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Noa Ofen, Ph.D.

Dr. Ofen directs the Ofen Lab for Cognitive and Brain Development lab and co-directs the Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience Program of the Lifespan Alliance between MPSI and the Institute of Gerontology. She uses a range of cognitive neuroscience methods including structural and functional MRI to investigate how brain development supports developmental gains in cognitive functioning, particularly in memory. She also uses intracranial EEG recordings, a cutting-edge methodology, to assess neuronal communication mechanisms that support memory in the developing brain. Her lab focuses on investigating typical and atypical development (including pediatric epilepsy) and both environmental and biological factors that shape life-long developmental trajectories. Dr. Ofen's research uncovers rare insights into how memory develops in children and adolescents.

Her nearly $2M, 2016 grant "Development of memory networks in children" was renewed from the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Mental Health for $3.4M for an additional five years. Dr. Ofen was a key presenter last year at a major NIH workshop and is a keynote speaker at the Dallas Aging and Cognition Conference in February 2023.

Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute Report 2021/2022
Editor : Cheryl Deep
Designer: Catherine Blasio