On Feb. 17, cognitive neuroscientist David Clewett was one of three UCLA professors named a Sloan Research Fellow.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, founded in 1934, states that its mission is to “improve the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge.” The Sloan Research Fellowship, awarded by the foundation annually since 1955, is a prestigious award given to early career researchers. It provides fellows with $75,000 to support their research over a two-year term.
Clewett said the fellowship was “very meaningful to me because it reflects the contributions of so many people, including my brilliant mentors, colleagues and mentees.” He added that his accomplishments are “a reflection of the people I’ve learned from and worked with.”
The Sloan Research Fellowship is especially meaningful to Clewett because it carries special significance for his family. He said his grandfather, Melville Hodge, was part of the 1960–61 class of Stanford’s Sloan Program in Executive Management and “was thrilled to hear” about the award. He added that this shared connection meant a lot to his entire family.
Clewett became an assistant professor of psychology at UCLA in 2020. He has taught courses like Psych 120A, or Cognitive Psychology and Psych 124C, or Human Memory, at UCLA. Clewett opened the Adaptive Cognition, Memory and Emotion, or ACME, Lab at UCLA in July 2020. Clewett says the fellowship will support his use of neuroimaging by determining “whether chronic stress and heightened arousal underlie PTSD-related memory disruptions, potentially opening new avenues for intervention.”
“Memories don’t just tell our personal stories,” Clewett said. “They are also experiences we share with others and help sustain our sense of connection to the world.”
