https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7846-3804
Overview
Research in our lab examines how motivation, emotion, and cognition influence decision making and health behavior across the life span. Our research is at the intersection of a number of subfields within psychology, neuroscience, and economics including human development, affective science, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics, and consumer finance. We use a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques ranging from detailed measurement of functional brain activity (fMRI) and neuroreceptors (PET) in the laboratory to experience sampling measures of experience and behavior in everyday life, wearable measures physical activity and sleep, and real-world measures of financial management. The goal of our translational research is to make discoveries using the tools of basic science that could inform the development of interventions, products, or services that would enhance health and well being across the life span.
In the classroom, I teach quantitative research methods and statistics, applications of neuroscience research for everyday life, and evidence-based course design in higher education.
In the classroom, I teach quantitative research methods and statistics, applications of neuroscience research for everyday life, and evidence-based course design in higher education.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
·
2024 - Present
Psychology & Neuroscience,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Business Administration in the Fuqua School of Business
·
2026 - Present
Fuqua School of Business
Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience
·
2017 - Present
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience,
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2017 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Scholarly Works
How should Moral Motivation be Represented? The Motivation of Moral Action (MoMA)
Preprint · September 16, 2026 Moral psychology has mostly asked which motives drive moral action, and rarely how moral motivation should be represented once several are active at once. Most theories represent it as a single dominant motive or as one continuum from bad to good. Both ... Full text CiteInvestigating the relationship between affective valence and reinforcement learning
Preprint · August 8, 2026 Affective valence and reinforcement learning (RL) are increasingly recognized to be closely connected, yet the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear. Here, we investigated how RL-related computations contribute to affective valence, and how ... Full text CiteInvestigating the relationship between affective valence and reinforcement learning.
Journal article iScience · August 2026 Affective valence and reinforcement learning (RL) are increasingly recognized to be closely connected, yet the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear. Here, we investigated how RL-related computations contribute to affective valence, and how af ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Duke/UNC ADAR Program
Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029The Impact Neuroscience Program: an Inclusive Multi-Dimensional Program to Advance Career Training (R25)
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2023 - 2028Increasing Household Financial Slack TO 2
Public ServiceCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Credit Human Federal Credit Union · 2025 - 2027View All Grants
Education
Stanford University ·
2010
Ph.D.
Stanford University ·
2008
M.A.