Paul Zak
Professor of Economics, and founding Director, Center for Neuroeconomics, Claremont Graduate University
Paul Zak, Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute, is a founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University in California.
Credited with the first published use of the term neuroeconomics, Zak has pioneered this new discipline that integrates neuroscience and economics. In 2004, his lab discovered that an ancient chemical in our brains, oxytocin, allows us to determine whom to trust; this knowledge is being used to understand the basis for modern civilizations and modern economies, improve negotiations, and treat patients with neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Zak organized and administers the world's first doctoral program in neuroeconomics.
He has degrees in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University, a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, and post-doctoral training in neuroimaging from Harvard.