Martha J. Farah

Martha J. Farah is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research in cognitive neuroscience has ranged widely, from vision at the back of the brain to executive function at the front, and she now focuses on the intersection of neuroscience and “the real world.” The two main topics of her current research are the effects of socioeconomic deprivation on brain development, structure and function, and the expanding roles of neuroscience in society. The latter includes novel uses of brain imaging in legal, diagnostic and educational contexts, the extension of neuropsychiatric treatment to the enhancement of healthy brains, and the many ways in which neuroscience is changing how we think of ourselves as physical, mental and moral beings.