Professor Minwoo Kim Receives the 2025 APS Spence Award
-Recognized as a creative and promising researcher shaping the future of psychology
-Achieved global recognition for research on the neurocognitive mechanisms of anxiety
Professor Minwoo Kim from the Department of Psychology has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, presented by the Association for Psychological Science (APS).
The Spence Award, named after the inaugural president of APS, was established in 2010 to honor early-career researchers who have made innovative contributions to the field. This prestigious award is given to outstanding scholars expected to lead the future of psychology. Professor Kim is the first faculty member from a Korean university to receive this honor.
Professor Kim has been conducting continuous research on the neural mechanisms of anxiety, focusing on the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. By utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based neuroimaging techniques, he has been integrating psychology and neuroscience to uncover the characteristics of the "anxious brain." His studies on how neural circuits respond to emotionally uncertain and ambiguous information—and how these responses contribute to anxiety—have been recognized as groundbreaking in the field.
The 2025 APS Spence Award ceremony will take place on May 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C., during the APS Annual Convention. Recipients are selected through a rigorous review process conducted by the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award Committee, which includes past awardees and leading psychologists from around the world.
Professor Kim expressed his excitement, stating, "It is inspiring to see our research on amygdala neural circuit responses to emotional uncertainty gaining global recognition. I hope this work contributes to developing objective markers for diagnosing and predicting pathological anxiety disorders." He also added, "I hope this award serves as an opportunity to showcase our university’s research achievements on the global stage."
※ Official Website:
List
