Ajay Satpute is an assistant professor in the psychology and neuroscience departments and director of the Affect and Brain Science lab. His research addresses fundamental questions about how the mind relates to the brain, from how language shapes emotional experience to whether brain activity alone can predict a person’s social or emotional state. Through brain imaging data, examining variation across participants, and computational modeling and machine learning, he develops data-driven approaches to advance both theory and research in cognitive neuroscience.

Prior to his current role at Northeastern, Satpute previously served as a senior research scientist for the university. He also worked as an assistant professor at Pomona College and a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts from Trinity University.