Stan Colcombe, PhD
Stan Colcombe, PhD, is a senior research scientist for Strategic Data Initiatives at the Child Mind Institute. Dr. Colcombe leads the Mobile Experimental Research Investigation Toolkit (MERIT) project. In this role, he develops and oversees a no-code research platform that allows scientists to design and deploy cognitive experiments with laboratory-grade precision, while integrating advanced task design, adaptive protocols, and multimodal data collection to enable large-scale, diverse, and ecologically valid research.
Dr. Colcombe also serves as director of the Design, Acquisition and Neuromodulation Laboratory at the Nathan Kline Institute and a research associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is affiliated faculty at the Columbia University Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. His research focuses on neurocognitive aging and brain plasticity. His landmark early studies were the first to show that cardiovascular exercise in older adults can improve cognitive performance, increase brain volume, and produce brain activity patterns resembling those of younger adults. These findings helped launch the field of exercise and brain health and continue to inform strategies for preventing or delaying age-related decline.
Dr. Colcombe’s current work examines how modifiable factors — such as cardiovascular fitness and autonomic function — affect brain health across the lifespan. This research requires the development of novel methods to capture physiology and behavior at high sampling rates and to analyze dynamic relationships between brain function, behavior, and physiological fluctuations. This work aims to uncover mechanisms of neuroplasticity and guide personalized approaches to maintaining cognitive health across the lifespan.
Experience
- Director, Design, Acquisition & Neuromodulation Laboratories, Nathan Kline Institute
- Research Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
- Investigator, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University
Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Neuroscience, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Education
- PhD, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
- BA, Psychology, Northern Michigan State University
