Biography
Dr. Schwarb is an experimental psychologist who studies human learning and memory and applies neuroimaging techniques to answer questions about the organization and structure of the human brain. Her research leverages multiple behavioral, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging (primarily structural MRI, functional MRI, and elastography) tools to explore the organization and control of the memory system.
She earned her Ph.D. in Cognition and Brain Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2012. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois, she worked as an independent research scientist in the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute at Illinois until 2023 when she joined the faculty at UNL.
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Research Interests
Dr. Schwarb is an experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist who uses complementary behavioral tools and neuroimaging techniques to answer questions about the organization and structure of the human brain. Her current research is dedicated at understanding the structure and function of the hippocampal memory network and how this system is altered under various typical and pathological conditions. Her current research program has two related focuses: One basic and the other applied. The basic science focus seeks to investigate the organization of human memory and to identify the ways in which that organization biases behavior. This work has been foundational in driving her applied research focus which seeks to both develop sensitive behavioral measures of human learning and memory and to apply sensitive neuroimaging tools to promote early detection of atypical memory concerns as well as track changes in both memory outcomes and the integrity of its supporting brain structures as we age. She applies this approach of combining creative behavioral paradigms with multiple, complementary neuroimaging techniques to patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, as well as healthy aging and mild cognitive impairment.
For more information about ongoing work, please visit her Lab Website: Translational Cognitive Neuroscience & Memory Lab
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Representitive Publicaitons
For the most up-to-date list of Dr. Schwarb’s publications, please visit her Google Scholar page: Dr. Schwarb on Google Scholar
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Research Support
R21MH127503 National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH): Changes in hippocampal microstructure and hippocampal-dependent memory accompanying hormonal fluctuation in naturally cycling women. Role: PI
R01NS110661 National Institutes of Health (NINDS): Relational Memory as a Model of Behavioral (Dys)Function in Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury This project seeks to characterize the role of the hippocampus in traumatic brain injury. Role: co-PI (PI: Duff)
R03AG065894 National Institutes of Health (NIA): Viscoelastic and volumetric contributions to age-related cognitive decline. Role: PI (2020-2023)
R01AG058853 National Institutes of Health (NIA): Mechanical integrity of memory systems in mild cognitive impairment. Role: Co-I (PI: Johnson) (2018-2023)