USU Professor Appointed to NIH Study Section

Utah State University associate professor Timothy Shahan of the Department of Psychology was appointed to the National Institute of Health’s Biobehavioral Regulation, Learning and Ethology study section. His four-year appointment starts July 1.

The BRLE study section assesses the scientific merit of research grant applications to NIH that are concerned with basic biobehavioral processes and adaptation across the lifespan. It ensures that NIH grant applications receive fair, independent, expert and timely reviews that are free from inappropriate influences so NIH can fund the most promising research. The study section meets three times a year and reviews approximately 180 NIH grant applications per year.

 

Acknowledging Shahan’s accomplishment, USU Vice President of Research Brent Miller said the appointment to this important national organization is a mark of high recognition for Shahan and for USU itself.

 

“Dr. Shahan is in rare company among people who serve on these key grant review panels at NIH,” Miller said.

 

The NIH is the preeminent government organization set up to advance biomedical research to improve the health of the nation. Its budget supports more than 325,000 scientists and researchers at more than 3,000 institutions nationwide.

 

Shahan’s research focuses on the basic principles of learning and behavior using laboratory animals as subjects. His research is directed at comprehending the contribution of basic behavioral processes to drug abuse.

 

Shahan said that one line of his current research, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, examines the contribution of basic learning processes to the persistence of drug taking. A second line of research, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is directed at extending quantitative theories of simple operant behavior to the allocation and persistence of attention in animal models.

 

 

Contact: Timothy Shahan, Tim.Shahan@usu.edu
Writer: Latashia Redhouse, 435-797-1350, lottie.red@aggiemail.usu.edu