Cherry Award Finalist Lecture

Cherry Award Finalist Lecture

Lecture Livestream from Baylor University

Monday, October 30, 3:30 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Livestream Link

Lecture Topic

Brain Sculpting: Stranger than fiction tales of neuroplasticity

Considering that brains change from the womb to the tomb, it is important to understand how various experiences guide the life-long modifications of our neural networks, a process known as neuroplasticity. Drawing from her love of scientific storytelling and ongoing diverse research projects exploring dynamic brains, Kelly Lambert will present a series of “brain-sculpting” vignettes that, at times, may seem more like fiction than evidence-based observations. Her laboratory and field research exploring the neurobiology of resilient rats (e.g., rats driving cars, trust-fund rats, wild rats), paternal mice, curious raccoons, problem-solving macaques, and somewhat mysterious Madagascar mouse lemurs should provide several plot twists for expanding neuronal experiences in the laboratory, classroom, and beyond.

Kelly Lambert

Lambert Selected as Cherry Award Finalist

Kelly Lambert, MacEldin Trawick Professor in Psychology, has been named one of three finalists for Baylor University’s 2024 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. This national award for exceptional teaching is the single largest monetary reward presented by a college or university.

As a Cherry Award finalist, Lambert will receive $15,000 as well as $10,000 for the University of Richmond Department of Psychology to foster the development of teaching skills. Each finalist also presents a series of lectures at Baylor during fall 2023 and a Cherry Award lecture on their home campuses.

Learn More About Dr. Lambert

In 2019, a team of psychology researchers at the University of Richmond, published their research about teaching rats to drive, which caught the attention of more than 1,500 news outlets in 40 countries. The results of this important research may inform future strategies for mental health treatments. The work has continued. With new cars and new components added to the equation, Kelly Lambert, a professor of behavioral neuroscience who is leading the research team, explains the latest developments in this innovative research.