Aziz-Zadeh, Lisa
Associate Professor of Occupational Science, Psychology and Neurology
The Center for the Neuroscience of Embodied CognitionWe explore how rudimentary sensory-motor areas may be intrinsically involved in processing aspects of higher cognition such as language, thought, emotions, empathy, and social communication. We study both typical populations and autism, using MRI and behavioral studies, also integrating microbiome research.
Baker, Laura A.
Gene-environment interplay in human behavior, including personality, cognitive and social development. Rich datasets from longitudinal twin study of risk factors for externalizing behavior problems available for analysis.
Immordino-Yang, Mary Helen
Professor of Education, Psychology & Neuroscience
Professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is the Director of USC CANDLE (Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education). CANDLE’s mission is to bring developmental affective neuroscience into partnership with educational innovation, and to use what is learned to guide the transformation of schools, policy, and the student and teacher experience for a healthier and more equitable society. Our research involves analyzing multi-modal data, including functional and structural neuroimaging (MRI, EEG), and psychophysiological data, from mixed-method studies of adolescent development and effective teaching. During the 2025-2026 academic year, CANDLE will be designing, developing stimuli and collecting data for an upcoming longitudinal study of adolescents’ brain and psychosocial development.
Kanoski, Scott
Professor of Biological Sciences
The prevalence of obesity has exploded over the past 40 years. The biological systems that underlie the excessive eating behavior contributing to obesity onset remain poorly understood. Our research goal is to discover the neural systems and psychological processes that control energy balance, with a particular focus on understanding the neurobiological substrates that regulate obesity-promoting behaviors such as food impulsivity and environmental cue-induced feeding. Another primary focus of our lab is to study how the brain is negatively impacted by dietary and metabolic factors. Consumption of Western diets (high in saturated fatty acids and sugars) not only contributes to obesity development, but also produces deficits in learning and memory capabilities and can even increase the risk for developing dementia. We are currently examining the specific causal dietary factors, critical developmental periods, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying diet-induced cognitive decline. Ongoing research identifies the gut microbiome as a critical link between unhealthy junk food diets and neurocognition.
