Centre College Faculty
Karen Roper
Visiting Assistant Professor of PsychologyTelephone: 859-238-5747
E-mail: karen.roper@centre.edu
Office: Young Hall—228
Karen Roper joined the faculty in 2011 as a visiting assistant professor of psychology. Before coming to Centre, Roper taught at Austin College, Wake Forest University, Spelman College, Davidson College, and the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Most recently, she has worked at the Cardiopulmonary Research Science and Technology Institute (CRSTI) at Medical City Hospital in Dallas as the Senior Research Scientist and the Bob & Jean Smith Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Research.
Roper's research interests include basic research in comparative animal cognition, behavior theory, learning, and memory. Her work in the area of animal cognition is published in peer-reviewed journals such as Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Learning & Motivation, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Animal Learning & Behavior, and Psychological Bulletin.
Her most recent interests are in applied health research, studying the psychological effects of medicine and health technologies. Recent projects include studies on the neurological effects of embolic blood flow changes during heart surgeries; stroke; characterization of learning curves as surgeons acquire new techniques; and clinical effectiveness research for cardiac procedures (e.g., monitoring for cardiac fibrillation, transcatheter aortic valve implantation technology, balloon valvuloplasty). She has published in the Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery.
She holds a B.A. degree, cum laude, with honors in psychology from Southwestern University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Kentucky.
File last updated: 9/27/12