Prof. Leslie Cameron publishes pandemic research

The COVID pandemic has hampered the research productivity of many scientists. Nevertheless, Professor Leslie Cameron has persisted, with no fewer than four peer-reviewed publications during the pandemic and more in the hopper. She accomplished this while teaching a full load of courses and authoring a book on psychology pedagogy with a forthcoming deadline!

Prof. Cameron has an eclectic research program that spans topics in visual awareness, olfaction (sense of smell), humor development, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). She regularly involves students as co-investigators in her work. Half of her recent publications were coauthored by Carthage students in the Psychological Science Department. One of these publications was, itself, devoted to the process of involving undergraduates in research. “Partners, not peers: Defining boundaries and expectations in student partnerships” was authored with recent Carthage alumnae Holly Pelnar ’20, Grace Reyes ’17, and Kiran Sehgal ’18 and published in the “International Journal for Students as Partners.”

During the pandemic Prof. Cameron has spent substantial time considering the olfactory consequences of the coronavirus. She is behind the large-scale Carthage Smell Study. Last month, she published a review of what we know about COVID-related loss of smell in “Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society,” where she noted some of the less obvious consequences of this smell loss, including difficulty detecting spoiled food.

Her research program in olfaction has also led to recent publications relating to olfaction during pregnancy (spoiler alert: pregnant women do not have more sensitive noses) and to olfactory memory. The latter publication was coauthored by recent Carthage graduate, Elizabeth Wenzel ’18, now in a Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Prof. Cameron has been central to the Psychological Science Department’s promotion of undergraduate research. We congratulate her on her impressive accomplishments!

SPONSORING DEPARTMENT, OFFICE, OR ORGANIZATION:

Psychological Science Department

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Anthony Barnhart, abarnhart@carthage.edu