Dr. Ayanna Thomas (she/her) is a Professor and the Dean of Research at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She specializes in research on misinformation, metacognition, and how stress affects learning. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2001.

Dr. Thomas translates basic science findings to applications in eyewitness memory, education, and cognitive aging. She conducts research on retrieval, false memory, and misinformation. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Memory & Cognition and a Board Member of the Association for Psychological Science. Dr. Thomas received the 2021 Psychonomic Society Mid-Career Award and the 2018 Dalmas A. Taylor Distinguished Contributions Award.

She is a founding member of the SPARK Society, a non-profit designed to increase diversity and support mentorship in cognitive psychology for scholars from underrepresented minority groups. Dr. Thomas regularly contributes to popular news and podcasts, including ASCD, CBC News, Popular Science, and NPR’s Hidden Brain. She is also spearheading critical initiatives to diversify the field of cognitive psychology.

Recommended research publication: Thomas, A. K., Smith, A. M., Kamal, K., & Gordon, L. T. (2020). Should you use frequent quizzing in your college course? Giving up 20 minutes of lecture time may pay off. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(1), 83.

More cognitive scientists:

Magdalena Abel, Ph.D.

Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D.

Kathleen M. Arnold, Ph.D.

Janell R. Blunt, Ph.D.

Shana K. Carpenter, Ph.D.

Cognitive Scientists

< Return to the list