Kenneth Sufka
Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Pharmacology, Research Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Director of the Stamps Impact Prize
Research Interests
Behavioral Neuroscience/
Biography
Dr. Kenneth Sufka joined the University of Mississippi faculty in 1992 and holds the title of Distinguished Professor with appointments in Psychology, Pharmacology, Philosophy, and the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is the Director of the Stamps Impact Prize, a program that supports student-initiated, faculty-mentored creative achievement, research and community service projects
Dr. Sufka is the best selling-author of The A Game; Nine Steps to Better Grades (3rd edition 2023), student-oriented resource on academic success used at hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States with close to 300,000 copies in circulation. His research expertise in psychopharmacology is the development, validation and utilization of animal models and procedures to enhance translational relevance in drug discovery, focusing mainly on chronic pain and analgesia, substance use disorders and stress-related disorders. He has published close to 90 papers and chapters in these areas and currently holds 7 U.S. patents.
Dr. Sufka has received numerous recognitions in his career at Ole Miss, including the University of Mississippi’s Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award in 1996, the University of Mississippi’s Faculty Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship in 2005 and the school’s Thomas F. Frist Student Service in 2006. Dr. Sufka has also been recognized by the American Psychological Association’s 2000 Presidential Citation for his national-level efforts at undergraduate curricular reform and by Iowa State University Department of Psychology’s 2010 Alumni Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to teaching and service to the profession and community. In 2014, he received a prestigious national teaching recognition by being named Mississippi’s CASE-Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year. Iowa State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences named him their 2021 John V. Atanasoff Discovery Award recipient for his contributions to science. In 2025 he received the SEC Faculty Achievement Award for his contributions to teaching and research.
Education
B.S. Psychology, Iowa State University (1986)
M.S. Psychology, Iowa State University (1988)
Ph.D. Psychology, Iowa State University (1990)