Zeynep Başgöze

Zeynep Başgöze (she/her) is a Neuroimaging Research Professional in the RAD Lab at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, where she works with Drs. Kathryn Cullen and Bonnie Klimes-Dougan. Originally trained in philosophy before moving into cognitive neuroscience, her work is shaped by a longstanding interest in the emotional, creative, and imaginative dimensions of the human mind. She earned her BA in Philosophy from Boğaziçi University (Istanbul, Türkiye) and her MSc and PhD in Cognitive Sciences from Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Türkiye).

Dr. Başgöze completed postdoctoral training at Dartmouth College and UC Berkeley, where she studied brain plasticity and perception and contributed to applied research in collaboration with industry partners. She later joined the University of Minnesota as a postdoctoral associate and was promoted to senior researcher.

Her research focuses on the neurobiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying adolescent depression, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Using fMRI and emotionally and creatively engaging experimental paradigms, she investigates how emotion, cognition, self-perception, and creativity interact in youth at risk, with the goal of informing more compassionate and holistic approaches to early identification, prevention, and mental well-being.