“ Along with the MRI scanner, the multidisciplinary spirit of Cornell and Human Ecology is very compelling, which is what attracted me here.” —Nathan Spreng
From left to right: Anthony Burrow, Anna Thalacker-Mercer, Huiju Park, Ying Hua, Rana Zadeh, and Jintu Fan.
Where Ideas Collide At a college distinguished by its multidisciplinary approach, Nathan Spreng and Tasha Lewis may represent the most unexpected pairing of researchers yet. Spreng, a neuroscientist whose work includes searching for biomarkers to improve early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as links between memory and imagination, is collecting brain scans at the Cornell MRI Facility in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall to explore links between biology and psychology. Lewis, an apparel designer interested in fashion consumer psychology, believes partnering with Spreng could yield a new understanding of the popular notion of “retail therapy”—the thought that shopping can brighten our moods. “There are a lot of ideas out there, none of them very well tested, about mood alleviation related to clothes shopping, particularly in women,” Lewis says. “I’m hoping to shed light on whether there might be a biological basis for these feelings.” Spreng, part of a growing nucleus of brain researchers at the college, enjoys having colleagues on the same floor to discuss “the intricacies of neuroimaging without having to go to a conference.” But just as important to him are the “collision” of ideas that occur with experts
outside his department. For instance, Spreng says he and Peter Doerschuk, professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell, are developing new methods to “view the interactions between brain regions in ways never before seen.” In another budding partnership, Cornell linguistics professor John Hale has contacted Spreng to examine the biological basis for speech. “Along with the MRI scanner, the multidisciplinary spirit of Cornell and Human Ecology is very compelling, which is what attracted me here,” says Spreng, who previously worked under some of the foremost neuroscience minds at Harvard. “It’s exciting to be part of these collaborations.” Sometimes the collisions Spreng describes occur quite literally. Anna Thalacker-Mercer, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, has bumped into fellow professors at events and in the college’s hub, the Human Ecology Commons. “We’re scientists, so pretty quickly the conversation turns to our research,” Thalacker-Mercer says. “And that’s when the light bulbs go off and you uncover common interests and ways to work together.” After one such impromptu meeting, Thalacker-Mercer, who studies how to boost musculoskeletal health through diet and exercise, particularly among older adults, is exploring a research partnership
Best in Class
The college’s 33 newest professors Ying Hua Jordan Matsudaira Ling Qi
2007
Anthony Burrow Corinna Loeckenhoff Michael Lovenheim
DEA PAM DNS
2008 David Feathers Tamar Kushnir Joann McDermid Kelly Musick Shu-Bing Qian
12 link SPRING 2014
2009 DEA HD DNS PAM DNS
HD HD PAM
2010 Samuel Kleiner Saurabh Mehta
PAM DNS