Feature
Focus on Science--taking place Friday, Aug. 4 through Sunday Aug. 7 during APA's Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.--will feature presentations by scientists and policy-makers on a wide variety of topics of interest to psychological scientists.
Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), is this year's plenary speaker for Focus on Science. Collins, who will address the membership on the "Medical and societal consequences of the human genome project," is the leader of the National Institutes of Health effort to spell out the complete genetic inheritance of human beings. Psychologists interested in this area won't want to miss Collins's talk on Saturday at 11 a.m.
National Institute of Mental Health Director Steve Hyman, MD, will present an invited address on Friday at 2 p.m. His topic is "What we can do about youth violence."
"The academic career: a beginner's manual," a day-long workshop designed for new academics, will take place on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn about tenure processes, seeking funding, mentoring graduate students and working with the department chair.
This year's master lectures include:
Alan Kazdin, PhD (Friday at 4 p.m.), "Child and adolescent psychotherapy: dysfunctional relations among theory, research and practice."
Richard Lerner, PhD (Saturday at 10 a.m.), "Applied developmental science and the promotion of positive youth development."
Paul Gold, PhD (Saturday at 4 p.m.), "Harmony and discord across memory systems, orchestrated by glucose and acetylcholine."
Richard Nisbett, PhD (Sunday at 10 a.m.), "Culture and systems of thought: holistic versus analytic cognition in East and West."
Martha Farah, PhD (Sunday at 4 p.m.), "Nature, nurture, and the modularity of cognition."
Linda Bartoshuk, PhD, will present "Do you hear what I hear? Or taste?"as the Annual Neal Miller Lecturer, scheduled for Sunday at 9 a.m.
The Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award addresses include:
Thomas E. Joiner, PhD (Friday at 11 a.m.), "Interpersonal nature of depression and suicide."
Karen Wynn, PhD (Friday at noon), "Origins of numerical knowledge."
Elizabeth Spelke, PhD (Friday at 1 p.m.), "Core knowledge."
Richard J. Davidson, PhD (Friday at 3 p.m.), "The feeling brain: toward an affective neuroscience."
E. Tory Higgins, PhD (Saturday at 2 p.m.), "Making a good decision: value from a goodness of fit."
Dario Maestripieri, PhD (Saturday at 3 p.m.), "Determinants of infant abuse and neglect in monkeys."
Jeffrey G. Parker, PhD (Sunday at 10 a.m.), "You like her better than me! Jealousy in children's friendships."
David H. Barlow, PhD (Sunday at 11 a.m.), "Unraveling the mysteries of anxiety: from psychopathology to treatment."
Robert L. Goldstone, PhD (Sunday at noon), "Learning to perceive while perceiving to learn."
Alan J. Christensen, PhD (Sunday at 3 p.m.), "Patient adherence to medical regimens: congruency, control, and conditioning."
A new feature of Focus on Science is "Frontiers of psychological science," which will highlight new areas of research and methodology. The subjects for the "Frontiers" sessions this year are functional magnetic resonance imagery, featuring invited addresses by Leslie Ungerleider, PhD (Friday at noon) and Jonathan Cohen, PhD (Friday at 1 p.m.), and the interface of genetics and behavioral research, with a symposium featuring Beatriz Rocha, PhD Caryn Lerman, PhD and Robert Croyle, PhD (Saturday at 9 a.m.).
Focus on Science poster sessions, featuring broad-based thematic organization, will take place on Friday morning (10 a.m. to noon), Friday afternoon (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.), Saturday morning (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) and Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.).
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has worked cooperatively with several APA divisions to create programming on vulnerability to drug abuse. Among the speakers is NIDA Director Alan Leshner, PhD, who will present on Sunday at 5 p.m. NIDA will host a pre-convention workshop on Thursday for graduate students and new investigators in drug abuse. For more information visit www.nida.gov/BSWG/APA2000.html.
Student-focused programming will feature "Up close and personal" with Mahzarin R. Banaji, PhD, Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, and Robert J. Sternberg, PhD. Students are invited to hear the conversational presentations about the careers of these scientists, Saturday at noon.
Looking for research funding? Attend "Maximizing your chances of receiving federal research grants" on Saturday at 8 a.m.
Career on your mind? Check out "A discussion of non-academic careers in the psychological sciences," Sunday at 8 a.m.
"Psychology goes public: disseminating science and influencing public policy," Saturday at 2 p.m., featuring psychologists who have "been there."
"Contributions of psychological testing: past, present, and future," Sunday at 11 a.m., organized by the Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment.
"Wellness in the workplace: training future occupational health psychologists," Friday at 10 a.m., featuring information on this new curricula.
Focus on Science social hour, Friday at 5 p.m.
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