What’s New at the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative?
Here we share some of the recent work and insights from Wharton Neuroscience (WiN) and WiN-affiliates and partners.
Thought Leadership from Wharton Neuroscience
Learn about WiN's latest project in collaboration with Slalom’s HabLab in a recent Knowledge at Wharton's article. They explore how aligning work with natural biological rhythms can unlock greater creativity, focus, and performance. The article was written by WiN and Hablab, and authors included former Wharton Neuroscience Student Society (WiNSS) President, Sophia Feldman (C'25).
WiN has released When2DoWhat, a web-based tool that helps users align daily activities with their natural cognitive rhythms. Based on chronotype, the tool offers personalized scheduling for individuals and teams to enhance peak performance.
Econa and WiN partnered to bring awareness to mental health and entrepreneur well-being. Econa has validated a quick entrepreneur wellness check that identifies when help is needed and connects founders to more effective support. This article featured in The Wharton Magazine was coauthored by Jioo Lee (WG27), Michael Platt, Zab Johnson, and Michael Freeman.
WiN collaborated with Lazul Software Inc. and the Korn Ferry Institute to combine psychometric approaches with gamified neuroscience methods to develop data-driven insights to identify the cognitive signals of leadership that show up long before someone steps into a management role.
This podcast explores how AI is being integrated into human decision-making through a discussion on cognitive surrender and its implications for the future, with Gideon Nave, faculty affiliate of WiN and the Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz Associate Professor of Marketing, and postdoctoral researcher Steven Shaw.
Hard Rock International Launches Industry-First Player Health Integration, in a collaboration with Almond Digital Health and WiN. Together they will determine how early, scalable interventions can support healthier gambling behaviors and sustainable financial outcomes.
In a recent Psychology Today article, Cornelia C. Walther, a Visiting Scholar at WiN, encourages individuals to be aware of cognitive capitulation and to use AI to enhance, not replace, human cognition.
Lifelong Learning Opportunities with Wharton Neuroscience
The Wharton Executive Education program The Neuroscience of Business: Innovations in Leadership and Strategic Decisions is now enrolling for its annual May 4th-8th session.
Grounded in the latest research from WiN, the program offers a unique opportunity to learn from leading scientists and apply neuroscience principles to leadership, decision making, team building, and innovation.
Learn more about the program >>
Read more in The Brain at Work: Rethink Leadership with Neuroscience >>
Research from WiN Affiliates
Featured on the cover of the Journal of Neuroscience with Michael Platt, this research introduces a novel framework for studying brain function in real world environments.
A new study from Wharton faculty, Marius Guenzel and Shimon Kogan, explores how AI can extract personality traits from facial images and what that means for your career.
Wharton marketing professor Shiri Melumad and former WiN postdoc and current Assistant Professor of Marketing at New Mexico State University, Jin Ho Yun's study found that people who use ‘large language models’ to research topics had a weaker understanding of those topics afterward. Featured in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
Tune In: Faculty on Podcasts
Awards and Recognition
Stefano Puntoni, WiN Faculty Affiliate and Co-Director of the Wharton Human-AI Research Center, received the Sheth Foundation Best Paper Award for the top article in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2025) for “Deploying Artificial Intelligence in Services to Aid Vulnerable Consumers.”
He was also named President-Elect of the Society for Consumer Psychology (2025).
Featured in TIME’s Top HealthTech Companies 2025, NeuroFlow was recognized as one of the world’s leading health technology companies, providing real-time behavioral data analytics for health care delivery, and was co-founded by Chris Molaro (WG’17) and Adam Pardes.
Other WiN-related Features in the News
(subscriptions may be required)
Why it’s hard for humans to have the final say over AI
Gideon Nave's feature in the Financial Times explores how AI is reshaping human reasoning and decision-making, highlighting the dangers of human dependency and responsibility when AI systems fail.
