Dr. Elizabeth Johnson

Biography

Elizabeth (Zab) Johnson is the Executive Director and Senior Fellow at the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative within the Wharton School. Her research focuses on vision and visual behavior, utilizing physiological approaches to study the retina and early visual cortex, including eye tracking techniques to investigate how human observers look at and navigate the world. She also explores the processes that unfold over time in social cognition and decision-making. An expert in color vision, she has collaborated with Lenovo to develop features for computer tablet screens that offer a personalized color experience. Prior to joining Wharton in 2016, Johnson spent 14 years at Duke University in the Neurobiology Department, where she served as the associate director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Neural Science from New York University and an A.B. in Psychobiology from Mount Holyoke College. Her long-standing interest in the perception of visual art enriches her perspective. Furthermore, she has designed and taught a new course at Wharton on visual marketing alongside Professor Barbara Kahn and leads Executive Education Programs focused on applying neuroscience principles to business decision-making.

Research Interests