Evangelia G Chrysikou

Director, Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences PhD program; Associate Dean for Research; Associate Professor

Cognitive Development or Processes

Cognitive Science

Neuroimaging

Neuropsychology

Neuroscience

Semantic Memory

About

Dr. Chrysikou is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Drexel University, the Director of the Applied Cognitive and Brain Sciences PhD Program, and the Associate Dean for Research for the College of Arts and Sciences. She is also a co-leader of the new B.S. Neuroscience major at Drexel. She holds a Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from Temple University, where she also completed a year-long postdoctoral appointment in cognitive neuropsychology, followed by postdoctoral training at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Drexel, Dr. Chrysikou was an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Kansas.

Dr. Chrysikou uses cognitive neuroscience methods, especially functional brain imaging (fMRI) and noninvasive electric brain stimulation (tECS), to study cognitive flexibility and creative thinking and problem solving (particularly in design), as well as the implications of such flexibility for theories of creativity, semantic knowledge organization, and cognitive control. Her lab further explores the translational implications of cognitive flexibility for the characterization of neuropsychiatric disorders marked by prefrontal cortex hypofunction, such as depression and anxiety.

Dr. Chrysikou has authored over 60 articles and book chapters, as well as multiple conference presentations on semantic memory, cognitive control, and the neuroscience of creativity and problem solving. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and others. She is an Associate Editor for Creativity Research Journal, Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts, and Royal Society Open Science, and a member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society and the Association for Psychological Science conference committees. Dr. Chrysikou has received many distinctions for her research and teaching, including multiple teaching awards and the McNair Scholars Program Outstanding Mentor Award. She has also served as the President for the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity from 2022-2024.