Mark Blumberg

{{short description|American psychologist}} {{Infobox academic | name = Mark S. Blumberg | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date =  | birth_place = | citizenship = | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Neuroscientist|Professor|Researcher|Author}} | period = | known_for = | home_town = | title = | awards =  | website = | education = Biopsychology | alma_mater = University of Chicago <small>(PhD)</small> | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = | school_tradition = | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | influences =  | era = | discipline = {{hlist|Psychology|Neuroscience}} | sub_discipline = {{hlist|Developmental psychobiology|Sleep|Behavioral neuroscience}} | workplaces = University of Iowa | doctoral_students =  | notable_students =  | main_interests = | notable_works = ''Freaks of Nature'' | notable_ideas = | influenced =  | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | footnotes = }} '''Mark S. Blumberg''' is an American professor, neuroscientist, researcher, and author who specializes in the fields of developmental psychobiology and behavioral neuroscience. He is currently University of Iowa Distinguished Chair and department chair in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa. In addition to writing academic research articles, Blumberg has served as the editor-in-chief of ''Behavioral Neuroscience'' and authored several books, including ''Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution''. His research also appeared on a 2020 episode of the Netflix series, ''Babies''. ==Education==

During his undergraduate years, Blumberg studied physics and philosophy at Brandeis University, where he graduated in 1983. While at Brandeis, he studied under Frank E. Manuel and Art Wingfield. He earned his master's degree and his PhD at the University of Chicago, working with Howard Moltz and Martha McClintock and finishing his doctoral studies in biopsychology in 1988. He had a focus on developmental psychobiology at Indiana University for his postdoctoral training, working with Jeffrey Alberts, which concluded in 1992.<ref name="Cell">{{cite journal |date=January 7, 2019 |title=Q & A - Mark Blumberg |url=https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(18)31408-8.pdf |journal=Current Biology |volume=29 |pages=R5–R6 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.041 |s2cid=203666137 |access-date=April 22, 2020|last1=Blumberg |first1=Mark |issue=1 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019CBio...29...R5B }}</ref> ==Career==

After completing his postdoctoral training at Indiana University, Blumberg joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Iowa.<ref name="Cell"/> His research there has focused on behavioral, psychological, and neural development. In 1997, Blumberg was honored with an APA Distinguished Scientific Early Career Award for his research on behavioral and physiological development.<ref name="APAEarly">{{cite news |title=APA Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology |url=https://www.apa.org/about/awards/early-career-contribution?tab=4 |publisher=American Psychological Association |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> In 2002, his first book, ''Body Heat: Temperature and Life on Earth'', was published by Harvard University Press. The book discusses thermoregulation in humans and other animals and how it affects behavior and development.<ref name="New02">{{cite news |last=Bonner |first=John |date=May 11, 2002 |title=Death by degrees |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17423425-200-death-by-degrees/ |work=New Scientist |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> Three years later in 2005, he published his second book, ''Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior'', through Thunder's Mouth Press. The book delves into the origins of so-called innate behaviors, reframing them as emerging from complex biological and environmental cascades rather than as products of hardwiring or genetic instruction.<ref name="PW05">{{cite news |date=June 20, 2005 |title=Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-56025-659-5 |work=Publishers Weekly |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="WILL">{{cite news |date=December 8, 2005 |title=Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior |url=https://will.illinois.edu/focus/program/focus051208b |publisher=WILL |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> This theme is a central tenet of Developmental Systems Theory, of which Blumberg is a proponent.<ref name="Futurity09">{{cite news |date=July 23, 2009|title=Nature? Nurture? Or simply neither?|url=https://www.futurity.org/nature-nurture-or-simply-neither/ |work=Futurity |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> In 2008, Blumberg was named the editor-in-chief of ''Behavioral Neuroscience'', a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering its eponymous topic and published by the American Psychological Association. The following year, he published his third book, ''Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution'', through Oxford University Press. The book discusses elements of behavioral plasticity and the developing animal's ability to adapt to the body it has, rather than the body it was "supposed" to have. This theme again contrasts with the idea that certain behaviors are "preprogrammed." In the book, Blumberg uses examples from conjoined twins who coordinate their behavior and goats and dogs born without forelimbs who learn to walk on their hind legs.<ref name="JCI">{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Scott F. |date=June 1, 2009 |title=Freaks of nature |journal=The Journal of Clinical Investigation |volume=119 |issue=6 |page=1401 |doi=10.1172/JCI39393 |pmc=2689099 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Also in 2009, Blumberg was a co-editor of the ''Oxford Handbook of Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience''.<ref name="Cell"/> During this time, he also served as the president of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology<ref name="Point">{{cite news |last=Grothe |first=DJ |date=July 24, 2009 |title=Mark Blumberg – Freaks Of Nature |url=https://pointofinquiry.org/2009/07/mark_blumberg_freaks_of_nature/ |work=Point of Inquiry |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> and was named the F. Wendell Miller Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa.<ref name="Spec">{{cite news |last=Kull McCray |first=Linzee |date=November 2009 |title=Driven to Discover |url=https://spectator.uiowa.edu/2009/november/scienceintro.html |work=Spectator |publisher=University of Iowa |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> In 2014, he received a National Institutes of Health MERIT Award for his research on sleep and its role in neural development.<ref name="MERIT">{{cite news |last=Arp |first=Nic |date=June 23, 2014 |title=Blumberg honored with a MERIT Award |url=https://now.uiowa.edu/2014/06/blumberg-honored-merit-award |work=IowaNow |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> Blumberg had been researching muscle twitches during sleep and their role in the development of connections between muscles, brain, and spinal cord since the 1990s.<ref name="Monitor">{{cite journal |last1=Dingfelder |first1=Sadie F. |date=January 2006 |title=To sleep, perchance to twitch |url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/jan06/twitch |journal=Monitor on Psychology |volume=37 |issue=1 |page=51 |access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> The studies show that muscle twitches during sleep provide information to the brains of newborn animals about the structure of muscles and limbs, effectively teaching the brain how to move the body.<ref name="Futurity">{{cite news |last=Agnew |first=Sara |date=September 30, 2014 |title=Sleep Twitches Teach Babies How To Move|url=http://www.futurity.org/sleep-twitches-babies-limbs-773422/ |work=Futurity |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="CurrentSleep">{{cite journal |last1=Blumberg |first1=Mark S. |last2=Gravato Marques |first2=Hugo |last3=Iida |first3=Fumiya |date=June 17, 2013 |title=Twitching in Sensorimotor Development from Sleeping Rats to Robots |url=https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2813%2900559-9 |journal=Current Biology |volume=23 |issue=12 |pages=R532–R537 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.075 |pmid=23787051 |pmc=3709969 |access-date=April 22, 2020|doi-access=free |bibcode=2013CBio...23.R532B }}</ref> Blumberg's research on the subject was highlighted in an episode of the 2020 Netflix series, ''Babies''.<ref name="Parent">{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Bekah |date=February 21, 2020 |title='BABIES' DEBUTS ON NETFLIX; HERE, SCIENTISTS SHARE FINDINGS |url=https://parentology.com/babies-debuts-on-netflix-here-scientists-share-findings/ |work=Parentology |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> In 2017,<ref name="Stories">{{cite news |last=Epstein Moninger |first=Sara |date=December 22, 2017 |title=Psychological and brain sciences to get new building |url=https://stories.uiowa.edu/psychological-and-brain-sciences-get-new-building |publisher=University of Iowa |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> Blumberg was named the department chair of the University of Iowa's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a position he continues to hold as of 2020.<ref name="Radio">{{cite news |last=Kelley |first=Matt |date=January 24, 2020 |title=University of Iowa dedicates new psychology and brain sciences building |url=https://www.radioiowa.com/2020/01/24/university-of-iowa-dedicates-new-psychology-and-brain-sciences-building/ |work=Radio Iowa |access-date=April 22, 2020 }}</ref> ==Selected publications==

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- ! scope="col" |Year ! scope="col" |Title ! scope="col" |Original publisher ! scope="col" |ISBN ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |- ! scope="row" | 2002 | ''Body Heat: Temperature and Life on Earth'' | Harvard University Press | {{ISBN|978-0674007628}} | |- ! scope="row" | 2005 |''Basic Instinct: The Genesis of Behavior'' | Thunder's Mouth Press | {{ISBN|978-1560256595}} | |- ! scope="row" rowspan="2" | 2009 | ''Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution'' | rowspan="2" | Oxford University Press | {{ISBN|978-0195322828}} | |- | ''Oxford Handbook of Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience'' | {{ISBN|978-0195314731}} | Co-editor with John Freeman and Scott Robinson |- ! scope="row" | 2016 | ''How We Develop—Developmental Systems and the Emergence of Complex Behaviors''<ref name="How">{{cite journal |last1=Blumberg |first1=Mark S. |last2=Spencer |first2=John P. |last3=Shenk |first3=David |date=September 13, 2016 |title=Introduction to the collection 'How We Develop—Developmental Systems and the Emergence of Complex Behaviors' |journal=WIREs Cognitive Science|volume=8 |issue=1–2 |article-number=e1413 |doi=10.1002/wcs.1413 |pmid=27620007 |s2cid=206548487 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | WIREs Cognitive Science | | Co-editor with John Spencer and David Shenk |} ==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://psychology.uiowa.edu/people/mark-blumberg Faculty page] *[https://psychology.uiowa.edu/blumberg-lab Lab website] *{{Google Scholar id|8NmBmoMAAAAJ}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumberg, Mark Samuel}} Category:Living people Category:1961 births Category:21st-century American psychologists Category:Brandeis University alumni Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:University of Iowa faculty Category:American neuroscientists Category:20th-century American psychologists