Eric Leshikar

Eric Leshikar, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), serving as Program Chair for Brain and Cognitive Sciences. He holds academic roles including Program Chair and has affiliations with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on cognitive neuroscience, aging, memory, and social-emotional processing, utilizing fMRI techniques to explore self-referential encoding and memory formation. Leshikar’s work emphasizes the neural mechanisms underlying memory for impressions, particularly in aging populations.

Education:

• PhD in Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009)
• MA in Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2006)
• BS in Psychology and Communication, Abilene Christian University (2000)

Research Interests: Dr. Leshikar investigates aging and memory, fMRI applications, social and emotional memory across the lifespan, and the cognitive neuroscience of aging. Key themes include self-referential processing, medial prefrontal cortex function, and memory enhancement strategies.

Publications & Awards: He has published extensively on topics like the generation effect, self-reference effects, and transcranial stimulation. Notable awards include multiple HOPE Awards for teaching excellence and a Psychonomics Society Fellowship. His grants include funding from NSF and NIA to study memory improvement through brain stimulation.

Advising & Grants: Leshikar mentors graduate and undergraduate students in research projects, such as interventions to improve memory in older adults. He co-leads grants exploring memory mediators and neural mechanisms, including a $893,852 IES grant on metacomprehension accuracy.

Labs/Teams: He is part of the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging and collaborates with institutions like Brandeis University and Georgia Tech on cognitive aging projects.