Dr. Stacey Nye spoke with Bill Walsh of CBS 58 about the rising use of AI companion apps and their impact on mental health and human connection.
Dr. Nye on Australia’s Today Show
Dr. Stacey Nye appeared on Australia’s Today Show with hosts David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys to discuss the science behind our shrinking attention spans and strategies to improve focus.
New Faculty and Staff Fall 2022
The Department of Psychology is thrilled to introduce several new faces among our faculty and staff as we prepare for the start of a new academic year. Among them are three new faculty members:
Polymnia Georgiou – Dr. Georgiou will be joining us as an Assistant Professor with a research focus on understanding the pathophysiology of mental disorders associated with dysregulation of the brain reward system, including drug addiction and mood disorders. Dr. Georgiou completed her PhD at the University of Surrey, UK.
Dr. Georgiou will recruit a new graduate student for Fall 2023 admissions.
Jeffrey Lopez Rojas – Dr. Lopez-Rojas brings an interest in the various neurological and biomechanical functions of social recognition and signals, aiming to understand the brain’s core mechanisms that support social cognition. Dr. Lopez-Rojas holds a PhD from Otton von Guricke University Magdeburg, Germany and will be joining 51ÁÔÆæ as an Assistant Professor.
Dr. Lopez-Rojas will recruit a new graduate student for Fall 2023 admissions.
Gabriela A. Nagy – Dr. Nagy completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at 51ÁÔÆæ in 2017 and will be joining us as an Assistant Professor investigating ways in which to reduce the mental health care inequities experienced by minoritized communities, working extensively with immigrants and refugees from Latin America.
Dr. Nagy will recruit new graduate students for Fall 2023 admissions for both the Clinical PhD and Health Masters programs.
We are also pleased to welcome three new teaching faculty who will begin instruction this fall:
Alicia Barr – Dr. Barr holds a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She additionally holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western and an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt.
Jeffrey Cooley – Dr. Cooley completed his PhD in Psychology at 51ÁÔÆæ, where he majored in Cognition and Perception and has many years of teaching experience at UW-Oshkosh, Mt. Mary, Cardinal Stritch, and at 51ÁÔÆæ in the Mathematical Sciences Department.
Maria Lechtreck – Dr. Lechtreck holds a BS from the University of Montvallo in Alabama, and recently completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Alabama Birmingham with a concentration in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Finally, Aaron Derner has joined our administrative team as an Administrative Assistant. Aaron is supporting day-to-day departmental operations and can be found in Garland Hall, rm. 224.
Dr. Nye commented on a conspiracy theorist in the interview with WDJT
Dr. Davies commented on Telemedicine during COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Davies commented on Telemedicine during COVID-19 Pandemic:
Dr. Cahill commented on increasing rates of suicide amid COVID-19.
Dr. Cahill commented on increasing rates of suicide amid COVID-19:Â
Dr. Krista Lisdahl has been interviewed by TMJ4 for a story on the unregulated use of CBD.
Dr. Lisdahl cautions CBD users:
Cialdini Fellowships
Based on a review of all admission applications, two outstanding doctoral admittees will be selected for the Cialdini Fellowships. These fellowships were made possible by a generous gift to 51ÁÔÆæ from Dr. Robert Cialdini ’67 and Bobette Gorden. is an alumnus of our department who received 51ÁÔÆæ’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
Cialdini Fellows will receive a stipend of $5,000 per year, in addition to their departmental teaching/research/project assistantship salaries. Contingent on satisfactory progress and maintenance of good standing in the program, each awardee’s $5,000 fellowship will be renewable annually for a total of four years of support (i.e., 2020-2021 through 2023-2024: a total of $20,000). Click here for more information on various funding opportunities for applicants in the Department of Psychology.
51ÁÔÆæ Psychology Graduate Admissions – uwmpsych@uwm.edu | 414-229-4747
Alcohol, domestic violence link not as obvious as it might seem
Ryan Shorey, assistant professor of psychology at 51ÁÔÆæ, studies how alcohol affects intimate partner violence. The relationship might seem obvious, but the reality is surprisingly complex: /news/alcohol-domestic-violence-link-not-as-obvious-as-it-might-seem/
Abel Mathew won the 2019 annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition!
Abel Mathew, a third-year clinical psychology doctoral student, won 1st place at 51ÁÔÆæ’s second annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
The competition was hosted by the Graduate School and the Office of Research. Originally developed by the University of Queensland, the purpose of the competition is to have students cultivate their presentation and research communication skills, while effectively explaining their research projects in three minutes to a non-specialist audience. The competition drew approximately 70 competitors, who participated in qualifying rounds during March.
Fourteen finalists were chosen and presented their 3MT talks on April 10th in the 51ÁÔÆæ Union in front of 4 judges. As a winner, Abel was awarded a $1,500 prize.
This is the second time 51ÁÔÆæ’s Department of Psychology has obtained 1st place at the 3MT competition. Congratulations to Abel for representing the department so well!
You can watch his outstanding 3MT talk at /graduateschool/3mt/.