His research examines the neural bases of social cognition and behavior: how people come to understand each other, and decide to behave towards each other. This work spans a number of domains, including empathy, theory of mind, social influence, and prosocial behavior. Dr. Zaki received his BA in cognitive neuroscience from Boston University and his PhD in psychology from Columbia University, and conducted postdoctoral research on altruism and prosocial behavior at the Harvard Center for Brain Science. He has received research and teaching awards from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, the Society for Neuroscience, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, Autism Speaks, and Harvard University.