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Students, Faculty, and Alumni Making an Impact

May 27, 2026 by Kaitlin Coyle

Faculty News

Distinguished Teaching Professor Elizabeth Cooper received a 2025-2026 Athletics Professor of Excellence Award. Each year only six faculty on campus receive the honor, funded by UT Athletics, in recognition of their professional excellence and outstanding university citizenship.  

Professor Michael Olson, along with Florida State University Associate Professor David March (PhD ’19), developed software for studying unconscious processing by presenting separate stimuli to each eye, using a technique called continuous flash suppression (CFS). Until now, presenting stimuli subliminally could be done only for very brief exposures, or researchers would have to use elaborate multi-monitor and mirror setups to present different stimuli to each eye.  Olson and March’s free software, CFS-VR, allows for greater exposure times for unconscious stimuli using a simple virtual reality headset. They hope their software makes the study of unconscious processing accessible to more researchers.

Student Research 

The first paper from the UT Department of Psychology and Neuroscience that used machine learning and artificial intelligence to measure opioid-induced anxiety-like behavior in mice was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology in 2025. Education and research go together, and this unique publication happened thanks to years of effort by five UT students, each of whom earned authorship on this landmark paper. The clinical relevance of this opioid research will be published in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine 8^th Edition, 2026.

Opioids provide pain relief but disrupt sleep. Poor sleep worsens pain, increasing the need for pain relief, resulting in a perpetuating cycle. Recently published research in The Journal of Phamacology and Experimental Therapeutics showed that in mice, opioids do not relieve pain without causing sleep disruption, highlighting the need for treatments that diminish pain without disrupting sleep. Of the four student authors, one completed their PhD, one former undergraduate is a PhD candidate in the Bredesen Center’s data science and engineering program, another will complete their MA this year, and another is a PhD student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The research will be featured in Basic Neurochemistry, 9th Edition (in press 2026).

Alumni Honors

Zac Giffen (’13) joined the department’s Alumni Advisory Board. He is a member of the Volunteer 40 Under 40 Class of 2026, an award that recognizes alumni who have been excelling personally and professionally since completing their degree at UT. 

Tracy Henley (BA ’85, PhD ’89) has been named a Texas A&M University System Regents Professor. The highest faculty honor bestowed by the Texas A&M Board of Regents, the award recognizes Henley’s leadership in teaching, research, and service. During his time at UT, Henley worked with Professors Howard Pollio and Cheryl Travis.

Welsh’s Legacy Honored with New Scholarship

May 22, 2026 by Kaitlin Coyle

After a remarkable 32 years at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Professor Deborah Welsh embarked on a well-earned retirement beginning in January 2026.

Welsh had an extremely successful career as a researcher, teacher, mentor, and administrator. She has been recognized with dozens of awards for research and teaching, including the College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Senior Research Award (2024), the Albert Bandura Faculty Research Advisor Award (2014), and the North American Scholar/Mentor Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence (2008). 

She also has an extensive record of service and commitment to the university and has received awards such as the college’s Marshall Award (2023), the Chancellor’s Extraordinary Service to the University Award (2023), and the Chancellor’s Notable UT Woman Award (2024). In addition, she was named a 2022 Chancellor’s Professor, which is the highest academic honor bestowed to faculty and reflects extraordinary scholarship as well as a record of excellence in teaching and service to UT. 

In an attempt to honor her tremendous legacy, the Psychology and Neuroscience Alumni Advisory Board has established the Dr. Deb Welsh Scholarship Endowment for Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Students. This scholarship will be given annually to one or more graduate students in the Department to help support their research. Her legacy and immeasurable impact on students will now be recognized for years to come.

The endowment has received a dollar-for-dollar matching gift opportunity so all contributions made to the endowment will receive support through the matching gift. We are hoping this will allow us to begin awarding scholarships as soon as next year. If you would like to honor Welsh’s impact and help us take advantage of this matching gift opportunity, please visit giving.utk.edu/debwelsh.

While her retirement is bittersweet, Welsh will be long remembered as a strong leader, wonderful colleague, supportive mentor, and dear friend. 

Moving the Department Forward

Welsh was the first woman to serve as head of UT’s Department of Psychology, serving from 2012 to 2022. She led the department during a time of tremendous change, overseeing rapid growth in the number of tenure-track and teaching faculty, fostering the fledgling undergraduate neuroscience program, and establishing new policies and procedures to enhance transparency and shared governance. 

Under her leadership, the department hired 17 tenure-line faculty members, and she helped the department establish an in-house advising office for undergraduates. 

After over 20 years of trying to move the UT Psychological Clinic to a more appropriate and professional space, the move finally happened under Welsh’s leadership. The clinic moved into a state-of-the-art, technologically sophisticated and professional space that is better equipped to meet the training and research needs of the clinical and counseling doctoral programs, as well as the needs of the community. 

Welsh also initiated a fall psychology alumni event that has become a popular annual tradition. She created the first alumni Advisory Board in psychology, which includes board members from around the country who meet each semester. The Advisory Board members are volunteers who serve as ambassadors of the department and work to promote, maintain, and develop alumni engagement. 

Just as important as these visible changes, she implemented an approach to leadership characterized by inclusiveness and shared decision-making. She was proactive and effective in promoting an inclusive department in which all members of the community felt welcomed and could thrive.

UT Campus Leader

Welsh’s impact was not limited to the department. She was a well-recognized leader on campus and was often called upon by the dean’s and chancellor’s offices. 

For example, she served as co-chair of the Equity Issues Committee for the Commission for Women, on the UT Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment, on the Faculty Advisory Board for the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Engagement, and worked with the vice chancellor to create a department head training institute at UT to provide onboarding and continuing training. She chaired the Committee for Academic Integrity, Welfare and Conduct of Student Athletes on the UT Athletic Board and served as member of the Executive Committee of the Athletic Board. She was also appointed by then-Interim President Jan Simek as a representative of the faculty on the Task Force on Athletic Reporting Alignment that recommended that the UT athletics program report to the UT chancellor rather than the UT system president. 

Outstanding Educator

Welsh distinguished herself as a creative teacher in the classroom and an outstanding mentor outside of the classroom. She loved teaching and received recognition for the outstanding quality of her teaching, including three awards from UT: the student-selected Psi Chi Faculty Appreciation Award for her contributions in undergraduate teaching (2005), and the UT psychology department Faculty Appreciation Award twice for her contributions in graduate teaching (2000 and 2007). 

She employed several innovative and engaged teaching strategies in her Adolescent Development course, including applying the empirical research and theories discussed in class to case studies written by actual young adults reflecting back on their adolescent experiences. In addition, her course included two panel discussions with middle school and high school youth who responded to questions posed by undergraduates in the class. Students responded well to Welsh’s challenge for them to integrate and apply research and theories to understanding the lives of real adolescents, and her course was always in high demand.

Researcher and Mentor

As a researcher, Welsh focused on the development of romantic relationships and their impact on adolescent and young adult functioning. Her lab team was interested in the factors contributing to academic and relational success as emerging adults transition to college. 

She was also passionate about mentoring the next generation of researchers and clinicians. She advised numerous graduate and undergraduate students in the lab with a warm, caring, and supportive mentoring style. Her mentees have thrived, received many national awards, and gone on to successful careers. 

She chaired 22 dissertation committees, dozens of master’s and undergraduate honors theses, and served on more than 60 completed dissertation or thesis committees. Her students have received postdoctoral fellowships at elite institutions including Yale School of Medicine, Brown Medical School, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins Medical School, the University of Georgia, and Emory University, among others. 

Many of her former students attended her retirement banquet in October 2025 and spoke fondly of their time in Welsh’s lab. Each of the former students had a poignant story about the tremendous impact she had on their careers. 

Welsh’s impact on our department cannot be overstated. As was made clear at her retirement banquet, her impact on the discipline through her supportive mentoring of future professionals has been profound.  

Cao’s Cognitive Science Contributes to AI Initiative

May 22, 2026 by Kaitlin Coyle

Assistant Professor Rui Cao joined UT this academic year as part of the Foundational Artificial Intelligence (AI) cluster, one of the initiatives empowering faculty to collaborate across disciplines to address the nation’s greatest challenges. 

The Foundational AI cluster focuses on deepening our understanding of cognitive neuroscience and applying those insights to developing AI solutions that will make life and lives better.

Cao’s research uses computational models to bring together insights from psychology and neuroscience to understand how the brain represents time in ways that support rich and flexible behavior.

“Recently, in collaboration with neuroscientists at Boston University, my lab has applied these approaches to the hippocampus—the brain’s memory center—to better understand how experiences are stabilized and transformed,” Cao said. “We found that astrocytes, a previously underappreciated type of brain cell, play a crucial role in signaling which memories are important and in supporting consolidation across days.”

“By building a more complete picture of how biological learning works, this research may inspire new generations of artificial systems that can learn more effectively,” she said. 

As a doctoral student Cao trained in mathematical psychology, expressing theories of memory and learning in the form of equations. “Over time, I became increasingly curious about how those equations might actually be implemented by populations of neurons, which led me to move into computational neuroscience for my postdoctoral work,” she said. 

“I’m continually struck by how remarkably rich behavior can arise from surprisingly simple ways that brain cells organize and update information. That curiosity continues to drive what I work on today,” Cao said.

Keith Brings Autism Expertise to UT Clinic

May 22, 2026 by Kaitlin Coyle

Clinical Assistant Professor Alexis Rhames Keith joined the department this academic year as associate director of the UT Psychological Clinic, a multidisciplinary training site for doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology and master’s students in social work. 

“I supervise assessment services across the lifespan, emphasizing evidence-based, client-centered care while supporting trainee development in diagnostic formulation and clinical decision-making,” Keith said. Graduate students gain hands-on experience in assessment, intervention, and case conceptualization under close supervision. 

“With a clinical focus on autism and neurodevelopmental assessment across childhood and young adulthood, I am committed to expanding access to care and increasing autism awareness,” she said. “During my first six months at UT, I have prioritized building cross-campus partnerships to strengthen referral networks and visibility of the clinic’s services.”

“Personal experiences gave me insight into the challenges and strengths of individuals with neurodevelopmental differences,” Keith said. “These experiences shaped my commitment to supporting individuals and families, expanding access to care, and training future clinicians to provide strengths-based, affirming services that honor each person’s unique profile.”

The UT Psychological clinic provides comprehensive, high-quality care to children, adolescents, adults, and families across a wide spectrum of behavioral and mental health concerns. Support from alumni, donors and friends helps UT expand access to care, foster innovative training opportunities, and ensure that every client and student who comes through the doors receives thoughtful, evidence-based services.

Connell Dedicated to Student-centered Learning

May 22, 2026 by Kaitlin Coyle

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UT in 2015, John Connell entered the graduate program anticipating a career in research. The experience of being a graduate teaching assistant changed his course.

“Engaging directly with students, guiding their understanding, and witnessing their intellectual growth and success revealed the profound satisfaction inherent in teaching,” said Connell (MA ’20, PhD ’24), who joined the faculty in 2025 as a teaching assistant professor.

“The university’s commitment to teaching excellence—reflected in its pedagogical training requirements, instructional development courses, and the mentorship of supportive faculty—played a pivotal role in shaping my identity as an educator,” he said. “This environment not only strengthened my instructional skills but also solidified my dedication to facilitating student-centered learning.”

Teaching Introductory Psychology, Connell requires students to demonstrate not only knowledge and comprehension but also application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis through an integrated examination of psychopathology.

“Students complete a semester-long project focused on a psychological disorder of their choosing,” he explained. “Throughout the term, they progressively develop a structured analysis that links the disorder to core course themes, emphasizing integration across biological, psychological, and social perspectives.”

The students locate and evaluate a peer-reviewed journal article addressing the disorder and its treatment, and they critically summarize the study’s research question, methodology, findings, and implications, strengthening their ability to interpret psychological research.

“Students also examine the real-world impact of the disorder on individuals’ daily functioning and analyze how the condition is portrayed in popular media,” Connell said, assignments that encourage critical reflection on accuracy, misconceptions, and the role of stigma in shaping public understanding of mental health.

By delivering a final presentation to the class, the students gain practical experience in academic communication, including organizing scientific content, visual design, oral delivery, and peer review.

Connell is developing a course that will immerse upper-level undergraduates in the practical application of research methodology.

“Students will actively engage in developing a research project, progressing from initial idea generation and theoretical framing to study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and professional presentation of findings,” he said. Methodological decision-making, ethical considerations, and translating research questions into empirically testable designs all will be emphasized. 

“This experiential approach provides students with authentic exposure to the realities of research practice, bridging the gap between traditional research methods coursework and applied scholarly inquiry,” he said. “By participating directly in the research cycle, students cultivate critical thinking, analytical reasoning, scientific communication skills, and a deeper understanding of how psychological knowledge is generated.”