October 25, 2023
Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity Center personnel changes and continued services
David Thompson has been appointed director of the Cognitive and Neurobiological Approaches to Plasticity, or CNAP, Center. CNAP is a Phase 2 Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Thompson is an associate professor in the Mike Wiegers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and previously served as CNAP associate director from July 2022. CNAP recruited K-State's Michael Young in the psychological sciences department as associate director. Young is a professor and graduate school faculty associate with significant administration experience and scientific expertise to complement Thompson.
Jeff Zacks was hired as CNAP's third external advisory council member. Zacks began his term on Dec. 1, 2022. Morgan Wills serves as assistant director of grants and contracts. The search for a faculty transcranial magnetic stimulation researcher concluded in June 2023, leading to the hire of Julio Hernandez-Pavon from Northwestern University. Hernandez-Pavon will serve as CNAP's Cognitive Neuroscience Core technical advisor.
CNAP continues to offer several researcher support services, including an annual pilot project funding opportunity, a strategic grant writing program, and its weekly brown bag seminar series in the spring and fall semesters. CNAP currently funds three primary projects, four pilot projects and three core research facilities/laboratories. Visit the CNAP website to learn more.
"CNAP is only the second funded COBRE at K-State," said Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research. "We are very excited it was renewed for Phase 2 funding and expect that its track record of success in supporting and fostering the development of early career researchers will only continue in the next phase of the project."