Women's leadership; The neuroscience of decision-making (Neuroeconomics); Cultural rituals to honor ancestors
Vita Chalk is a Professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University where she has been a faculty member since 2011. She serves as the College’s Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
Vita completed her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her graduate and postdoctoral research projects investigated the development of the mammalian nervous system. Vita also studied public affairs at the LBJ School of Public affairs where she learned the application of qualitative research methods to address public policy issues and program evaluation.
Vita has volunteered with several literacy and community education programs, and as a first generation college student, she has taught college transition courses for both the Virginia Community College system and George Mason University. At Mason, she has also taught courses in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, and a seminar-style functional neuroanatomy course.
Kerstin M. Janisch*, Vita M. Vock*, Michael Fleming, Ayushma Shrestha, Cynthia M. Grimsley-Myers, Bareza A. Rasoul, Sarah A. Neale, Timothy D. Cupp, Jason M. Kinchen, Karel F. Liem, Jr, and Noelle D. Dwyer (2013) The vertebrate-specific Kinesin-6, Kif20B, is required for normal cytokinesis of polarized cortical stem cells and cerebral cortex size. Development, 140(23):4672-82
Vita M. Vock, Olga N. Ponomareva, and Mendell Rimer (2008) Evidence for Muscle-Dependent Neuromuscular Synaptic Site Determination in Mammals. JNeurosci 28:3123-3130.
Ph.D., in Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, December 2007
B.Sc. in Biochemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, August 1998