Emotional Perception Lab, Dr. Dean Sabatinelli

The Emotional Perception Lab is broadly interested in the brain mechanisms that underlie emotional stimulus processing. Through the use of noninvasive measures including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), dense-array electroencephalography (EEG), and peripheral psychophysiological recording, we investigate the functions of cortical and subcortical networks during emotional perception and imagery. Our research is generally consistent with the hypothesis that affective cues engage basic brain processes that have evolved to mediate appetitive and defensive behaviors. Tracking the action of the brain requires exquisite resolution in space and time, and thus our lab is also focused on refining the techniques used to acquire and analyze high-resolution brain imaging data.

Faculty: Dean Sabatinelli

Graduate Students: Maria Jia

Brian Frost

Senior Academic Professional, IOMP Director, Industrial-Organizational Program

Brian Frost is currently the Director of the Professional Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s Program (IOMP) where he both teaches and manages the administrative responsibilities of the program. He joined the faculty of the Psychology Department at the University of Georgia in 2015 after spending the previous twelve years as a talent strategy consultant and consulting manager. 

Brian’s consulting experience encompasses nearly every industry and covers every area of strategic talent management. Most recently, Brian was the Manager of Leadership Solutions Consulting on the Smarter Workforce team at IBM. The Smarter Workforce team specializes in utilizing predictive analytics to develop metrics-driven assessments and diagnostic solutions that help organizations optimize their human capital and leadership capabilities. In his role, Dr. Frost led a team of senior consultants in developing and deploying a comprehensive package of best-in-class leadership consulting products and services designed to accommodate the diverse needs of a global market. During that time, Dr. Frost also managed assessment solutions for a client portfolio consisting of national and multi-national organizations in the telecommunications, energy, retail, hospitality, and healthcare industries. 

Prior to IBM, Brian was in charge of survey and 360 feedback solutions for a boutique consulting firm, he worked as an internal consultant on the Organizational Effectiveness team at The Home Depot, and he delivered managerial and executive assessments centers as part of a small team of assessment consultants. Dr. Frost has presented numerous webinars on assessment and leadership development best practices and spoken at conferences, trade shows, and summits about his consulting work. He has also shared his expertise at the University of the Rockies where he taught doctoral seminars in Leadership and Organizational Development.

Brian holds a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from The University of Tennessee Business School and a B.S. from The University of Georgia. His academic work has been published in Organizational Research Methods, International Journal of Manpower, and the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Beach Laboratory, Dr. Steven Beach

Director: Dr. Steven Beach

Some of the research in our lab has been examining the role of particular genotypes in moderating environmental effects on behavioral outcomes. Recently we have shown that genotype moderates effects of parenting on child outcomes, and that genotype moderates the effects of intervention of both parent and child outcomes. We are also examining epigenetic processes and their relationship to behavioral outcomes.

Selected Recent Publications

Beach S.R. et al. (2009) Change in caregiver depression in response to parent training: Genetic moderation of intervention effects. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 112-117



Gunther M. et al. (2009) Deciphering spousal intentions: An fMRI study of couple communication. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 388-410

Collaborators

Gene Brody: Center for Family Research

Robert Philibert: University of Iowa, School of Medicine

Carolyn Cutrona: Iowa State University, Department of Psychology

Personality Studies Laboratory, Dr. Josh Miller

The Personality Studies Lab studies the interplay between personality and psychopathology with a primary focus on externalizing (EXT) disorders and outcomes. Within the broad EXT grouping, our interest lies most strongly with the domain of Antagonism vs. Agreeableness. We see this as the core of multiple disorders including narcissism/narcissistic personality disorder, psychopathy/ASPD, and other related constructs (e.g., Machiavellianism). We tend to use structural models of general and pathological personality for much of our work (e.g. Five Factor Model/Big Five; DSM-5 AMPD) as we find it has great utility in organizing many of the constructs used in psychology and psychopathology with fewer concerns re: jingle-jangle fallacies.  We work on a variety of issues within this topic including diagnostic models of personality disorder, creating and validating assessments for these constructs, and building parsimonious empirical models of personality and psychopathology.

Lab site:
Visit the Personality Studies lab site

Vision Sciences Laboratory, Dr. Randy Hammond

Director: Dr. Randy Hammond

The primary goal of our research program is to conduct basic and applied studies on the visual system. A primary focus of the laboratory has been the study of the dietary carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, concentrated within the fovea (termed macular pigment or the macula lutea) and brain.  These studies have ranged across populations, infants to elderly, normal to diseased, and techniques, from pyschophysics to neuroimaging.

Researchers involved in the UGA Vision Laboratory:

B. Randy Hammond, Jr, Ph.D.- Principal Investigator

Lisa Renzi-Hammond, Ph.D.- Co-investigator

Colin Gardner- Graduate Student

Jeffrey Nightingale- Graduate Student

Selected Publications:

Hammond, B.R. and  Renzi-Hammond, L. (2016).  A critical look at the ancillary Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2: Nutrition and cognitive function results in older individuals with age-related macular degeneration.  Advances in Nutrition, 7, 433-37.

Hammond, B.R.,  Miller, L.S.,  Bello, M.O.,  Lindbergh, C.A.,  Mewborn, C.M., Renzi-Hammond. L.M. (2017). Effects of a lutein/zeaxanthin intervention on cognitive function: a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial of community dwelling older adults.  Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 9, 1-9.

Hammond, B. R., & Renzi-Hammond, L. (2018). Individual variation in the transmission of UVB radiation in the young adult eye. PloS one, 13(7), e0199940.

Stringham, J.M., Johnson, E.J. and Hammond, B.R. (2019).  Lutein across the lifespan: From childhood cognitive performance to the aging eye and brain.  Current Developments in Nutrition, 1-8.

Hammond, B.R. et al.  (2019).   The effects of blue-light intraocular lenses on the protection and function of the visual system.  Clinical Ophthalmology, 13, 2427-43.

Hammond, B. R., Buch, J., Hacker, L., Cannon, J., Toubouti, Y., & Renzi-Hammond, L. M. (2020). The effects of light scatter when using a photochromic vs. non-photochromic contact lens. Journal of Optometry, 13, 227-34.

Hammond, B. R., Buch, J., Sonoda, L., & Renzi-Hammond, L. (2021). The Effects of a Senofilcon A Contact Lens With and Without a Photochromic Additive on Positive Dysphotopsia Across Age. Eye & Contact Lens, 47(5), 265.

Hammond, B. R., & Buch, J. (2020). Individual differences in visual function. Experimental Eye Research, 108186.

Buch, J., & Hammond, B.R. (2020). Photobiomodulation of the Visual System and Human Health. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(21),1-22.

Nightingale, J. and Hammond, B.R. (2021).  Measuring the behavioral effects of intraocular scatter.  JOVE,  168 (e62290). 1-15.

Elizabeth Davis

Student Affairs Professional II, Graduate Coordinator's Office

Job Responsibilities

I work with graduate students and the Graduate Coordinator in the Psychology Ph.D. program, serving as a liaison among the graduate students, program chairs, the department head, graduate coordinator, and officials of the Graduate School. I maintain records of current, past, and prospective students. I also communicate with applicants to the doctoral program and compile their credentials folders for departmental review.

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