Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at Auburn University for 2026
Auburn University’s recent work in Neuroscience spans brain imaging, cognition, sleep, development, and clinical care, showing how researchers are connecting basic mechanisms with real-world outcomes. The publication patterns below reflect a broad and active research community working across several overlapping areas of inquiry.
From neuroimaging and synaptic biology to developmental, behavioral, and rehabilitation-focused studies, these researchers are contributing to a varied picture of neuroscience at Auburn. The featured profiles highlight the range of questions being explored and the different methods used to study them.
Featured Researchers
Gopikrishna Deshpande
Gopikrishna Deshpande’s recent work at Auburn University centers on Cognitive Neuroscience and Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging, with publications on resting-state fMRI microstates, transfer learning for neuroimaging classification, and observational drawing.
Activity over the last year: 7 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
John Michael Falligant
John Michael Falligant’s Auburn University research brings together Developmental and Educational Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Clinical Psychology, with papers on individualized levels systems, resurgence, and challenging behavior.
Activity over the last year: 7 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- A Systematic Review and Quality Appraisal of Fully Individualized Levels Systems (May 2025)
- Discriminative properties of reinforcers modulate resurgence: A human‐operant demonstration (Apr 2025)
- Resurgence of Severe Challenging Behavior and Schedule Thinning with the Terminal Schedule Probe Method (Mar 2025)
Mona El‐Sheikh
Mona El-Sheikh at Auburn University is focusing on Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Cognitive Neuroscience, especially sleep difficulties, sleep regularity, and disparities in sleep and functioning across development.
Activity over the last year: 7 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Sleep difficulties and adolescent internalising symptoms: The moderating role of sleep regularity (Feb 2025)
- Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in sleep and cognitive and academic functioning across childhood and adolescence: a meta-analytic review (Jun 2025)
- Racial Disparities in Sleep Among Diverse Young Adults During the First Semester of College (Aug 2025)
Lauramarie Pope
Lauramarie Pope’s Auburn University publications connect Occupational Therapy, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Developmental and Educational Psychology through studies of AAC supports, literacy, and participation for young children on the autism spectrum.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Comparison of learning text vs. picture symbol AAC representations for young children on the autism spectrum (Feb 2025)
- Effect of AAC technology with embedded literacy supports on the participation of children who are emerging symbolic communicators during shared reading (May 2025)
- Incorporating Visual Scene Display Augmentative and Alternative Communication Supports Into Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (Jun 2025)
Miranda N. Reed
Miranda N. Reed’s Auburn University work in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Physiology, and Neurology examines synaptic vesicle exocytosis, cannabinoid effects on neurotransmission, and synaptic dysfunction in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Presynaptic recycling pool density regulates spontaneous synaptic vesicle exocytosis rate and is upregulated in the presence of β-amyloid (Mar 2025)
- Neurodevelopmental effects of exogenous cannabinoids on endocannabinoid and GABAergic neurotransmission (Nov 2025)
- Adiponectin Receptor Agonist Ameliorates Synaptic Dysfunction in 3xTg Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model by Activation of AMPK (Sep 2025)
Jaimie A. Roper
Jaimie A. Roper’s Auburn University research spans Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Mental health, and Neurology, with studies on cognitive-motor interference, thalamotomy for tremor, and gait after deep brain stimulation.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Verbal fluency dual-tasks show greater age-related cognitive-motor interference: a meta-analysis of walking performance (Oct 2025)
- Connectomic-guided stereotactic radiosurgery thalamotomy for tremor: a patient-specific approach to enhance outcomes (Feb 2025)
- Gait quality improves after unilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease patients (Nov 2025)
Morgan J. Thompson
Morgan J. Thompson’s Auburn University publications emphasize Clinical Psychology, Demography, and Social Psychology, with meta-analytic work on sleep, cognitive and academic functioning, and mental health disparities across childhood and adolescence.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Razan Alfakir
Razan Alfakir’s Auburn University research links Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental and Educational Psychology, and Sensory Systems through translation and validation work on the HEAR-COMMAND Tool in Arabic and Korean.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool – Arabic: a self-rated ICF-based questionnaire for assessing hearing, communication, and conversation disability in Arabic-speaking populations (Jul 2025)
- Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Field Testing of the Korean Version of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool: A Self-Rated ICF-Based Questionnaire for Assessing Hearing, Communication, and Conversation Disabilities in Korean-Speaking Populations (Jul 2025)
What Auburn University's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
Across Auburn University’s recent Neuroscience publications, Cognitive Neuroscience appears most often, suggesting sustained interest in how brain function relates to behavior, learning, sleep, and clinical outcomes. Developmental and Educational Psychology and Clinical Psychology also show up repeatedly, pointing to work that bridges neuroscience with child development, mental health, and educational participation. Smaller but important threads in Neurology, imaging, rehabilitation, and molecular neuroscience round out a research landscape that is both clinically relevant and methodologically diverse.- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 5 of the featured researchers
- Developmental and Educational Psychology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Clinical Psychology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Neurology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging - seen across 1 of the featured researchers
These recent publications show how Auburn University researchers are advancing Neuroscience through collaboration across imaging, psychology, neurology, and rehabilitation. If you are tracking scholarship in this area, explore the featured researchers below and consider using Resub to help streamline citation discovery, manuscript formatting, and submission preparation for your own work.
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