Samuel Gershman.

Samuel Gershman

Professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science
Harvard University

Sam Gershman is professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science at Harvard University. His lab studies the computational mechanisms of learning, memory, decision-making and perception. He is also affiliated with the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard. He is author of the 2021 book “What Makes Us Smart: The Computational Logic of Human Cognition.”

Gershman received his B.A. in neuroscience and behavior from Columbia University in 2007 and his Ph.D. in psychology and neuroscience from Princeton University in 2013. From 2013 to 2015 he was a postdoctoral fellow in the brain and cognitive sciences department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined Harvard University as assistant professor in 2015.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of pixellated MRI scans morphing into the scales of justice.

Govern neurodata by how it’s used, not where it’s from

New neurodata laws will shape how researchers gather, share and reuse brain data. A use-based governance protects basic researchers and those whose data are being used, without freezing science.

By José M. Muñoz
16 October 2026 | 7 min read
Illustration of two hands grasping a pink oval and a green oval, bordered on the left and right by columns of red ovals and multicolor and gray circles.

How new technologies can bring primatologists and systems neuroscientists together

The two groups study the same behavioral phenomena yet rarely interact or read each other's work—a mutual blind spot that weakens both fields. New technologies offer a chance to bring them together.

By Sjoerd Murris
15 October 2026 | 6 min read
Fiona Sanderson photo illustration.

Creating community through grant support

Fiona Sanderson, a senior program manager at the Brain Canada Foundation, shares how she got into grant administration and how she helps connect researchers with funding and one another.

By Katie Moisse
14 October 2026 | 7 min read