Alia Crum

Alia J. Crum, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, principal investigator of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, and a recognized speaker, having spoken at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos and given a TED talk. Dr. Crum’s research focuses on how changes in subjective mindsets—the core assumptions we make about things and processes in the world—can alter objective reality through behavioral, psychological, and physiological mechanisms.

Her extensive body of research includes investigations into how modifying the mindset of cancer patients could positively impact their mental health, how reframing regular work activities or chores as physical exercise can lead to better overall fitness levels, and how perceptions of a food item's indulgence level can influence the production of the hormone ghrelin. This focus on mindsets is not confined to health: for instance, she has surveyed the perceptions of Norwegians living above the Arctic Circle about winter and analyzed top-grossing movies to categorize the types of foods depicted. Part of her research also explores how learning about genetic risk factors can influence the likelihood of health issues developing.

Dr. Crum's groundbreaking work has earned her several awards, including the NIH New Innovator Award, the Association for Psychological Science’s Rising Star Award, and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize. More recently, she received the 2020 Early Career Award from the Social Personality Health Network and the 2019 Early Career Researcher Award from the International Positive Psychology Association. In addition to her academic research and teaching, Dr. Crum has worked as a clinical psychologist for the VA healthcare system and has contributed to improving doctor-patient interactions and psychosocial interventions during treatment. As a well-published scholar, she has written extensively on the role of mindsets in stress response and health outcomes.

She received her BA degree from Harvard University in 2005, where she was awarded the Seymour E. and Ruth B. Harris Prize for Honors Thesis in the Social Sciences, the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, the Gordon W. Allport Prize, and her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012.