Prateekshit Pandey

Prateekshit Pandey is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on humor's role in democratic participation, news sharing, and political agency in comparative contexts between the US and South Asia. He employs computational methods (network analysis, neuroimaging) and experimental surveys to investigate media effects on democratic citizenry. Pandey holds a Ph.D. (2022) and M.A. (2018) from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by postdoctoral work at UPenn's Communication Neuroscience Lab and Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication.

His research interests span media neuroscience, media psychology, and political communication, with a focus on how humor and entertainment shape civic engagement. He is founding director of the Creative Citizenship Lab (CCL), exploring creativity's role in citizenship through neuroscientific, experimental, and participatory methods. His work integrates computational skills (R/Python), neuroimaging (fMRI/EEG), and community-oriented scholarship.

Notable contributions include studies on humor's neural mechanisms (PNAS, Journal of Communication) and health behavior change through persuasive messaging. Pandey also practices improvisational comedy, blending academic and performance-based insights into communication dynamics.