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Internationally renowned for his research on the neural
substrates of emotion and emotional disorders, Dr. Richard
Davidson joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty in
1984, and is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology
and Psychiatry. In addition to directing the Waisman Center
Brain Imaging Laboratory, he is director of the Laboratory for
Affective Neuroscience. He is the recipient of numerous awards
for his research, namely the American Psychological
Association’s (APA) most prestigious award, the Award for
Distinguished Scientific Contributions. He has published more
than 200 articles, many chapters and reviews, and edited 13
books. In 2003, Davidson was elected to the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences, and in 2004, he was inducted in the Wisconsin
Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. In 2006, Time
Magazine named Davidson one of the world’s 100 most influential
people.
Dr.
Richard Davidson’s path to becoming one of the foremost
researchers of our time began when he was a high school student
in the 1960s in Brooklyn, New York. Every week, he commuted by
subway to work as a volunteer in a sleep laboratory, where he
cleaned electrodes and filed papers. This was his first
exposure to a research environment where brain and consciousness
were studied together and provided a formative experience that
would later propel him on his own quest to discover the neural
mechanisms that underlie emotion. When he went on to study
psychology at New York University, and then earn his Ph.D. at
Harvard University, Davidson used electrophysiological
techniques to study the prefrontal cortex and its role in
emotion. As a graduate student, Davidson dreamed of new tools
that would enhance his ability to detect activity in different
brain regions and provide better spatial resolution than
electrophysiological systems alone. Early on in his career,
Davidson developed a vision of the future of neuroscience, and
recognized the importance of technology, as well as
collaborative partnerships with investigators from different
fields, to tackle new questions and develop novel methods.
“Neuroscientist Richard Davidson is proving that we can harness
our emotions to improve our mental and physical well-being.”
--Wisconsin Academy Review
“Carried
out with prodigious energy, infectious enthusiasm, and a zeal
for scientific dialogue of all types, his work has had broad
influence in all areas of psychology and throughout the social
and biobehavioral sciences.”
--American Psychologist
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