Aina Puce

Dr. Aina Puce is a trailblazing social neuroscientist and the Eleanor Cox Riggs Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. Born in Melbourne, Australia, she holds degrees in biophysics and physics and earned her Ph.D. in Medicine in 1990. After completing postdoctoral training in neurosurgery at Yale University, she held faculty positions at Swinburne University, West Virginia University, and later Indiana University, where she now leads imaging research and social neuroscience initiatives.

Dr. Puce’s research explores the neural underpinnings of nonverbal communication, face perception, and social cognition. She utilizes a multimodal toolkit—including fMRI, EEG, MEG, eye tracking, and TMS—to investigate how the brain interprets facial cues, gaze direction, emotional expressions, and biological motion. Her early work was among the first to study dynamic face processing in the mature human brain using electrophysiological techniques. Today, her research extends to examining how these social brain processes are altered in conditions such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

Beyond her research, Dr. Puce is a celebrated author and scientific leader—most notably co-authoring MEG‑EEG Primer, a definitive guide to noninvasive neuroimaging techniques. She has served on editorial boards, chaired NIH study sections, and led professional societies, including serving as chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. Her distinguished career reflects a deep commitment to advancing the science of social cognition while mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists.

• Swinburne Institute of Technology - Bachelor of Applied Science
• Swinburne Institute of Technology - Master's degree
• University of Melbourne - Doctor of Philosophy