The Texas Leadership Research Scholars Program, which debuted in Fall 2024, is a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board research scholarship and leadership opportunity program for high-achieving graduate students with financial need.

UNT was among only nine public universities in the state selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the program, which awards selected doctoral researchers a nearly $18,000 scholarship renewable for up to four years.

“The TLRS program provides access and opportunity to exceptional doctoral scholars to excel in their research, academics and graduate life. The funding removes barriers for our scholars as they expand their career and life experiences to be readied for the workforce. This investment by the state of Texas is highly impactful and life-changing for UNT's doctoral students,” says Brenda Barrio, UNT associate vice president for graduate studies and student research.

Read Jennifer Nguyen's story below and check back on the UNT Research website throughout Summer 2026 to learn more about other students in the inaugural group of Texas Leadership Research Scholars.

Fear Factors

From a young age, Jennifer Nguyen wanted to study neuroscience.

“The human brain has fascinated me for as long as I can remember, and it has been a lifelong dream of mine to go to graduate school and work in academia,” she says.

That fascination inspired her to pursue a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at UT Austin, followed by a master's degree in behavior analysis at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Hoping to bridge her interests in her doctoral work, Nguyen was excited to discover the Beatrice Barrett Behavior Analytic Neuroscience Initiative at UNT, which supports two behavioral neuroscience labs led by faculty members April Becker and Daniele Ortu.

“Their work aligns perfectly with my background and interests, and I knew immediately I wanted to work with them. Applying to UNT’s health sciences Ph.D. program was an easy decision,” Nguyen says.

Two years into the program, Nguyen is hard at work on a study that could reveal more effective methods for treating phobias. Through tests that combine neuropsychological measurement tools (such as a person’s sweat gland response to stimuli) and a behavior analysis framework, she hopes to eventually quantify emotional and fear responses — with the goal of changing them. Nguyen believes this method could have a range of applications, including interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder. 

“Combining tools from neuroscience and behavior analysis allows us to develop real-time interventions and observe emotional responses that are usually invisible to the naked eye,” she says.

While that project is ongoing, Nguyen is already thinking ahead to future pursuits. She would like to explore whether behavioral treatments could be automated, making care more accessible to individuals. She’d also like to pursue research on using brain activity to directly control technology and devices.

“I hope my research deepens our understanding of human learning processes and neuroplasticity, and I hope that knowledge improves accessibility,” Nguyen says.