Rafael Polania

Associate Professor, Centre for Brain, Mind and Markets

About Rafael

Rafael’s research agenda lies at the intersection of economics, neuroscience, and computational theory, with a particular focus on the principles that govern human decision-making under uncertainty. His work combines formal mathematical modeling, neurocomputational theory, and behavioral analysis to understand how the brain represents value, risk, and belief, and how these internal representations shape economic choice. A central theme of his research is to explain behaviors often described as departures from rationality, not as arbitrary biases, but as the outcome of inference and decision processes adapted to biological and informational constraints. By bringing neuroscience, decision theory and economic models of choice, he develops a normative and mechanistic account of human behavior that speaks to core questions in decision science while also informing applications in policy, clinical diagnostics, and treatment.

Rafael trained across electrical engineering, computer science, and neuroscience, receiving his PhD with highest honors from the University of Göttingen. He subsequently held research positions at the University of Zürich and Columbia University, was awarded a prestigious ERC Grant, became Assistant Professor of Decision Neuroscience at ETH Zurich in 2018, was named Honorary Fellow at the University of Zürich in the same year, and received the 2023 Early Career Award from the Society of Neuroeconomics in recognition of his contributions to the field. Since 2026, Rafael is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, forming part of the Center for Brain, Mind and Markets.

Contact details

Email: rafael.polania[at]unimelb.edu.au
Office: Level 12, The Spot, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton