Mark Guadagnoli

Dr. Mark Guadagnoli has worked in industry and academia for three decades. He has taught at several universities including Harvard University, MIT, UCLA, and USC. Media appearances include New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, the London Times, the History Channel, and CBS Sports. Dr. Guadagnoli was one of the original faculty members of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and serves as a Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology and the Dean of Faculty. Mark’s love is working with the best to help them become even better.

Corporate: In addition to his university work, Dr. Guadagnoli has had an active consulting practice for more than 20 years. He has worked in the area of corporate optimization with companies (e.g., Zappos.com, Grammarly.com) where he developed their corporate university, developed and ran executive off-sites, and worked on performance optimizations with their executive team. Dr. Guadagnoli has also worked with corporate optimization and executive development with companies such as DaVita Healthcare Partners, , and Walker & Co., as well as research and consulting for Bose, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Google, Panasonic, Proctor & Gamble, and Sony. This work includes, for example, executive advising/coaching, core and culture development, and feedback and assessment systems.

Academics: Dr. Guadagnoli received his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Texas A&M University, and Ph.D. at Auburn University (Human Performance/Cognitive Psychology). He specializes in optimizing performance, communication, leadership, and learning. He has received numerous awards for this work (multiple time Teacher of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Researcher of the Year). Dr. Guadagnoli has published more than 100 articles and abstracts and is the author of two books (Human Learning; Biology, Brain, and Neuroscience; and Practice to Learn, Play to Win). He is currently developing the Leadership and Learning Academy for the UNLV School of Medicine.

Performance: Dr. Guadagnoli’s primary line of research is related to the Challenge Point Framework, which has been used to help athletes, corporate executives, medical professionals, and others who compete in high-performance situations. His model of learning shows that appropriate short-term challenges result in long-term and stress-resistant learning. Dr. Guadagnoli has worked in performance optimization with athletes in several sports including the USA Olympic Elite Track and Field Coaches and PGA, and LPGA. His sport specialization is golf, where he has worked with PGA tour winners, Ryder Cup members, NCAA Women’s National Championship team, NCAA Individual Champion, Canadian Men’s National Champions, and a World #1 Amateur. He has been invited to present this work around the world including such countries as Canada, China, France, Germany, and Scotland.