Dr. Eugenia Fuenzalida is a Faculty Fellow of the University of Oklahoma Center for Intelligence and National Security (CINS) and the Director of the Behavioral Neuroscience and Performance Center (OUBNPC). She is also a faculty member in the Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Doctoral Program and a tenured Associate Professor of Psychology.
Dr. Fuenzalida is a Chilean-American human performance expert who works with elite athletes and individuals in high-risk occupations. Her research focus involves the assessment and systematic study of performance in high-stress environments. She is a research scientist, a psychologist, an educator, a speaker, and a coach, who works closely with military and law enforcement organizations to increase mission effectiveness and mitigate risk.
She is also a Subject Matter Expert in behavioral neuroscience and performance. Dr. Fuenzalida has lectured at industry conferences in the United States and abroad, including Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Scotland, and Chile. As a multi-disciplinary scholar, her research combines the study of individual differences, cognition, stress/arousal, and human factors. She is particularly interested in identifying risk factors that degrade (e.g., cognitive or physical fatigue, sleep deprivation, sub-intoxication) or enhance (e.g., rest, caffeine consumption) human performance. Dr. Fuenzalida also studies the behavioral aspects of personality traits (with biological or perceptual bases) and the mediating effects of individual differences on performance in response to stress. Her research employs NIRs, EEG, & EKG technologies and emphasizes the use of computer-based task batteries for neurocognitive performance assessment.
Dr. Fuenzalida also specializes in the training of elite athletes and provides personalized management strategies that take into consideration needs and demands, recognizing differences across cultures and diverse environments. Through unique one-on-one programs with the military, law enforcement, and first responders, she focuses on the etiology of performance errors and the design and implementation of training protocols designed to optimize performance. Dr. Fuenzalida also teaches regularly in the Human Relations, Organizational Dynamics, and Liberal Studies Graduate Programs at the University of Oklahoma. She has also served as a Visiting Professor at the Universidad de Vina and the Universidad de Tarapacá in Chile.
