Kathryn R. Johnson

I hold a PhD in Public Policy from American University's School of Public Affairs. I am currently working as a post-doctoral scholar at Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy.

I am primarily interested in the determinants of mental health and cognition. Secondarily, I investigate the ways in which individuals' mood or cognitive performance influences the functioning of government institutions—particularly the American criminal justice system. 

Drawing on my background as an attorney, I employ rigorous quantitative methods grounded in data science and machine learning to understand the social, legal, and environmental determinants of human cognition, decision-making, and well-being.