Research Advisor Podcast

In this episode of "Ever Thought About...?", we sit down with Professor Peter Fader, the Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School. With a background in mathematics, Dr. Fader took an unexpected turn into marketing, where he applied statistical modeling to predict customer behavior. At the intersection of psychology, statistics, and economics, he shares his journey—from pioneering customer analytics to co-founding Zodiac, a company later acquired by Nike, and shaping customer-based corporate valuation in private equity.

Is the spiritual world still relevant? Dr. Emily Ng, Professor of Anthropology, certainly thinks so! In this episode, sit down with Professor Ng and learn about her work in psychological and medical anthropology, and hear her perspectives on the implications of creating knowledge about a people. At the intersection of Asian American Studies and Anthropology, Dr. Ng's work in urban and rural China has led her to study such topics as madness and subjectivity, transgenerational historical traumas, and more.

"How do physical changes in the brain ultimately give rise to changes in the mind?" This is a key question that guides the research that takes place in Dr. Allyson Mackey's lab, The Changing Brain. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Mackey, a professor of psychology here at Penn to talk about the significance and applicability of research in cognitive neuroscience. Dr. Mackey's work focuses on understanding the basic mechanisms underlying brain plasticity in children and how environmental factors can influence windows of peak plasticity.

In this first episode of "Ever Thought About," we spend some time with Professor Jeremy McInerney to discuss the amazing breadth of his research. From investigating cattle in ancient Greece to understanding the concept of ethnicity in the ancient Mediterranean to exploring hybrids such as centaurs and pegasi, Professor McInerney's work reveals just how flexible and meaningful research in Classical Studies can be.