dr. Bruno Sauce Silva

My research focuses on the malleability of cognition. I want to know the impact of certain experiences on the way we think and learn, and how much this depends on our different biological backgrounds. I look at experiences like playing video games, using educational tools, doing physical exercises, going to school, and growing up in wealth/poverty. I use genetic tools (like GWAS, polygenic scores, and twin designs) to correct for genetic confounders and estimate gene-environment interplay. But why does any of this research matter? Because it’s cool. And(!) because I believe future findings could spring new interventions and social programs. Helping people become smarter (a big deal given the importance of abstract reasoning, literacy, numeracy, attention, and working memory to the engines of modern societies and to the quality of our lives) as well as empowering democracies towards better equity (a big deal given that hundreds of millions suffer or benefit unfairly from the birth lottery: born with worse/better genes and in worse/better environments; factors that were out of our control and should be a smaller portion of our merit).

No ancillary activities

Ancillary activities are updated daily