Aina Puce
Dr. Aina Puce is a trailblazing social neuroscientist and the Eleanor Cox Riggs Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. Born in Melbourne, Australia, she holds degrees in biophysics and physics and earned her Ph.D. (Medicine) in 1990. After completing postdoctoral training in the Neurosurgery Department at Yale University School of Medicine, she has held faculty and administrative positions at Swinburne University, West Virginia University, and later Indiana University, where she now leads imaging research and social neuroscience initiatives.
Dr. Puce’s research explores the neural underpinnings of nonverbal communication, face perception, and social cognition. She utilizes a multimodal toolkit—including fMRI, EEG, MEG, eye tracking, and TMS—to investigate how the brain interprets facial cues, gaze direction, emotional expressions, and biological motion. Her early work was among the first to study dynamic face processing in the mature human brain using neurophysiological and functional MRI based-techniques. Her research has relevance for how these social brain processes are altered in autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. Based on her earlier work, she is now beginning to study how viewing and interpreting art affects both the brain and the body, from the viewpoint of increasing empathy and also wellbeing.
Beyond her research, Dr. Puce is a celebrated author and scientific leader—most notably co-authoring "MEG‑EEG Primer", a definitive guide to noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, now in its second edition. She has served on editorial boards, chaired NIH study sections, and led professional societies, including serving as Chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. Her distinguished career reflects a deep commitment to advancing the science of social cognition while mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists. She has been an advocate for best practices in scientific method, co-chairing an OHBM committee of international neurophysiological and neuroimaging experts.
Beyond science, Dr. Puce is a photographer who has exhibited and sold her work. Of late, she also dabbles with cameraless photography and mixed media. Her photo portfolio is here: https://ainapuce.myportfolio.com/
• Swinburne Institute of Technology - Bachelor of Applied Science (Biophysics)
• Swinburne Institute of Technology - Master of Applied Science (Physics)
• University of Melbourne - Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine)
• Organization for Human Brain Mapping
• Society for Neuroscience
What do you attribute your success to?
I have been incredibly fortunate to have had wonderful mentors - people who believed in me and supported my career endeavors and advancement. This includes my parents and family, as well as a number of physicists, engineers, neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuroscientists - both men and women. I am incredibly grateful to them - some of them are no longer in this world and I think about them often.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
"Work cures, worry kills." Excellent advice from one of my favorite undergraduate Physics faculty.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believe in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself then others won't either...
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Opportunities [in the field]: incredibly exciting new methods developments that are there to be learned about and applied to research problems! Challenges [in the professional sphere generally]: incredibly obstinate people who themselves do not have the appropriate expertise, but cannot acknowledge contributions, or advance the careers, of those who do.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Do no harm. Be true to yourself.