39th Annual Meeting INS Early Career Research Award Recipient

John Gunstad is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Kent State University. He obtained a B.A. in psychology from Moorhead State University and both his M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology with concentration in clinical neuropsychology from Ohio University. He completed internship and F32 postdoctoral fellowship at Brown Medical School, where he began a line of research in the neurocognitive effects of medical conditions including obesity and cardiovascular disease. He has more than 150 publications and series of NIH grants, including projects examining the cognitive benefits of bariatric surgery and role of exercise in protecting the brain in heart failure. These findings have been applied to other populations within his lab, including examining the contribution of cognitive dysfunction to poor health habits, recovery from traumatic brain injury, and mechanisms by which extreme environmental conditions impair cognitive function. Dr. Gunstad has also been active in the field, including grant reviews for NIH and the Alzheimer's Association, assisting as an INS program committee member, and serving as a member of the APA Division 40/Society for Clinical Neuropsychology Scientific Advisory committee. Dr. Gunstad received the Early Career Research Award from the International Neuropsychological Society in 2011 and awards for teaching, student mentorship, and research from Kent State University.