the top awards for their work at the Autumn 2025 Graduate Student Research Forum.

FEATURE | Research Spotlight: Emma Hovanec

Hovanec, a participant in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, is studying how parental emotional availability and impacts emerging adults' well-being.

A man in a dark suit prepares to hang a medallion with a red ribbon around the neck of a bowing woman in a dark suit.

NEWS | Kristen Lindquist installed as Weary Chair in Social Psychology

A pioneer in the fields of affective neuroscience and social psychology, Lindquist arrived at Ohio State this autumn.

A group of 20 researchers and creatives stand for a portrait; behind them is the Spanish text "XVII Edición, Premios Fundación BBVA, Fronteras del Conocimiento"

NEWS | Psychology faculty, alumna receive BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

Professor Richard Petty, former professor Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji ’86 PhD joined influential researchers and creatives from around the world in accepting the honor.

NEWS | Birthday celebration for Brutus shatters Guinness World Record

Nearly 2,000 Ohio State community members donned conical party hats and broke a world record in an event co-sponsored by the Department of Psychology.

Five gray brain illustrations with portions of the lower right highlighted in yellow and red.

VIDEO | Research Spotlight: Kelly Hiersche

In spring 2025, cognitive neuroscience doctoral student Kelly Hiersche won the Department of Psychology’s Herbert A. Toops Prize for Creativity for her work on children’s language development.

NEWS | Gray receives SESP Career Trajectory Award

The award recognizes top scientific researchers in the early or mid-stages of their careers whose work is “uniquely creative and influential."

NEWS | Pek appointed as President of APA Division 5

Through August 2026, Pek will oversee strategic goals for the division, whose approximately 1500 members specialize in the methodology of psychological science.

FEATURE | Presidential Fellowship advances student's dissertation research

With support from the prestigious award, F. Kübra Aytaç-DiCarlo is completing her dissertation on coparenting relationship dynamics, which she is set to defend in early 2026.

RESEARCH | A ‘bird’s eye view’ of how human brains operate

Research by doctoral student Kelly Hiersche, Zeynep Saygin and David Osher suggests connectivity between parts of the brain can explain the function of each region.

RESEARCH | Depression remission endures 5 years after psilocybin trial

After a clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for major depressive disorder, most participants reported lasting depression remission and improved well-being.

A doctor touches a patient's hand in an exam room

RESEARCH | Depression and inflammation: a study finds lung cancer patients with both face increases in depression

New research suggests that lung cancer patients with elevated depression and inflammation at diagnosis have continuing levels of depression during the next eight months.