NIH Awards Kurtz Grant for Schizophrenia Research

Matthew Kurtz, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, received a $104,338 grant from the National Institute for Health on Feb. 8.

The grant, titled “Cognitive Remediation for Nicotine Dependence” involves adapting cognitive training procedures developed for use in schizophrenia, for addressing the temporary deficits in memory that often accompany smoking cessation in long-term users and that also predict relapse.

The project, part of a collaboration between Wesleyan and the University of Pennsylvania, is lead by Dr. Caryn Lerman, director of the Tobacco Use Research Center at Penn’s School of Medicine.  It will help support Kurtz’s work through June 30, 2015.