معرفی
Darya L. Zabelina is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Arkansas. She is the Director of Experimental Training and leads the Mechanisms of Creative Cognition and Attention (MoCCA) Laboratory. Her research integrates cognitive psychology and neuroscience to explore the foundations of creativity, imagination, attention, and executive functions.
Her research interests focus on understanding creative cognition, imagination, mind-wandering, mindfulness, and problem solving, particularly how these processes interact with attention and executive control. She investigates how creativity changes across the lifespan and how technology influences imaginative processes. Her work employs a multimodal approach, including behavioral experiments, experience sampling, EEG/ERP, fMRI, and genetic analyses.
The recent publications reflect a strong trend in cognitive neuroscience of creativity, with increasing emphasis on neural mechanisms (fMRI, EEG), individual differences (genetics, personality), and real-world applications (mindfulness, aging, technology). Her work bridges experimental psychology with translational questions about enhancing creative thinking.
Scientific Awards and Recognition:
- Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science (APS), 2019
- Best Paper of the Year Award, Memory & Cognition
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Advising and Grants: Dr. Zabelina mentors graduate students in experimental psychology, including Dr. Joshua Upshaw (PhD, 2025) and incoming student Kayleb Starnes. Her research is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), American Psychological Association (APA), Mind & Life Institute, and the Office of Naval Research. These grants support innovative research on the cognitive and neural underpinnings of creativity.
Labs and Teams: She directs the Mechanisms of Creative Cognition and Attention (MoCCA) Lab, which is part of the UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience initiative. The lab's mission is to build a theoretical foundation for enhancing creative thinking, imagination, and problem-solving abilities through rigorous scientific inquiry.
