Top Researchers
Top Neuroscience Researchers at University of Alabama for 2026
Researchers at the University of Alabama have been active across neuroscience-adjacent questions that connect brain function, behavior, mental health, and learning. The recent work reflected here spans cognitive and clinical perspectives, with studies touching autism, anxiety, sensory processing, dementia, and supportive interventions.
Below, you’ll find a snapshot of the people driving that activity and the themes that appear most often across their recent publications. Together, they show a community moving between basic inquiry and applied research in ways that are useful to both science and practice.
Featured Researchers
Hyemin Han
Hyemin Han’s recent work at the University of Alabama centers on moral judgment, stress, and cognitive neuroscience, with publications including <em>Going in, moral, circles: A data-driven exploration of moral circle predictors and prediction models</em> and <em>Perceived Stress and Society-Wide Moral Judgment</em>.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Thompson E. Davis
Thompson E. Davis has focused on clinical and cognitive questions around autism, parenting stress, family accommodation, and anxiety-related symptoms, including <em>The Impact of Support on Parents of Autistic Children: The Relationships Between Support, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction</em>.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- The Impact of Support on Parents of Autistic Children: The Relationships Between Support, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction (May 2025)
- A Systematic Review of Family Accommodation in Autistic Youth: Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors (Feb 2025)
- The Search for Youthful Panic: A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Anxiety Sensitivity, Emotion Regulation, and Panic Symptoms Via a Developmental Lens (Dec 2025)
Justine Brennan
Justine Brennan’s recent output spans cognitive neuroscience and mental health topics, with work on support for parents of autistic children, family accommodation in autistic youth, and developmental perspectives on panic symptoms.
Activity over the last year: 4 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- The Impact of Support on Parents of Autistic Children: The Relationships Between Support, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction (May 2025)
- A Systematic Review of Family Accommodation in Autistic Youth: Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors (Feb 2025)
- The Search for Youthful Panic: A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Anxiety Sensitivity, Emotion Regulation, and Panic Symptoms Via a Developmental Lens (Dec 2025)
Lucy Barnard‐Brak
Lucy Barnard‐Brak’s recent publications connect cognitive neuroscience with developmental and educational psychology, from an after-school robotics program for students with autism spectrum disorder to work on ADHD accommodations and sensory sensitivity.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Robotics as a tool for STEM inclusion: Implementation of an after-school robotics program for students with Autism spectrum Disorder (May 2025)
- Examining College Students with ADHD Who Do and Do Not Register for Accommodations (Oct 2025)
- Heightened sensory sensitivity and subsequent engagement among individuals with ASD (Aug 2025)
Evie Malaia
Evie Malaia has been publishing across developmental psychology and experimental cognition, including studies on sign language learning, neural organization in autism, and EEG-based comparisons of brain network dynamics in neurodegenerative disease.
Activity over the last year: 3 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Effect of sign language learning on temporal resolution of visual attention (Jan 2025)
- Distinct modes of functional neural organization in autism: Insights from dynamical systems analysis of resting-state EEG (Jun 2025)
- Distinct neurodynamics of functional brain networks in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia as revealed by EEG (Jul 2025)
Chao Zhao
Chao Zhao’s recent work bridges biomaterials and peripheral nerve drug delivery, with titles such as <em>Glucose‐Facilitated Nanomicelles Cross Peripheral Nerve Barriers to Achieve Drug Delivery to Nerves</em> and <em>Carboxylated prodrug of capsaicin with enhanced peripheral nerve permeation mediated by monocarboxylate transporters for long-lasting local anesthesia</em>.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Glucose‐Facilitated Nanomicelles Cross Peripheral Nerve Barriers to Achieve Drug Delivery to Nerves (Feb 2025)
- Carboxylated prodrug of capsaicin with enhanced peripheral nerve permeation mediated by monocarboxylate transporters for long-lasting local anesthesia (Nov 2025)
- Assessment and biomarker exploration of chronic pain using wearable EEG device (Dec 2025)
Despina Stavrinos
Despina Stavrinos has been examining driving, autism, pain, and intervention research, including a meta-analysis of driving performance across autistic drivers and a mindfulness-based intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Examination of Driving Performance Across Autistic Drivers: A Meta-analysis (Apr 2025)
- Using a Mindfulness-Based Intervention With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Decrease Disruptive Behavior in Early Elementary Inclusion Classrooms (Jan 2025)
- The Lived Experience of Driving with Pain (Apr 2025)
Noorbakhsh Amiri Golilarz
Noorbakhsh Amiri Golilarz’s recent publications apply machine learning and pattern recognition to mental health and perception, including handwriting-based detection of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and a hybrid approach for age-related false memory.
Activity over the last year: 2 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
What University of Alabama's Neuroscience Community Is Working On
The most common subfields point to a research community working at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, and related mental health areas. Much of the activity centers on autism, anxiety, stress, and developmental differences, alongside studies of perception, brain organization, and intervention. Experimental and cognitive psychology also appears frequently, suggesting a strong interest in how behavior and neural processes interact in both everyday and clinical settings.- Cognitive Neuroscience - seen across 4 of the featured researchers
- Clinical Psychology - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Psychiatry and Mental health - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Developmental and Educational Psychology - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
These recent publications offer a useful window into how neuroscience-related research at the University of Alabama is evolving across cognition, clinical science, and mental health. If you’re exploring similar literature or organizing your own manuscript workflow, Resub can help with citation discovery, formatting, and submission preparation.
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