Dr. Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, is a Senior Fellow in Law and Applied Neuroscience at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School, and Center for Law, Brain and Behavior (CLBB) at Massachusetts General Brigham/Harvard Medical School.
Berkeley Law Life Sciences Law & Policy Center Director Vincent Joralemon recently sat down with Javier R. Mesa, a public defender turned behavioral neuroscientist whose work sits at the intersection of law and neuroscience.
A Harvard Neuroscience & Society Conversation with Leading Experts Trauma and stress shape our brains, but they also shape our systems. From clinics to courtrooms, the science of stress is transforming how we understand vulnerability, recovery, responsibility, and justice. Join us at Harvard Law School for a cross-campus, interdisciplinary conversation bringing together leaders in neurobiology, psychiatry, neurosurgery,…
This virtual event will discuss a forthcoming international treaty on the rights of older persons and how it could build on lessons from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On April 3, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted a resolution jumpstarting the multilateral process for negotiating a new international treaty on the rights…
Criminal Resentencing Post-Monschke, Mattis, and Other State Case Law In Roper v. Simmons (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court barred the death penalty for crimes committed under 18, grounding its reasoning in developmental science. Yet Jones v. Mississippi (2021) upheld discretionary life without parole, leaving states to decide how science should inform sentencing. In the wake of Jones, courts across the…
Join the Petrie-Flom Center and a panel of experts for an in-person lunchtime discussion of the legal, scientific, medical, and ethical issues related to aging political and judicial leaders. Is the advanced age of many leaders cause for concern? Should we have maximum age limits for lawmakers and judges? What can neuroscience research tell us about…
Developments in neurotechnologies, which interface with one’s nervous system to monitor, stimulate, or modulate neural activity in the brain, are progressing at a rapid rate.
Adolescents—human and animal alike—take risks, challenge authority, and navigate social hierarchies as part of their development. In Wildhood, Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz explores how these behaviors are biologically ingrained and essential for survival. This event will examine how evolutionary biology supports the Supreme Court’s “Children Are Different” jurisprudence, reinforcing why adolescent decision-making should be understood through science rather than…
Overview The Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience, launched in 2014, is a collaboration between the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain and Behavior (CLBB) and the Petrie-Flom Center. The collaboration includes a Senior Fellow in residence, public symposia, and a Law and Neuroscience Seminar at Harvard Law School taught by the Hon. Nancy Gertner. For more information, see the full press release on…
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the mass incarceration of children, adolescent neuroscience, and restorative justice. Our distinguished panelists—a judge, a psychologist, and a lawyer rooted in restorative justice —will share their expertise on how we can align justice systems with science and pave the way for more humane and effective pathways forward. Recording…
