Randolph Helfrich

Randolph Helfrich joins the FAS as Assistant Professor of Psychology. He also joins Yale as a Wu Tsai Investigator with a secondary appointment in Neurology. Randolph earned his MD from the University of Tübingen and his PhD in neurophysiology from the University of Hamburg, and he completed postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at UC Berkeley. Prior to joining Yale, he was a research group leader at the University Hospital Tübingen, where he also completed a residency in neurology. His research focuses on understanding the circuit and network mechanisms that underlie higher cognitive functions and goal-directed behavior in humans. These functions include, but are not limited to, attention, cognitive control, and the critical role of sleep in facilitating learning and memory. His research has been supported by several awards, including a Feodor Lynen Award by the Humboldt foundation, the Emmy Noether Award by the German Research Foundation, and the Career Development Award by the Jung Foundation. At Yale, he will leverage his dual training in neuroscience and neurology to study the neural mechanisms that enable human cognition and understand why, and how, neurological dysfunctions give rise to age- and disease-related cognitive decline.