Sunday May 17, 2026, 12:30 – 2:30pm in Sabal/Sawgrass

Organizers: Julie Golomb, The Ohio State University and Anya Hurlbert, Newcastle University
Discussants: Brian Anderson, Texas A&M University and Molly McKinney, Texas A&M University
Moderator: Julie Golomb, The Ohio State University

This workshop will bring attendees together in an informal setting to explore different ways neurodiversity can influence people’s experiences in science and academia.

We will begin by hosting a fireside chat with Brian Anderson, a Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University and the 2023 VSS Young Investigator Awardee. Brian’s openness in sharing his personal story of his unique path to academia during his Young Investigator Award speech struck a chord with many in the VSS community. Brian will be joined by his PhD student (and VSS Student-Postdoc Committee member) Molly McKinney, to engage in a unique conversation about neurodiversity in academia, including navigating different career stages, mentor-mentee relationships, conferences, and networking.

The second half of the workshop will consist of informal small group roundtable conversations. All VSS attendees are warmly invited to participate.
Refreshments and light lunch will be available.

Brian Anderson

Texas A&M University

Brian Anderson is a Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University and holder of the Charles Puryear Professorship in Liberal Arts, where he also serves as Director of the Human Imaging Facility and Computed Tomography Center, and Interim Executive Director of the Human Clinical Research Facility. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maine at Augusta, a masters degree in Psychology under the mentorship of Charles Folk, and a PhD in Psychological & Brain Sciences with Steven Yantis at Johns Hopkins University. His research investigates how the control of attention is shaped by learning using behavioral psychophysics, eye tracking, and functional neuroimaging. Dr. Anderson had an unusual path to science, which is described in the biography for his APA early career award.

Molly McKinney

Texas A&M University

Molly McKinney is working on her PhD at Texas A&M University studying the strategic control of attention. She is particularly interested in understanding the underlying mechanisms at play when adaptively controlling attention, and ways in which we can individualize the approach to motivating the adoption of better control strategies. She is so grateful for the privilege of being a regular attendee of VSS, the honor of serving as a member of the Student Postdoc Advisory committee, as well as the robust opportunities, friendships, and SCIENCE this community nurtures.

Julie Golomb

The Ohio State University

Julie Golomb is a Professor of Psychology at the Ohio State University, where she directs the OSU Vision and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab and is head of the Cognitive Neuroscience Area and PhD program. Her research investigates how we achieve stable and integrated visual perception, and how perception, attention, and working memory interact. Her lab uses a variety of methodologies, including human behavior, eye-tracking, fMRI, EEG, TMS, and computational modeling. Julie has been on the VSS Board of Directors since 2025 and was the VSS awardee of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) Early Career Impact Award in 2019. Her lab has been funded by grants and fellowships from NIH, NSF, Sloan Foundation, and NSERC.