MindCORE, Penn’s hub for the integrative study of the mind, has announced that Brock Kirwan will serve as the inaugural executive director of the new MindCORE Neuroimaging Facility opening at Pennovation Works this spring. He comes to Penn from Brigham Young University, where he has been on the faculty since 2009, most recently as a professor in the department of psychology and neuroscience, and director of its MRI Research Facility.

Dr. Kirwan brings to Penn extensive teaching, mentoring, and research experience from leading his own memory and decision-making lab studying the brain mechanisms that allow people to form and retain long-term memories and then use those memories to guide future decision-making. With publications in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and information systems, Dr. Kirwan has also mentored more than two dozen students and trainees in psychology and neuroscience. Additionally, he has taught more than 18 different courses in cognitive science, neurobiology, neuroscience, psychology, statistics, and several on neuroimaging analysis.

Originally from Idaho, Dr. Kirwan completed undergraduate degrees in both psychology and philosophy at the University of Utah. He then obtained his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 2006 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego before joining the faculty of Brigham Young University in 2009. He starts his new role at Penn on May 1, 2024.

Dr. Kirwan was identified after an extensive international search by a committee chaired by MindCORE faculty director Joseph Kable, the Jean-Marie Kneeley President’s Distinguished Professor of Psychology. The committee also included Michael Arcaro, an assistant professor of psychology; Allyson Mackey, an associate professor of psychology; and Emily Falk, a professor of communication, psychology, and marketing and the vice dean for research for the Annenberg School for Communication. “I am thrilled to welcome Brock and his family to Penn and Philadelphia,” said Dr. Kable. “His extensive research, teaching, and service experience with human neuroimaging makes him an ideal leader for this facility, as we expand what we can discover about the human brain through powerful new tools.”

Established by the School of Arts & Sciences under the Mapping the Mind goals of the strategic plan outlined by School of Arts & Sciences dean Steven J. Fluharty, the MindCORE Neuroimaging Facility will provide access to shared facilities and equipment to support the research of scholars across campus, including more than 100 MindCORE-affiliated faculty members from a range of academic disciplines.

The centerpiece of the new facility is a new state-of-the-art Siemens Magnetom Cima.X 3T MRI scanner, dedicated to interdisciplinary research on the mind. This cutting-edge scanner, along with other tools, will help researchers decipher the complex relationship between brain activity, human intelligence, and behavior. The facility will officially open this spring, followed by an open house to invite the Penn community to visit and learn more about the research tools available. Questions can be directed to pennmindcore@sas.upenn.edu.