We are excited to announce that Dr. Andrew Leber has accepted an appointment as Director of the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CCBS) for a four-year term, effective September 1, 2019. Dr. Leber has served as Associate Director for CCBS since June 2017 and remains committed to helping the Center to grow and thrive.

Dr. Leber is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and received his Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from Johns Hopkins University.  He directs the Cognitive Control Lab, which uses behavior, eye-tracking, electroencephalography, and functional MRI to investigate a variety of questions pertaining to attention, learning, and memory.  He also serves as the faculty mentor to the undergraduate Cognitive Science Club.  Dr. Leber brings a deep commitment to the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science and to mentoring future scholars in this area. 

Dr. Leber shared some thoughts on his appointment:  “Since the time I arrived at Ohio State, I have benefitted tremendously from participating in the Center.  It elevates the intellectual climate at OSU in fundamental ways, particularly because of its unique ability to bring minds together across disciplines.  It is truly a pillar of our academic community.  Serving as director is a great responsibility and a great honor.  I am excited to get started.”

Dr. Leber is thrilled to have Dr. Rachael Frush Holt, Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, continue  serving as the Associate Director for CCBS.  Dr. Holt received her Ph.D. in Communication Disorders, with an emphasis in Hearing Science from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Holt directs the Developmental Speech Lab, which investigates the cognitive development of children with and without hearing loss, many of whom use hearing aids or cochlear implants, specifically focusing on factors that influence spoken language and neurocognitive development. Dr. Holt brings a strong commitment to transdisciplinary research in cognitive science and is deeply committed to issues of equity and inclusion at all levels of the academy.

Both Dr. Leber and Dr. Holt look forward to welcoming interdisciplinary partnership and collaboration within the cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience community at Ohio State and are excited for the year to come.