bradley-thomasuiowaedu

Department
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Lab
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Research Interests

I am currently rotating in the neuroimaging lab with Drs. Thomas Grabowski and David Rudrauf, and also work with Dr. Daniel Tranel. My research is in cognitive neuroscience and neurophilosophy. Neurophilsophy is about doing philosophically informed and philosophically relevant neuroscience research, and looking at neuroscience questions with an eye towards their philosophical implications. I examine brain-behavior relationships by studying patients with brain damage. We have lots of fun projects going on or in the works right now, all directly related to various subfields of neurophilosophy. In neuroethics, we are looking at the neural correlates of moral cognition and helping behavior. In neuropolitics, we are looking at the correlates of the effects of candidates' physical appearance on voting behavior. We are also beginning a collaboration with Dr. Kenneth Williford in the Philosophy Department to look into areas of the brain involved in self-awareness, with an eye toward searching for the neural basis of consciousness.

Living in Iowa City

Like most people who come here, I've fallen for Iowa City. It's an amazing place to be a graduate student. A highly collaborative and intellectual atmosphere exists among graduate students, not just within the Neuroscience Program, but across the graduate student body. It's not hard to find like-minded, highly motivated and intellectually curious students to work and study with. At the same time, there is plenty of culture and trouble to get into, when needed. I play basketball, football, and hockey, all with my classmates, and we usually play all of these with my faculty advisor at his farm. There are some great bars and restaurants around the city--my favorite is the Red Avacado (a vegan restaurant). There is the awesome Jazz Fest in the summer, several great venues for music and plays, parks and camping, and blueberry and apple picking just down the road. The Co-Op and Farmers Market sell great organic and local foods. Also, the city is totally bikable and bike-friendly; you'll be amazed at all of the bikes everywhere.