Holt and Fiez to lead a reimagined neuroscience partnership
Two neuroscience powerhouses, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, have a long-standing partnership in the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), a 28-year-old neuroscience research and education program. After a yearlong reimagining process, the universities have announced that Lori Holt of CMU and Julie Fiez of Pitt are the new leaders of what they call "the world's most exciting and neighborly playground for pioneering research and training in the neural basis of cognition."
The center leverages CMU's strong cognitive and computational neuroscience programs with Pitt's basic and clinical neuroscience expertise. It provides a way for students and faculty to connect formally and informally, including graduate training, undergraduate research opportunities and collaboration clusters, which encourage joint publications and grant submissions from the two universities.
Holt, a professor in CMU's Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, is an expert in auditory cognitive neuroscience with a focus on understanding how humans interpret the complexity of spoken language. She has been a longtime member of the center and welcomes the opportunity to strengthen existing ties.
"The proximity, collegiality and complementary expertise of the two institutions makes Pittsburgh a truly unique place to study the neural basis of cognition," Holt said. "Both institutions place a high value on this partnership, and we are excited about what the future holds."
Holt has worked closely with Fiez since 2007. The two lead the joint Pitt-CMU predoctoral training program in behavioral brain research, known as B2. That program, which is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, provides two years of support to do research at the intersection of brain and behavior and has benefited 50 Pitt and CMU students.
"Our mentors and trainees come together through co-mentorship committees and program activities to forge truly interdisciplinary connections," she said. "This way of working, of breaking down barriers, is part of what brought me to Pittsburgh in the first place."
Fiez is the chair of Pitt's Department of Psychology. Her research focuses on neural systems for language and learning, and integrates behavioral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological and intracranial recording methods in typical adults and clinical populations.
