2007 Young Investigator Award
Lise Abrams is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Florida and director of the Cognition and Aging Laboratory, where she is investigating memory and language processes and the effects of aging on them. Her research represents some of the most important current research in cognitive aging, providing new knowledge about fundamental cognitive changes during normal aging and contributing to the development of a better-specified model of language and memory. Her research focuses on two areas: (1) memory retrieval failures such as the tip-of-the-tongue states, which are naturally-occurring retrieval failures characterized by a temporary inability to recall a known word; and (2) language errors such as the production of spelling errors and the (mis)detection of spelling errors during reading. As an undergraduate at Pomona College, Abrams double-majored in psychology and mathematics. She then received a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, earning her M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Abrams has published articles in a variety of journals and has secured research funding from the National Institute on Aging and Sigma Xi. She has received a teaching award from the university's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a mentorship award from the national organization Women in Cognitive Science. Abrams was recently accepted for inclusion in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who of Emerging Leaders.