Wael Asaad, MD, PhD, received his PhD in Systems Neuroscience from MIT in 2001 and his MD from Yale University in 2003. He went on to complete a general surgery internship and a neurosurgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. His PhD work elucidated the role of the prefrontal cortex in real-time learning. For this work, he was awarded the Society for Neuroscience’s Lindsley Prize. During residency, a fellowship allowed him to continue his work in non-human primate physiology, studying learning signals in the prefrontal cortex and striatum, while also honing his skills in human functional neurosurgery. He has contributed significantly (including many first- and second-authorships) to a number of publications in well-regarded, peer-reviewed journals, even while heavily involved in clinical training or practice. He recently took a position as assistant professor in neurosurgery at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he currently continues both human and non-human primate research on the roles of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia in learning. He received the Young Clinician Investigator Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons shortly after moving to Brown. In the course of his training, he has developed strong skills in experimental design, training on complex cognitive tasks, the analysis of neuronal activity and behavior, and advanced operative techniques. His ongoing goals are to elucidate basic neural-circuit mechanisms of learning and decision-making, as well as to translate new insights from basic neuroscience into human therapies to alleviate disease and suffering.