James Rilling

James K. Rilling is a Professor of Psychology at Emory University, with secondary appointments in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and as Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology. He directs the Laboratory for Human Social Neuroscience, formerly known as the Laboratory for Darwinian Neuroscience. Rilling earned a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992, an M.A. in Anthropology from Emory University in 1996, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Emory University in 1998. His early career included Research Fellow positions in Emory University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences from 1998 to 2001 and at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Brain, Mind and Behavior from 2001 to 2003. Since 2003, he has been an Affiliate Scientist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, advancing to full professor in multiple departments by 2015.

Rilling utilizes non-invasive functional brain imaging techniques to investigate the neural bases of human social cognition and behavior, with a current emphasis on the neurobiology of caregiving in fathers, grandmothers, and dementia caregivers, as well as the role of oxytocin signaling in social processes. His work also encompasses comparative analyses of brain structure and function in monkeys, apes, and humans to identify human specializations and evolutionary patterns. Key publications include "The neuroscience of social decision-making" (Annual Review of Psychology, 2011), "The biology of mammalian parenting and its effect on offspring development" (Science, 2014), "Comparative Primate Neuroimaging: insights into human brain evolution" (Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2014), and "A neural basis for social cooperation" (Neuron, 2002). Among his honors are Phi Beta Kappa (1992), the Templeton Positive Neuroscience Award (2010), Winship Distinguished Research Professor at Emory University (2014-2017), and membership in the Emory University MilliPub Club (2015, 2019). Rilling has contributed to editorial boards of Brain Behavior and Evolution and Frontiers in Decision Neuroscience, and served in leadership roles such as Interim Director of Graduate Studies, chair of admissions and search committees, and executive committees for neuroscience programs.

Professional Email: jrillin@emory.edu