LSI scholar Olivia K. Cook named National Postdoc of the Year

A Florida State University scholar has been named the 2026 National Postdoc of the Year by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) for significantly advancing the postdoctoral community through exceptional service and leadership beyond her primary research duties.

Olivia K. Cook, a College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Psychology and the Learning Systems Institute, received the award March 13 at the NPA’s annual conference in San Francisco. The award recognizes a postdoc who has advanced the postdoctoral community in an exceptional manner beyond their work duties and in alignment with the NPA mission and core values.

FSU Associate Dean and Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs Debra Ann Fadool, in her nomination letter, described Cook as “tireless” in her efforts to improve the academic training environment and noted her extensive service role with the FSU Postdoctoral Association, including serving as president.

Fadool shared Cook’s support of her fellow postdocs through launching initiatives like the “Postdoc of the Month” feature in the Postdoctoral Monthly Newsletter and by creating Postdoctoral “Office Hours” to provide informal guidance for new postdocs at FSU. These efforts helped newcomers adjust to life in Tallahassee, transition into their roles, and get answers to questions about healthcare and benefits.

As one of the leaders in the FSU Postdoctoral Association, Cook developed a survey of postdoctoral scholar health and well-being and used the results to provide policy recommendations to the university, and she was a staunch advocate of instituting paid parental leave for postdocs at FSU.

“This award speaks to the collective efforts of concurrent and former leaders of FSU’s Postdoctoral Association,” Cook said. “I am hopeful that this platform can bring attention to causes in need of additional advocacy, such as postdocs’ access to healthcare, childcare, and paid parental leave.”

Brad Schmidt, chair of the Department of Psychology, said Cook exemplifies what the prestigious national award is about.

“Through her work with the FSU Postdoctoral Association, she has made contributions way above the norm that will have long term impacts on current and future postdoctoral scholars at FSU and beyond,” Schmidt said. “She is a great leader to her peers and mentor to graduate and undergraduate students, and also a careful and skilled researcher doing meaningful research to help teachers and parents support children’s learning.”

Cook, a member of Professor Colleen M. Ganley’s Math Thinking and Learning Lab, studies how foundational skills support children’s long-term academic success. This includes both domain-general cognitive abilities, such as strategic memory, metacognition, and executive function, as well as domain-specific academic competencies and motivational factors, including STEM learning and math anxiety.

“Olivia has been an excellent postdoctoral scholar – she is intelligent, hardworking, detail oriented, a good writer, and a wonderful mentor to undergraduate and graduate students in the lab,” Ganley said.

While maintaining an extensive service load, Cook has continued to excel as a researcher focusing on interventions for children’s math anxiety. She plays a key role in the “Math Lions” study funded by the National Science Foundation and has published multiple empirical articles during her tenure.

For more information on the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, visit opda.fsu.edu.