Principal Investigator
Noa Ofen, PhD
noa.ofen@utdallas.edu
View UT Dallas profile page and CV
Dr. Ofen is a professor at the Center for Vital Longevity and The University of Texas at Dallas in the school of Behavioral and Brain Sciences within the Department of Psychology. Dr. Ofen joined UT Dallas in 2024 having held a faculty position at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan (2011-2023).
See more about Dr. Ofen
Dr. Ofen is the director of the Cognitive and Brain Development Laboratory. Together with her research team she has been investigating the development of memory systems in the brain. In particular, using a range of cognitive neuroscience approaches pairing careful behavioral assessments with multiple neuroimaging approaches including intracranial EEG and both structural and functional MRI, we aims to understand the factors that shape cognitive ability across the lifespan.
One focus of her ongoing research is utilizing localized electrical signature of brain activity to uncover the neurophysiological mechanisms that support memory encoding and retrieval. Coupled with rigorous investigations using fMRI these studies promise to provide profound understanding on the neural basis of memory in the developing brain. Another key focus of her research has been the investigation of the structure and function of the hippocampus, a crucial brain structure for learning and memory that is altered in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. Yet another key focus in her research is striving to disentangle sources of individual differences in behavior and biological measures that are linked to environmental influences or genetic predispositions.
Dr. Ofen provides extensive service to professional societies and participates in peer-review of grants and scientific manuscripts. Her excellence in scholarship has been recognized in various awards including Career Development Chair from Wayne State University and being elected as a Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Science.
Dr. Ofen’s research has broad societal implications in clinical conditions where memory serves as a key domain of deficit and she has also written about, and is interested in exploring, how insights gained from developmental cognitive neuroscience may have practical implication in education settings.
In her free time, she enjoys connecting with friends, traveling, exercising, and spectating her kids sporting events.
Lab Manager
Dimple Wadhwa, MS
dimple.wadhwa@utdallas.edu
Dimple Wadhwa graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Child Learning and Development in 2021 and received a Master’s Degree in Medical Sciences from Texas A&M University in 2023. Throughout her time at UT Dallas, she was involved in Dr. Francesca Filbey’s Lab and Dr. Jiyoung Park’s Cultural and Affective Neuroscience Lab. She is interested in investigating the relationship between psychopathology and chronic illness from adolescence to adulthood and the role stress plays. In her free time, she enjoys playing golf, working out, reading, and baking!
Post-Doctoral Collaborator
Qin Yin, PhD
qin.yin@utdallas.edu
Qin received her PhD in psychology from Wayne State University in 2023. Her research interests are the neural correlates of memory and memory development. Specifically, she uses intracranial EEG to investigate the development of episodic memory. Qin enjoys hiking, cooking, and watching movies in her free time.