Michael Mack

Michael Mack is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the interplay between attention, memory, and learning using behavioral experiments, computational modeling, and fMRI. He leads the Mack Lab, which investigates how the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex support concept formation and exception learning.

• Education: PhD in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience (Vanderbilt University), MS and BS in Computer Science (Michigan State University)

Research Interests span cognitive neuroscience, category learning, and visual object recognition. His work emphasizes how selective attention shapes episodic memory and hippocampal pathways, with recent projects linking indoor air quality to neurocognitive function.

Publications highlight trends in computational cognitive modeling, hippocampal circuitry, and scene perception. His team explores how microscopic hippocampal pathways and white matter microstructure influence learning outcomes.

Scientific Awards include the

• Psychonomic Society Fellow
• Dean’s Excellence Award, U of T
• Vanderbilt Psychology Randolph Blake Early Career Award
• Memory Disorders Research Society membership
• Best Poster Award, Austin Conference on Learning and Memory