Tali Sharot

Tali Sharot is an Israeli psychologist and of the country's top female scientists.

Sharot received her B.A. in 1999 from Tel Aviv University and followed that by earning both an MA (2002), in economics and psychology, as well as a Ph.D (2006), in psychology and neuroscience, from NewYork University. Her research focuses on the neuroscience of optimism, emotional memories, and cognitive dissonance, and top scientific journals such as Nature, Science, and Psychological Science have published her scientific papers.

Dr. Sharot’s work has been featured in Newsweek, Time, Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and other publications. Her book is "The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain," and she co-edited the study, "The Neuroscience of Preference and Choice."

Sharot is the Principal Investigator of the Affective Brain Lab at the University College of London and at faculty member of the department of Cognitive Perceptual and Brain Sciences at the university. Her lab investigates how affect – the experience of emotion – affects human cognition and behavior in normal brain function and in affective disorders, such as depression and anxiety. By gaining a better understanding of these processes, the scientists hope to find ways to encourage behavioral change to enhance overall well-being.

The lab takes a multidisciplinary approach to questions traditionally studied by social psychologists and behavioral economics using brain imaging (fMRIs), computational models, genetic techniques, behavioral experiments and other mechanisms. The practical implications of this research include policy formation and clinical applications in the treatment of brain dysfunction.

Sources: University College London; New York University; Tali Sharot website