Jessica Payne is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame, directing the Sleep, Stress, and Memory (SAM) Lab. Her research explores how sleep and stress influence learning, memory, emotion, and creativity. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Arizona and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Payne’s academic journey includes a BA from the University of San Diego, an MA from Mount Holyoke College, and postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard’s Psychology Department and Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She teaches courses like “The Sleeping Brain,” earning teaching awards including Harvard’s Bok Center Award and Notre Dame’s Frank O’Malley and Joyce Awards. Her research focuses on sleep’s role in memory consolidation, stress effects on emotional memory, and cognitive neuroscience. Key areas include how sleep enhances negative memory aspects, stress-cortisol interactions, and age-related changes in emotional memory. She has published widely in journals like Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Journal of Neuroscience . Awards: Laird Cermak Award, Psychonomic Society’s Early Career Award, Kavli Fellowship, and National Academy of Sciences Benzer/Brenner Lecturer. Labs/Teams: Leads the SAM Lab, investigating sleep’s impact on memory and emotion. Grants/Advising: Active in securing grants for sleep-related research; advises students in cognitive neuroscience and memory studies. Her work bridges clinical and experimental psychology, emphasizing translational research to address sleep’s role in mental health and aging.












