Our Mission is to champion interdisciplinary research at the intersection of human behavior and legal systems, in order to develop evidence-based interventions, improve public policy, and advance social justice.

Director’s Message

What are the factors driving the gun violence epidemic? How do we develop community violence interventions that are effective and lasting? Can we use digital technology to improve access to mental health for justice-involved individuals? Can we improve on existing methodologies and tools for violence risk assessment? Is the use of neuroscience in the courtroom helping or hurting the jurisprudence process? The impact of these questions extends beyond the legal system, to individual health, community health, and social policy. Social, behavioral, biological, and computational sciences have the capacity to illuminate the complex bio-psycho-social mechanisms that underlie the dynamic interactions between individual behavior, legal systems, and society at large. Here at the Isaac Ray Research Program we bring together experts from psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, sociology, public health, and data science, with key stakeholders including community organizations, technology developers, and the criminal justice systems, in order to inform these complex questions through innovative interdisciplinary research. I thank you for your interest in our work, and invite you to browse this website to learn about the current efforts within the program and the people who make them possible, and how you can contribute. Together, we can make a difference.