Lila Davachi, a pioneer in the study of human memory, will join Yale University in July 2026 as Professor in the Department of Psychology. Davachi’s research integrates elegant behavioral methods, functional neuroimaging, and intracranial electrophysiology to reveal how experiences are encoded, consolidated, and retrieved in the brain.
Davachi received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Yale University, where she trained under the renowned neuroscientist Patricia Goldman-Rakic. She is currently a Professor of Psychology at Columbia University and a Research Scientist at the Nathan Kline Institute.
Throughout her career, Davachi has transformed our understanding of how the hippocampus, medial temporal lobe, and cortical networks store memories. Her influential work on event segmentation has reshaped theories of episodic memory by showing how the brain breaks continuous experience into meaningful units organized by boundaries. She has been instrumental in uncovering the neural architecture of memory replay and consolidation through rare intracranial recordings in epilepsy patients. Her discoveries bridge cognitive neuroscience with affective science, computational modeling, and clinical research, revealing how motivation, reward, and emotion shape memory.
Davachi’s impact is reflected in influential publications across leading journals; engaged leadership and service for editorial boards, funding agencies, and scientific organizations; and dedication to training and teaching—with a track record of star lab alumni. Her achievements have been recognized by prestigious awards and honors, including the Young Investigator Award from the Cognitive Neuroscience Society and election to the Society of Experimental Psychologists. She received Columbia’s Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award and the Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholar Award, reflecting her commitment to excellence and innovation in the classroom.