Latest News

Head football Coach Tim Plough and Professor Emorie D. Beck, PhD, approach their work from different perspectives, but share a common interest in understanding what helps people grow, find purpose and become the best versions of themselves. Learn more on this podcast.

Research led by Winkie Ma and Professor Rick Robbins examines how childhood experiences contribute to different expressions of narcissism. Read more here.

In this podcast, Dr. Victoria Cross’s discusses her research on student learning of statistics comparing before AI was available, when I was available but not encouraged, and when GenAI was intentionally integrated into the course.

Graduate student Maria Calderon Leon was recognized with the 2026 Chancellor's Achievement Award for Inclusive Excellence. Read more about her work here.

A new review paper in Nature Neuroscience led by Professor Eliza Bliss-Moreau summarizes what researchers have learned about how the insula works in animals and how that might translate to its function in humans.

Professor Camelia Hostinar was elected as a fellow at the American Psychological Association to recognize her outstanding contributions in the field of psychology. Fellow status requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state or regional level.

Professor Geng's research with Professor Jack Lin using electrical recordings of the human brain during spatial navigation is featured in this UC Davis profile.

Emily Noyer's path to graduate school and research in the Healthspan Lab is profiled in the UC Davis Letters and Science Magazine.

The Association for Psychological Science selected Professors Beck, Mosely, and Yoneda as Rising Stars. This international competition identifies faculty in the earliest stages of their research career whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions. 

Professor Priscilla San Souci has won the 2026 Academic Federation Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Professor Camelia Hostinar has been named one of the 2025-2026 Chancellor's Fellows. The award is to recognize the outstanding achievements of early career faculty.

Professor Tamara Swaab was elected into the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen—KHMW)!  Election as a member is one of the highest honors bestowed on Dutch scholars and civic leaders: https://khmw.nl/nieuwe-leden-khmw-2026/

Karen Bales, a professor in the Departments of Psychology and of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at UC Davis, has been named director of the California National Primate Research Center. She has served as interim director of CNPRC since January 2024. Learn more here.

Wendi S. Williams, Ph.D., a UC Davis undergraduate alumna in psychology, will be the next president of the American Psychological Association. Learn more about her new position and her career here.

Professor Ariel Mosley has been selected as a Hellman Fellow for new investigators. Her project focuses on Diverse Ideologies on Perceptions of Cultural Appropriation in Interracial Interactions.