Laura Kurdziel, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. As the Co-Principal Investigator of the Social Cognition and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, her research focuses on the role of sleep and rest in cognition, emotion, and memory, and how these relationships change across the lifespan.

In addition, she studies how mild traumatic brain injuries (also known as concussions) impact emotion regulation, and whether sleep extension, and napping in particular, can have therapeutic effects post-injury.

In her talk, “The Science of Sleep: Sleeping for Safety, Scholarship, Sensibility, and Self-Love,” Dr. Kurdziel will discuss her research on how sleep impacts the brain, improves memory and emotion regulation, and changes over the lifespan. Come hear her discuss why we spend approximately one third of our lives in the state of sleep, and why you should sleep more!