Evolutionary psychologist Leda Cosmides

Leda Cosmides, professor of psychology, is one of 13 innovative researchers from across the country who were named last week by the National Institutes of Health as recipients of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for 2005. This year’s recipients were selected from among 840 nominees, based on recommendations made by outside experts and an advisory committee.

Cosmides, co-director of the UCSB Center for Evolutionary Psychology, will receive up to $500,000 a year in direct research costs for the next five years as a recipient of the prestigious award. She and her long-time collaborator and husband, UCSB anthropologist John Tooby, have developed evolutionary and computational approaches to human motivation and neural development. They will test these approaches with the Pioneer Award funds.

“The scientists we recognize with Pioneer Awards have far-ranging ideas that hold the potential to make truly extraordinary contributions to many fields of medical research,” said Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, NIH’s director. “The strength of this group, and the willingness of a number of NIH institutes to contribute funds to the program, led us to make nearly twice as many awards (this year) as we originally planned.”

Now in its second year, the Pioneer Award supports exceptionally creative scientists who take innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical research. It gives recipients the intellectual freedom to pursue groundbreaking research that could have significant impact if successful, but that, due to novelty or other factors, have inherently high risks of failure.

Cosmides says the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award is one that will have a major impact on her research. “Tooby and I have been doing research on a shoestring for many years,” she explained. “Because our work crosses so many disciplinary boundaries, the normal funding mechanisms just can’t handle it. We are so grateful that the NIH recognized the problem that people like us face and created this amazing award. It is going to unleash so much creative talent in our lab—we are thrilled at the possibilities this Pioneer Award will open.”

A member of the UC Santa Barbara faculty since 1990, Cosmides was educated at Harvard University, where she earned her Ph.D. in psychology. With Tooby, she founded the Center for Evolutionary Psychology, of which the two are co-directors. They have collaborated for 26 years and are widely known for their work in pioneering the new field of evolutionary psychology, a multidisciplinary approach that weaves together many fields—evolutionary biology, cognitive science, human evolution, neuroscience, and psychology among them—into a new approach to discover the mechanisms of the human mind and brain.

Her colleagues at UC Santa Barbara greeted her selection for the NIH award with great enthusiasm. “This is wonderful, exciting news,” said Chancellor Henry Yang. “This prestigious award brings well-deserved recognition to an outstanding scholar and tremendous honor to her and our campus.”

Said Martin Moskovits, dean of the Division of Mathematical, Life and Physical Sciences: “Leda Cosmides, in collaboration with John Tooby, has been a pioneer in demonstrating the role of evolution and evolutionary forces in determining human behavior. Among their path-breaking discoveries is the fact that genes contained in mitochondria, genetic material inherited solely from the mother and not localized in the chromosomes, are powerful drivers in evolution.”

Among the pair’s publications is a 1992 volume they co-edited, “The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture,” and a co-authored, forthcoming book “Universal Minds: Explaining the New Science of Evolutionary Psychology.”