Michael Platt

Michael L. Platt is a neuroscientist and the James S. Riepe University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, holding cross-disciplinary appointments in the Department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine, the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Marketing in the Wharton School. Platt's research focuses on the biological mechanisms underlying decision-making in social environments, with implications for health and welfare in societies worldwide. He earned a BA from Yale and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, both in anthropology, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in neuroscience at New York University.

Platt's expertise spans psychology, economics, evolutionary biology, and ethology, contributing to his research on the neural bases of cognitive behavior. He was among the early scientists to challenge the idea that decision-making is solely a reactive sensory-motor process. Platt is a former president of the Society for Neuroeconomics and has played a significant role in the development of neuroeconomics, a field that integrates economics, psychology, and neuroscience to better understand human decision-making. Before joining the University of Pennsylvania, he served as director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University, and as founding co-director of the Duke Neuroeconomics Decision Science Laboratory.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Platt directs the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, connecting brain science and business. His work applies neuroscience insights and technology to business challenges in marketing, management, finance, and innovation. Platt is also an Affiliated Faculty Fellow of the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative, where his research explores the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. He is the author of "The Leader's Brain" and has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers and over 60 review and opinion papers, with his work cited extensively. The expanded edition of "The Leader's Brain" discusses advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence that are shaping the understanding of effective leadership, drawing on research at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and business.

Platt's research has received support from organizations including the National Institutes of Health, the Klingenstein Foundation, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the EJLB Foundation, Autism Speaks, the Broad Foundation, the Klarman Family Foundation, the Simons Foundation, and the Department of Defense. He has received a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Ruth and A. Morris Williams Faculty Research Prize in the Duke University School of Medicine, and was an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow. Platt has also received the Master Teacher/Clinician Award from the Duke University School of Medicine and the Teaching Commitment and Curricular Innovation Award from the Wharton School. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Guardian, and National Geographic, as well as on ABC's Good Morning America, NPR, CBC, BBC, MTV, and HBO Vice.