Walk with Wente: Ken Kishida, PhD

More about Ken Kishida:

Boswell Presidential Chair of Neuroscience and Society
Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar

Ken Kishida’s work integrates computational modeling, neuroimaging and real-time intracranial neurochemical measurements to explore how the brain produces conscious experience and decision-making. In addition to developing new courses and mentoring students, Kishida is leading efforts to build interdisciplinary partnerships and community-engaged research programs aligned with Wake Forest’s Pro Humanitate mission.

He is renowned for developing a first-of-its-kind method to measure brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin in real time in humans, an unprecedented achievement in neuroscience. Using a tiny sensor inserted during awake brain surgery, his team can track these neurochemical signals up to 10 times per second as patients perform decision-making tasks. This breakthrough offers new insight into how brain chemistry shapes behavior, mood, and mental health. 

Kishida has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals such as Neuron, Nature Human Behaviour, PLoS Biology, and Science Advances, as well as three peer-reviewed book chapters, and has numerous articles, invited presentations, and symposia contributions. His prolific scholarship has been cited in scientific books, mainstream media, and legal settings. 

Kishida holds appointments in the Department of Biology on the Reynolda Campus and the Departments of Translational Neuroscience and Neurosurgery in the School of Medicine.