Rate My Professor Eric Heuer

Eric Heuer serves as an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaiʻī at Hilo, where he is affiliated with the Psychology Department in the College of Arts and Sciences. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College in 2003 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience from Emory University in 2010. Following his doctoral training, which included research at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Dr. Heuer joined the faculty at UH Hilo. In 2016, he was honored for achieving tenure and promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. He has held leadership roles such as Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate and participation in various university committees, including the Liberal Arts Regional Baccalaureate Colleges Purpose and Composition committee.

Dr. Heuer's scholarly work centers on elucidating the relationships between brain structure and cognitive function through integrative research approaches. His investigations encompass developmental neuropsychology, specifically the long-term effects of neonatal brain lesions in nonhuman primates, and comparative analyses of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Notable publications include: Heuer, E., Kazama, A., & Bachevalier, J. (2023). Acoustic startle and prepulse inhibition deficits in adult monkeys with neonatal lesions of the hippocampus, amygdala, and orbital frontal cortex. Behavioural Brain Research, 437, 114496; Heuer, E., et al. (2017). Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities in an Aged Squirrel Monkey with Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 57(2), 519-530; Heuer, E., & Bachevalier, J. (2013). Working memory for temporal order is impaired after selective neonatal hippocampal lesions in adult rhesus macaques. Behavioural Brain Research, 241, 178-184; and Heuer, E., et al. (2011). Neonatal hippocampal lesions in rhesus macaques alter the energetics and efficacy of memory processing. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 5, 156. At UH Hilo, he instructs courses such as PSY 100 (Survey of Psychology), PSY 214 (Research Methods), PSY 350 (Cognitive Psychology), PSY 352 (Introduction to Biopsychology), and specialized upper-division classes in neuroscience, aging, and developmental psychology. Furthermore, Dr. Heuer contributes to public outreach via the UH Hilo Speakers Bureau, delivering lectures on “Alzheimer’s Disease: What do we really know?”, “Normal Aging: What is it and why does it matter?”, and “Attention Deficit Disorder: Common Misconceptions.”