Daeyeol Lee PhD
Professor of Neurobiology and of Psychology

Departments & Organizations
Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS): NeuroscienceInterdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Neurobiology: Kavli Institute for Neuroscience | Swartz Program in Theoretical Neurobiology
Stress & Addiction Clinical Research Program
Biography
Daeyeol Lee is a professor of neurobiology and psychology at Yale University and the director of Yale laboratory of cognition and decision making. Daeyeol received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Seoul National University in Korea and his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then received a postdoctoral training in neurophysiology at the University of Minnesota. His current research focuses on the brain mechanisms of decision making, in particular the role of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia in reinforcement learning and economic choices. His research is highly interdisciplinary, combining diverse methods developed in economics, psychology, and neuroscience. He is also an expert in statistical modeling of behavioral and neurophysiological data. He has published over 60 original research articles, including several papers in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and Neuron. He was the recipient of the Fellowship for Prominent Collegians from Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, University Fellowship from the University of Illinois, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation Cognitive Neuroscience Grant. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Health continuously since 1999.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 1995
Selected Publication
- Lee D, Seo H, and Jung MW (2012) Neural basis of reinforcement learning and decision making. Annual Review of Neuroscience 35: 287-308
Articles

Sept/Oct 2011
New hope for old brains seen in study of memory
The prefrontal cortex (PFC)—the front part of the brain, just behind the forehead—is the site of a dizzying array of...
March/April 2011
Now? Later? Brain cells help us make the call
We all prefer receiving large rewards right away, but we typically must choose between small, quick payoffs and bigger...


