Michael Shadlen

Michael Shadlen is professor of neuroscience at Columbia University. He is also a principal investigator at the Zuckerman Institute, investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and member of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science. 

Dr. Shadlen obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees at Brown University and his PhD at UC Berkeley with Ralph Freeman. He trained in clinical neurology at Stanford University before returning to the lab as a postdoctoral fellow with William T. Newsome. He then joined the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Washington, where he remained until 2012. His research focuses primarily on the neural mechanisms that underlie decision making. He is also a neurologist and a jazz guitarist. 

Dr. Shadlen received the Alden Spencer Prize (2009), the Golden Brain (2012), and the Karl Spencer Lashley Award (2017). He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2015, and he is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Michael Shadlen is a member of the Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience Advisory Committee.