Lana Prieur

Since freshman year, I have worked at Platt Labs under Dr. Michael Platt and Dr. Scott Rennie to explore leadership in group interactions. Conducting research during the Covid lockdowns revealed new questions about online interaction, both within my own research team and in our broader collective experience. I developed new resources and learned new research methods for conducting remote studies of remote interactions. My original focus on the mediating effects of physiological synchrony – a spontaneous synchronization of biological rhythms in groups – has pivoted toward the problems of engagement (and disengagement) in online interactions, commonly called “Zoom fatigue” within a neuroeconomics framework.

Neuroeconomics is a young field of neurology that emerged around 2005. Joining forces with economists, researchers have located multiple neural circuits in the brain that correspond to the marginal value decision-making models of modern economics. Broadly speaking, our brains automatically record, calculate and weigh the costs, rewards and probabilities of our actions. I am investigating the widely-noted decision to disengage from online meetings despite our best intentions to participate and the potential to alleviate social isolation through online connection. Using physiological markers of connection, such as synchrony, my aim is to focus research on the human aspects of social presence and escape the focus on technologies that has marked much social presence research. Real-world applications would include improved business meeting productivity, increased online knowledge-sharing and effective telemedicine delivery.

My research into group interactions was first inspired by my experience as an athlete – I proudly fence for the Quakers and notice that team encouragement affects performance – as well as the extraordinary resilience that I observed during my work with Special Olympics for the past seven years and coaching young children with Special Olympics before Covid.

• Researcher at Platt Labs under Dr. Michael Platt and Dr. Scott Rennie
• Endorsed for Rhodes Scholarship, 2021
• Penn Wissahickon Hospice volunteer
• University Scholar
• Varsity fencing
• Special Olympics
• Swing dancing with the West Philly Swingers where I serve as a Board Member and PR Manager
• Member of the premedical/medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon
• Member PHINS (Peer Helping Incoming New Students)