Nancy Tsai, a cognitive neuroscientist whose work focuses on the impact of stress on brain function and the cognitive processes that underlie resilience. She translates these insights into the development of evidence-based programs and interventions designed to promote human well-being, specifically in mental health and education. She obtained her scholarly training at UC Berkeley, Harvard University, UC Irvine, and completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research.
Dr. Tsai employs an array of methods to address complex, cross-disciplinary research questions and her original research has been published in journals such as Journal of Neuroscience and Brain and Cognition. As an application of her work, she led the development and research of AquaPressure, a game-based assessment of executive functions under stress, in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab. Beyond her research, Dr. Tsai is passionate about teaching and served as an instructor at Harvard College, where she designed and taught, “Stress & Cognition: Implications for Empowered Learning” (PSY1021).
Dr. Tsai joins the Global Humanities Initiative through Pillar 2: Cognition, Learning & Human Flourishing. She is optimistic about the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and AI to improve human well-being.
» Pillar: Cognition, Learning & Human Flourishing