Bloomberg Distinguished Professorship of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences

School of Medicine, Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Established in 2013 by Michael R. Bloomberg

MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG is a Johns Hopkins alumnus, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, and former New York City mayor.

He is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who served as mayor of New York City from 2002-2013 after leading the company he started in 1981 for 20 years. Since leaving City Hall, he has resumed leadership of Bloomberg LP.

Bloomberg was elected mayor less than two months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Under his leadership, the city rebounded faster and stronger than expected on issues ranging from education to health to economic development.

A lifelong philanthropist, Bloomberg founded Bloomberg Philanthropies, which focuses on five main areas: public health, education, the environment, the arts, and government innovation. He also leads a number of bi-partisan coalitions on urgent issues, including climate change, illegal guns, immigration reform, and infrastructure investment. In January 2013, he made the $350 million gift that established the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships and provided undergraduate financial aid.

Bloomberg graduated from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School.

Held by Daeyeol Lee

DAEYEOL LEE, Ph.D., is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Seoul National University in Korea and his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then received a postdoctoral training in neurophysiology at the University of Minnesota. His current research focuses on the brain mechanisms of decision making, including the role of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia in reinforcement learning and economic choices. His laboratory also investigates how timing and numerical information is represented and transformed in the brain. His research employs diverse methods developed in economics, psychology, and neuroscience. He is also an expert in statistical modeling of behavioral and neurophysiological data. He has published over 90 original research articles. He was the recipient of the Fellowship for Prominent Collegians from Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, University Fellowship from the University of Illinois, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation Cognitive Neuroscience Grant.