Tamar T. Kraft
Fort Lee,USA
Summary
Dynamic educator with a PhD in Neuropsychology and an MA in Behavioral Neuroscience, complemented by postdoctoral training in Molecular Neuropharmacology. Committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment, blending scientific rigor with warmth to create empowering educational experiences in Statistics and Research Methods. Focused on cultivating classrooms that honor student voices and build community through inquiry, reflecting a dedication to excellence and accessibility in psychological science at Barnard College. This holistic approach enhances student engagement, transforming perceptions of quantitative tools from sources of anxiety into valuable assets for academic success.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Lecturer of Statistics & Research Methods
Barnard College at Columbia University
06.2025 - Current
- Psychology Department
- Courses for the Fall: Quantitative Statistics, Research Methodology
Adjunct Assistant Professor
John Jay School of Criminal Justice, CUNY
09.2023 - 08.2025
- Maintained accurate records of student performance and attendance, promptly addressing any discrepancies or concerns to ensure all students remained on track for success.
- Incorporated instructional technologies in course delivery for both in-class and online instruction.
- Promoted positive learning environment through clear communication, active listening, and constructive feedback.
- Met with students to dispense study and career advice and provide guidance and potential opportunities within chosen field.
- Enhanced student retention rates by creating a supportive learning environment that encouraged academic success and personal growth.
- Psychology Department
- Courses Taught: Social Psychology, Brain and Behavior, Sensation & Perception, Introduction to Psychology
Lecturer of Psychology
Fordham University
09.2021 - 08.2022
- Developed diverse range of assessments to measure student performance fairly and accurately.
- Maintained regular office hours to address student questions or concerns promptly, improving overall accessibility as educator.
- Addressed varied learning styles by offering multiple resources and support materials for course content.
- Psychology Department
- Courses Taught: Codes of Conduct for Mental Health professionals, Family Psychology, Research Methods, Psychology of Human Values, Statistics, Learning Lab, Memory Lab
Postdoctoral Fellow
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
09.2020 - 08.2021
- Researched novel opiate drugs that do not have potential for abuse for the prestigious molecular neuroscientist Dr. Xian Pan.
- Created dose response curves for various opiates (fentanyl, oxycodone, morphine).
- Conducting Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) paradigms to assess rewarding capabilities of various opiate drugs.
- Maintained records of research findings with analysis and evaluation of results.
- Designed robust experiments that produced reliable data, enabling accurate interpretation of results.
- Utilized cutting-edge analytical tools to uncover novel insights from complex datasets.
Adjunct Lecturer
Montclair State University
08.2019 - 07.2020
- Evaluated student performance through exams, papers, and participation to monitor progress and provide constructive feedback.
- Engaged students with insightful and compelling classroom discussion of topics relevant to coursework to boost student learning and retention.
- Improved overall course organization by implementing clear syllabi, rubrics, and grading policies for transparent assessment processes.
- Courses Taught: Behavioral Neuroscience (undergraduate and masters course), Sensation and Perception, Psychology of Motivation, Research Design, Psychology of Addiction
Substitute Assistant Professor
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NYC
08.2019 - 06.2020
- Stepped into various classroom settings seamlessly, adapting quickly to different subjects and grade levels as needed.
- Enhanced student comprehension by utilizing diverse teaching methods and adjusting to individual learning styles.
- Enriched student understanding by incorporating real-world examples into lessons whenever possible.
- Courses Taught: Cognitive Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Brain and Behavior, Sensation and Perception, Social Psychology
Undergraduate, Masters and PhD. Research Assistant
Queens College CUNY
01.2006 - 05.2019
- Conducted over 50 experimental paradigms examining the effects of dopamine, NMDA and opioid antagonism on the acquisition and expression of conditioned flavor preferences in inbred mice strains.
- Examined genetic variance of spontaneous nutrient intake (ie. Sucrose, glucose, fructose, saccharin and intralipid (fat) solutions) in inbred-mice strains.
- Became proficient in all aspects of experimental research, including controlling and running counterbalanced designs, preparation of drug solutions, peripheral drug administration, large data set collection and statistical analyses of complex variables.
Adjunct Lecturer
CUNY Queens College
12.2011 - 06.2016
- Evaluated student performance through exams, papers, and participation to monitor progress and provide constructive feedback.
- Engaged students with insightful and compelling classroom discussion of topics relevant to coursework to boost student learning and retention.
- Courses Taught: Developmental Psychology: Adolescence, Experimental Psychology, History of Psychology, Lifespan Development in Psychology, Introduction to Psychology, Pleasure and Pain (3 semesters as senior teaching assistant for a 250 student general education course).
Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Fellow
Queensborough Community College
09.2013 - 05.2014
- Extensively researched QR pedagogies and worked with the QR coordinator to infuse proper curriculum changes for QR proficiency.
- Assisted in the development and implementation of an assessment instrument for the evaluation of quantitative reasoning amongst all departments.
- Participated in QR related professional development workshops for faculty in collaboration with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
- Assisted faculty in the classroom as necessary to assist with the implementation of QR modules and assignments.
Manager of Data Entry
Logicraft Corporation, JFK Airport
01.2003 - 01.2008
- Worked extensively with Microsoft Excel & ABBYY Software for fuel accounting of various airlines and airports.
- Maintained thorough documentation of departmental processes, enabling efficient knowledge transfer when needed.
- Audited production reports, tracking data entry and processing errors.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process improvement within the data entry department.
Education
Ph.D. - Neuropsychology
The Graduate Center, CUNY
05.2019
MA - Behavioral Neuroscience
Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens01.2011
Bachelor of Arts - Neuroscience, Psychology
Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens01.2009
Skills
- Academic advising
- Effective public speaking
- Curriculum development
- Student engagement strategies
- Counseling for academic success
- Scholarly publication
- Curriculum design
- Course design expertise
- Enhancing student interaction
- Academic support services
- Effective discussion facilitation
- Collaborative academic partnerships
- Effective audience engagement
- Evaluation framework design
- Effective collaboration skills
- Effective problem resolution
- Strong communication skills
- Strong relationship-building abilities
- Collaborative decision-making
- Engaging presentation skills
- Analytical research
- Facilitating group instruction
- Educational content design
- Curriculum instruction expertise
- Cross-functional teamwork
- Strategic issue analysis
- Effective interpersonal communication
LANGUAGES
Hebrew Fluent
Timeline
Lecturer of Statistics & Research Methods
Barnard College at Columbia University
06.2025 - Current
Adjunct Assistant Professor
John Jay School of Criminal Justice, CUNY
09.2023 - 08.2025
Lecturer of Psychology
Fordham University
09.2021 - 08.2022
Postdoctoral Fellow
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
09.2020 - 08.2021
Adjunct Lecturer
Montclair State University
08.2019 - 07.2020
Substitute Assistant Professor
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NYC
08.2019 - 06.2020
Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Fellow
Queensborough Community College
09.2013 - 05.2014
Adjunct Lecturer
CUNY Queens College
12.2011 - 06.2016
Undergraduate, Masters and PhD. Research Assistant
Queens College CUNY
01.2006 - 05.2019
Manager of Data Entry
Logicraft Corporation, JFK Airport
01.2003 - 01.2008
MA - Behavioral Neuroscience
Queens College of the City University of New York
Bachelor of Arts - Neuroscience, Psychology
Queens College of the City University of New York
Ph.D. - Neuropsychology
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Overall Classes Taught
- Introduction to Psychology
- Sensation & Perception
- Experimental Psychology
- Adolescent Psychology
- Infant Psychology
- Life-span Psychology
- Social Psychology
- History of Psychology
- Psychopathology
- Psychology of Motivation
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Statistics
- Family Psychology
- Codes of Conduct For Mental Health Professionals
- Psychology of Human Values
- Research Methods
- Memory
- Learning
Personal Information
Title: Lecturer of Psychology
Awards
- Quantitative Reasoning Fellowship, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2014-05-01
- Young Scientist Award, Queens College, CUNY, 2009-01-01
Publications
- Endogenous Opioid Peptides and Alternatively Spliced Mu Opioid Receptor Seven Transmembrane Carboxyl-Terminal Variants, Abrimian A, Kraft T, Pan YX, Int J Mol Sci, 22, 3779, 2021
- Genetic variance contributes to dopamine and opioid receptor antagonist-induced inhibition of Intralipid intake in inbred and outbred mouse strains, Dym, CT, V Bae, T Kraft, Y Yakubov, A Winn, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar, Brain Res., 1316, 51-61, 2010
- Double dissociation of D1 and opioid receptor antagonism effects on the acquisition of sucrose-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR mice, Dym, CT, T Kraft, V Bae, Y Yakubov, K Touzani, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar, Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 103, 26-32, 2012
- Dopamine D1 and opioid receptor antagonism effects on the acquisition and expression of fat-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR inbred mice, Kraft TT, Y Yakubov, D Huang, G Fitzgerald, V Acosta, E Natanova, K Touzani, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar, Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 110, 127-136, 2013
- Pleasure and pain: teaching neuroscientific principles of hedonism in a large general education undergraduate course, Bodnar, RJ, JR Stellar, TT Kraft, I Loiacono, A Bajnath, FM Rotella, A Barrientos, G Aghanori, K Olsson, T Coke, D Huang, Z Luger, S Mousavi, T Dindyal, N Naqvi and JY Kim, J Undergrad Neurosci Edu, 12, A34-A41, 2013
- Dopamine D1 and opioid receptor antagonist-induced reductions of fructose and saccharin intake in BALB/c and SWR mice, Kraft TT, D Huang, E Natanova, M Lolier, Y Yakubov, S LaMagna, D Warshaw, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar, Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 131, 13-18, 2015
- Dopamine D1 and opioid receptor antagonists differentially reduce the acquisition and expression of fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR mice, Kraft TT, Y Yakubov, D Huang, G Fitzgerald, E Natanova, A Sclafani and RJ Bodnar, Physiol Behav, 151, 213-220, 2015
- BALB/c and SWR inbred mice differ in post-oral fructose appetition as revealed by sugar versus non-nutritive sweetener tests, Kraft TT, Huang D, Lolier M, Warshaw D, LaMagna S, Natanova E, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ, Physiol Behav, 153, 64-9, 2016
- NMDA receptor antagonism differentially reduces acquisition and expression of sucrose- and fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in BALB/c and SWR mice, Kraft TT, Huang D, Lolier M, Warshaw D, LaMagna S, Natanova E, Sclafani A, Bodnar RJ, Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 148, 76-83, 2016