The Training Program in Emotion Research is directed by Dr. Richard J. Davidson and funded by a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Institutional National Research Service Award training grant. The program provides specialized, non-degree training for University of Wisconsin-Madison students at the pre and post-doctoral levels. A total of three (3) pre-doctoral students are supported by the grant in any given year. In addition, two (2) post-doctoral trainees will be supported each year.
The major activities of the training program include participation in the annual Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion, attendance at monthly meetings of faculty and students on topics in emotion research, ethics training, as well as other relevant activities on campus. Please contact the Training Program in Emotion Research Administrator, Jane Lambert, at emotiont32grant@bi.wisc.edu for more information.
We look for diverse candidates with strong potential for future academic success, whose research interests are well aligned with those of the program and the desired faculty mentor.
Program Research Areas & Faculty
Our training program is focused on four areas of current emotion research:
- Personality, temperament, and individual and cultural differences: Lifespan developmental, genetic, cognitive and biological approaches, and human-computer interaction;
- Affective neuroscience;
- Emotion, health, and well-being; and
- Emotion and psychopathology.
Trainees may work with any of the following faculty: Reid S. Alisch, Brooke A. Ammerman, Amit Bernstein, John J. Curtin, Richard J. Davidson, Simon B. Goldberg, Diane C. Gooding, Dan Grupe, Matthew J. Hirshberg, Ned H. Kalin, Michael R. Koenigs, James J. Li, Catherine Marler, Ali Mohebi, João Guassi Moreira, Bilge Mutlu, Paula M. Niedenthal, Seth D. Pollak, Melissa A. Rosenkranz, Carol D. Ryff, Sarah J. Short, Alvin Thomas, Katie L. Walsh, Earlise C. Ward, and Christy Wilson-Mendenhall.
Post-doctoral Applicants
We have filled the Fall 2027 post-doctoral training positions in the NIMH-funded T32 Training Program in Emotion Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, so we will not be taking applications.
Pre-doctoral Information
UW-Madison faculty can nominate pre-doctoral students for the program, but pre-doctoral students cannot apply directly to the program themselves.
Pre-doctoral nominees:
- must apply to or be enrolled in a degree-granting graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- must be nominated by a program faculty member.
- If your application is seriously considered by a program faculty member, he or she may decide to nominate you for consideration by the selection committee by contacting the Training Program in Emotion Research Administrator, Jane Lambert, at emotiont32grant@bi.wisc.edu. If you are interested in participating in the program, be sure to discuss this with your prospective advisor.
- must be a U.S. citizen or a noncitizen national (link explaining this status) of the U.S. or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment to be considered for this training grant. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible for financial support.
Acknowledgments
This program is supported by NIMH grant 5T32MH018931, with additional funding from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Graduate School.