Giuseppe Ugazio

Giuseppe Ugazio is an Edmond de Rothschild Chaired Associate Professor at the Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI) within the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) at the University of Geneva. He directs the Behavioral Philanthropy Lab, which investigates social decision-making with a specific focus on philanthropic behavior from a multidisciplinary perspective. His work integrates methods from behavioral economics and finance, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and artificial intelligence and big-data to understand the neuro-psychological mechanisms driving human social behaviors.

Dr. Ugazio holds two Doctorates from the University of Zurich:

• Ph.D. in Philosophy
• Ph.D. in Neuroeconomics

His research focuses on understanding how affective, cognitive, and behavioral control mechanisms compete and interact to drive choices related to philanthropy. He is developing AI approaches to disclose motivations for engaging in prosocial endeavors, with special attention to the role of emotions and moral values. His work spans neuro-finance, moral philosophy, and behavioral science, examining how moral and financial values interact in the brain to influence decision-making. Recent research includes virtual reality applications for fundraising and mapping the Swiss philanthropic landscape through big-data analytics.

Dr. Ugazio's publications appear in prestigious journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, and Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. His 2017 work on using brain stimulation to increase honesty received significant international attention.

As director of the Behavioral Philanthropy Lab, Ugazio supervises multiple PhD candidates across neuroscience, economics, and international relations. The lab investigates how grant programs impact charitable giving, develops virtual reality tools for fundraising, and creates natural language processing algorithms to map philanthropic landscapes. The interdisciplinary approach draws methods from consumer behavior, behavioral finance, and cognitive psychology to understand human decision-making in philanthropic contexts.