Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Wharton Neuroscience Initiatives in Hong Kong – 11 March 2025
The Wharton Club of Hong Kong is delighted to announce a very special event – Wharton Neuroscience Initiatives in Hong Kong– Wharton Faculty, Dr Michael Platt and Dr Elizabeth Johnson will visit Hong Kong in person to present to the alumni community their leading edge research in neuroscience, how brain science can be applied in business and investing as well as in personal wellness and emotional management.
For the first time, there will be two events on the same day giving alumni a wide spectrum from business to wellness on Wharton’s leadership in neuroscience research:
Event 1: Luncheon on The Neuroscience of Decision-Making: Smarter Investing through Brain Science
Why do even the most experienced leaders struggle with high-stakes decisions? Why do investors struggle with when, where, and what to invest in? Neuroscience reveals the answer. Join Dr. Michael Platt and Dr. Elizabeth Johnson of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, as they share groundbreaking research on the hidden constraints and biases that shape decision making. Learn how investor inertia, choice fatigue, and bubble markets emerge from deeply rooted neural processes—and how these tendencies can hinder capitalizing on opportunities, add friction to markets, and drive inefficient decision-making. Discover actionable strategies from attention reorientation, to managing the speed-accuracy tradeoff, to simplification, that can rewire decision-making processes for more lucrative and reliable business and financial outcomes. With insights ranging from human behavior, to brain imaging, to evolutionary psychology, this talk will provide cutting-edge tools for all business leaders as well as finance, trading, and investment professionals looking to make smarter, more informed decisions.
Date: 11 March 2025
Time: 12.15pm – 2.00pm (presentation starts sharp at 12.30pm)
Venue: Harcourt Suite, the Hong Kong Club
Dress Code: Business and in compliance with HK Club Dress Code
Early Bird (till Feb 28th): $750 includes lunch and soft drinks
Full Price (post Feb 28th): $850 includes lunch and soft drinks
Guests: Guest of alumni welcome on same price
Please Note: Wharton Club follows a No Walk-Ins Allowed policy. So Register ASAP clicking the Button Below.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: This page is only for registering for Event #1 Lunch. For the Event #2: Evening Seminar, Click Here
The Wharton Neuroscience Initiative Professors
Michael Platt, Director, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative
Michael Platt, PhD, is Director of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and James S. Riepe Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor of Marketing, Neuroscience, and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is author of “The Leader’s Brain” and over 300 articles. Michael is former Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke, and founding Co-Director of the Duke Center for Neuroeconomic Studies. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, the Guardian, and National Geographic, as well as on ABC’s Good Morning America, NPR, CBC, BBC, MTV, and HBO Vice. He currently serves on the Advisory Boards of multiple companies and the Yang-Tan Autism Centers at MIT and Harvard, and previously served on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Brain Science, as President of the Society for Neuroeconomics, consulted on The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky, and co-founded brain health and performance company Cogwear.
Elizabeth (Zab) Johnson, Executive Director, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative
Elizabeth (Zab) Johnson is the executive director and senior fellow of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative. Her research focuses on vision and visual behavior. Her work spans physiological approaches in the retina and early visual cortex to using eye tracking to investigate how human observers look and navigate through the world, how these processes unfold over time and with experience, and the role of social cognition and decision making in these processes. As an expert on color vision, she collaborated with Lenovo to develop computer and tablet screens with features that provide a more personalized color experience and has worked with US military special operations forces and the FBI to improve their visual training and assessments.
Before joining Wharton, Zab was a research professor of neurobiology at Duke University's School of Medicine, where she also launched the Duke Institute of Brain Sciences. She has a PhD in neural science from New York University and an undergraduate degree in psychobiology from Mount Holyoke College. She is passionate about how neuroscience can impact and improve many aspects of how we make choices, lead organizations, and live our lives. Her research and practice strive to push applications of neuroscience outside of the traditional laboratory to find new solutions for real world challenges that impact both business and society.
