Daniel C. Krawczyk

Dr. Daniel C. Krawczyk is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology at the University of Texas at Dallas, holding the Debbie and Jim Francis Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. His research focuses on higher cognitive functions, including decision-making, memory application, and social cognition. He employs methods like functional neuroimaging and virtual reality to study healthy individuals and those with neurological impairments, aiming to improve diagnostics and treatments for cognitive disorders. Krawczyk holds a BSc from SUNY Fredonia (1998), and MSc/PhD from UCLA (2000/2003), followed by a postdoc at UC Berkeley. He joined UT Dallas in 2006 as a joint faculty member with UT Southwestern Medical Center, advancing to Associate Professor (2012) and Full Professor (2018).

Education:

• Bachelor’s in Psychology, State University of New York at Fredonia (1998)
• Master’s in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (2000)
• Doctorate in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (2003)

Research Interests: Dr. Krawczyk’s work bridges cognitive neuroscience and clinical applications. He investigates how expertise (e.g., chess) influences cognitive processes, the neural basis of social cognition deficits in disorders like anorexia nervosa, and cognitive rehabilitation strategies for traumatic brain injury (TBI). His lab develops virtual reality tools to assess executive function and employs neuroimaging to map brain networks underlying reasoning and decision-making.

Key Contributions: His research has advanced understanding of neuroplasticity in TBI patients through cognitive training, revealed neural correlates of self-perception in eating disorders, and demonstrated how hormones like oxytocin modulate social judgments. He has pioneered interventions using strategic reasoning training to improve outcomes in chronic TBI.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Krawczyk Lab at UT Dallas, focusing on cognitive neuroscience and translational research in neurorehabilitation and mental health.