Inaugural Distinguished Psychology Alumni Speaker: Dr. Michael Fanselow
A mission of the Psychology Department is to provide outstanding and state-of-the-art education and training for its undergraduate and graduate students so that they are prepared to become important contributors to society. With this strong foundation, a large number of our students have indeed gone on to not only thrive in a wide range of careers, but they have had significant impact on a variety of societal challenges. To honor their accomplishments, the Psychology Department was very excited to launch its Distinguished Psychology Alumni Speaker Series. Dr. Michael Fanselow was the inaugural alumnus speaker at an event in his honor, held in our Psychology Department on November 13, 2024. The title of his seminar was A Neurobiological Perspective on Anxiety, Fear and Panic as Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior.
Dr. Fanselow is a leading international figure in Psychology. With nearly 400 publications, his research has absolutely transformed our theoretical and clinical understanding of how fear can drive our learning, the impact of stress on fear-based learning, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the neural mechanisms of defensive behaviors. Many professional honors recognize the significant impact of his research, such as the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences, and the W.H. Gantt Medal from the Pavlovian Society. Clearly, his lifetime’s work embodies the highest level of academic achievement coupled with strong societal relevance and impact.
Dr. Fanselow’s journey began in Brooklyn, NY, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brooklyn College in 1976. He then joined Dr. Robert Bolles’ laboratory as a graduate student at the University of Washington. Here, he made many groundbreaking discoveries, including how Pavlovian fear conditioning activates the brain’s opioid system to produce learned analgesia in times of fear. Dr. Fanselow’s research also provided foundational and mechanistic insight regarding a very influential learning model (the Rescorla-Wagner learning model) that is now integral to current Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning algorithms.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 1980 from our Psychology Department, Dr. Fanselow began his academic career as an assistant professor of psychology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in NY. In 1981, he joined Dartmouth College, where he advanced to associate professor in 1986. In 1988, he joined the Psychology Department at UCLA, where he has remained throughout his remarkable career. Coming full circle, it is interesting to note that a current UW Psychology Professor, Dr. Jeansok Kim, was Dr. Fanselow’s first PhD student at UCLA. Their recent reunion on Husky territory is shown in the photo.
Michael Fanselow (left), Dr. Robert Bolles (center), and Mark Bouton (right, fellow graduate student who also went on to enjoy a most stellar academic career) 1976-1980
Although now retired from teaching, Dr. Fanselow remains active in research that is supported by several grants. He currently serves as a Distinguished Research Professor in both the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. He also holds the prestigious Staglin Family Chair in Psychology and directs the Staglin Music Festival Center for Brain and Behavioral Health.
We were honored to welcome back Dr. Fanselow—a distinguished alumnus and esteemed scholar whose research has not only helped to define the current field of behavioral neuroscience but also its future directions. Additionally, Dr. Fanselow’s research has importantly impacted adjacent fields of clinical psychology and artificial intelligence.
Jeansok Kim (left, current professor in Psychology UW) and Michael Fanselow (right).