Rebekka Matheson

Rebekka Matheson’s path to the classroom began in BYU’s Neuroscience Center, where she earned a BS in neuroscience in 2006. She went on to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and earned her MD in 2013. Her clinical work there centered on neurology, psychiatry, and addiction medicine. While at Rochester, she completed additionalgraduate coursework in neuropharmacology and physiology. During research years between the course and clinical portions of medical school, she studied the neuroanatomy of the brain’s reward circuitry and deep brain stimulation as a treatment for psychiatric disease. Her research has also used electrophysiology techniques to learn about the neural circuitry of the reward system. 

Today Matheson holds roles both on BYU’s main campus and at the BYU School of Medicine. She is associate director of the Neuroscience Center in the College of Life Sciences, where she continues to teach every fall, and she co-directs the Neuroscience in Europe International Study Program during spring terms. She is also a faculty member in the Department of Psychology, part of its cognitive and behavioral neuroscience area. At the BYU School of Medicine, she is an associate professor in the Department of Preparatory Learning and course director for Brain, Behavior, and Movement. She also chairs the faculty council of the school’s faculty senate. Matheson’s teaching has been recognized at BYU with the Early Career Teaching Award and the Martin B. Hickman Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. 

 She especially enjoys teaching the core neuroscience courses: neurobiology, neuroanatomy, and behavioral neuroscience. She also enjoys related courses such as sensation and perception and cognition. Her academic interests include cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, addiction, and the pedagogy of science. She has been a member of the American Medical Association since 2017. Beyond the university, Matheson serves in the Relief Society presidency of the Utah State Hospital branch. 

Whether she is teaching at the BYU School of Medicine, co-directing the Neuroscience in Europe program, or teaching classes for the Neuroscience Center, Matheson is drawn to courses that combine scientific rigor with a human context and clinical application.