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E-Mail:
km2483@columbia.edu
Background:
Kimberly Montgomery received her PhD in psychology and neuroscience from Princeton University in June 2007. In addition to her PhD, she earned a Certificate in Health and Health Policy from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Her dissertation research focused on the role the mirror neuron system, a network of brain areas that are important for understanding actions, plays in social functioning. Using functional brain imaging, she found a positive relationship between activity in the mirror neuron system and empathy and reduced activity in the mirror neuron system in individuals with autism. Her findings suggest that the mirror neuron system is crucial for proper social functioning. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar, she plans on connecting her previous work that examined brain systems involved with understanding social actions with the research that has found that successful social relationships have positive health benefits. Combining these research areas would determine whether understanding social interactions impacts the health of individuals and whether it differentially impacts the health of certain groups. She holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from Northwestern University.
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