Concentration Faculty
Dr. John Axelson, Psychology
Dr. Axelson received his Ph.D. in physiological psychology from Tulane University. His postdoctoral training includes research appointments at Emory Medical School and the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research. His research and teaching interests include hormones and behavior, neuroendocrinology, and health and medicine.
Dr. Daniel Bitran, Psychology
Dr. Bitran received his Ph.D. in physiological psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His postdoctoral experience includes research appointments at the University of Connecticut and the University of Rochester. His research and teaching interests include the biological basis of anxiety and the effects of steroids on behavior and brain function.
Dr. Cara Constance, Biology
Dr. Gregory DiGirolamo, Psychology
A charismatic and generous Professor at Harvard University introduced me to research in the exciting new discipline of Cognitive Neuroscience (the biology of the mind), and I was lucky to continue my training for my Ph.D with Mike Posner at the University of Oregon. I went on to a Professorship at the University of Cambridge in England, and I'm now here at Holy Cross researching why we have limits in our cognitive abilities, what is consciousness for, and how best to help rehabilitate people following brain damage. I've been and continue to be fascinated by how the brain makes mind and approach this topic using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaing, high-density event-related brain potentials, eye-tracking, and behavioural techniques.
Dr. Mary Lee Ledbetter, Biology
Dr. Ledbetter received her Ph.D. from the Laboratory of Genetics of The Rockefeller University. She did postdoctoral research in human biochemical genetics at New York University School of Medicine and in tumor cell biology at Dartmouth Medical School. Her teaching is in cell and molecular biology and biochemistry. Her research uses cultured animal cells to study regulation of growth and metabolism, in particular cell-to-cell communication through gap junctions (electrical synapses in neurons) and the role of ion transport across cell membranes.
Dr. Charles Locurto, Psychology
Dr. Locurto received his Ph.D. in psychology/comparative psychology from Fordham University. He did postdoctoral research in animal conditioning at Columbia University. His research and teaching interests include learning theory, biological influences on human and animal conditioning, and intelligence testing.
Dr. Ken Prestwich, Biology
Dr. Richard C. Schmidt, Psychology
Dr. Schmidt received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in psychology with a specialty in cognitive science. He did post-doctoral work in dynamical modeling of motor control systems at the Center for Ecological Study of Perception and Action (University of Connecticut). His research and teaching interests include information processing theories, neural networks, acquired and developmental cognitive deficits and neural theories of motor control.
For more information, see the “Psychology Research at Holy Cross: A Major’s Resource Guide” and the Biology Department's Faculty listing.