Current Directions in Biopsychology (Association for Psychological Science Readers)

A. Courtney DeVries is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at The Ohio State University.  She is also a member of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine at Ohio State.  She received her B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1991 and her Ph.D in Zoology from the University of Maryland in 1995. Professor DeVries conducted postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland from 1995-1996, and served as a Research Faculty at the University of Maryland from 1996-1998 before joining the faculty at The Johns Hopkins University in 1998 where she was an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.  She joined the faculty at Ohio State University in the fall of 2000.

        Professor DeVries has published sixty articles and chapters in professional journals and edited volumes. She has won numerous awards including the Outstanding Graduate Research Award in 1995, the Young Scientist Award from the New York Academy of Sciences in 1996, the Fellows Award for Research Excellence from the Office of the NIH Scientific Director in 1996, the Frank A. Beach Award for Research Excellence from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology in 2000, the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association in 2003, and the Curt P. Richter Award from the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2006.  She is a fellow of the American Stroke Association and the American Heart Association.  Professor DeVries’ current research focuses mainly on the effects of stress and prosocial behaviors on health outcomes, especially related to ischemic damage associated with cardiac arrest and stroke.

Randy J. Nelson is Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at The Ohio State University.  He also co-directs the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program. He received his A.B. from the University of California in Berkeley in 1978, a M.A. and Ph.D in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980 and 1983, respectively, as well as a Ph.D. in Endocrinology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984. Professor Nelson conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Texas at Austin from 1984-1986.  He served on the faculty at The Johns Hopkins University from 1986 until 2000 where he was Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience. He joined the faculty at Ohio State in the fall of 2000. He currently serves on the Editorial Board for Behavioral Neuroscience, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, and Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

        Professor Nelson has published nearly three hundred articles and chapters in professional journals and edited volumes. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, and the Animal Behavior Society.  The third edition of his textbook, An Introduction to Behavioral Endocrinology was published in 2005 by Sinauer Associates. In 2002, he co-authored a book entitled, Seasonal Patterns of Stress Immune Function, and Disease published by Cambridge University Press. In 2003, he co-edited the volume, Biological Psychology for Wiley and Sons and he edited the volume, Biology of Aggression, published by Oxford University Press in 2006.  Professor Nelson is co-editor for the OxfordSeries in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.  Professor Nelson’s current research focuses primarily on seasonality, behavioral neuroendocrinology, biological rhythms, stress, immune function, sexual, aggressive, and other social behaviors.