Brain, Bias, and Being

AZA Allsop, MD, PhD

AZA Allsop is a first-generation American who grew up in Trinidad before living in a number of different states on the East Coast. He studied Biology, Philosophy, and Jazz Studies at North Carolina Central University before carrying out his research training in the Tye lab at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT as part of the Harvard Medical School-MIT MD PhD program. He studies how social information is computed, integrated, and biased in the brain in hopes of elucidating the neural circuits responsible for fundamental social behaviors. His research is guided by the belief that deconstructing these mechanisms will provide a better understanding of how social groups function and offer insights into enhancing the development and function of society at large.

AZA also teaches mindfulness and awareness of social biases as tools that help enhance empathy, social justice, health equity, and wellness. He is the co-founder of Renaissance Entertainment LLC, a company that operates at the intersection of music, science, and community building to promote a culture of wellness. In addition to writing, producing, and recording music, he does neuroscience research and provides clinical care as a resident in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University.