Dr. Katherine Mickley Steinmetz is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wofford College, where she directs the Neuroscience of Cognition and Emotion Lab. Her office is located in the R. Milliken Science Center 231D, and she can be reached at (864) 597-4643 or steinmetzkr@wofford.edu. She has established herself as a prominent researcher in emotional memory and cognition through her extensive publication record and laboratory work. Dr. Steinmetz earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from Allegheny College, where she participated in the Neuroscience in the Humanities program and completed a thesis on electrophysiological changes caused by learning words in emotional contexts. She then pursued graduate studies at Boston College under Dr. Elizabeth Kensinger, using neuroimaging (fMRI), eye-tracking, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques to investigate neural mechanisms influencing memory for emotional events. Following this, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship focusing on stress and sleep effects on memory at Boston College and Notre Dame. Her research program focuses on understanding the neuroscience behind how emotional processing influences attention and memory. Dr. Steinmetz combines behavioral testing, event-related potential (ERP) recordings, and salivary hormonal assays to examine both cognitive and neural processes guiding attention toward and memory for emotional information. She is particularly interested in how factors like stress and anxiety modulate these processes. Her work spans multiple domains including emotional memory enhancement, cross-cultural differences in memory, physiological correlates of emotional processing, and the interaction between sleep, stress hormones, and memory consolidation. Analysis of Dr. Steinmetz's publication history reveals consistent focus on emotional memory mechanisms across various contexts. Her research demonstrates how emotional content differentially affects item versus background memory, how stress hormones like cortisol modulate memory processes, and how attentional mechanisms interact with emotional processing. Her methodological approach integrates multiple techniques including ERP, eye-tracking, physiological monitoring, and behavioral paradigms to provide comprehensive insights into emotion-cognition interactions. Dr. Steinmetz has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in prominent journals including Journal of American College Health, Frontiers in Physiology, Cognition and Emotion, Memory, and Affective Science. She has also contributed book chapters and co-authored the book "How Does Emotion Affect Attention & Memory?" (2010) with Elizabeth A. Kensinger, which reviews behavioral and neuroimaging evidence on emotion's effects on memory and attention in individuals with and without PTSD. As an educator, Dr. Steinmetz has focused on developing effective undergraduate research experiences in cognitive neuroscience. Her work in this area addresses the challenges of preparing students for careers in this interdisciplinary field while maintaining sustainable faculty development. She appears to be actively involved in mentoring undergraduate researchers through her laboratory work at Wofford College. Dr. Steinmetz's Neuroscience of Cognition and Emotion Lab serves as the primary research hub for her investigations. The lab employs multiple methodological approaches to study emotion-cognition interactions, providing students with hands-on research experience in cognitive neuroscience techniques. Her research program demonstrates continuity from her graduate and postdoctoral training while developing its own distinct focus on the interplay between emotional processing, attention, and memory.
