William D. “Scott” Killgore, PhD

Dr. Killgore is a clinical neuropsychologist and research neuroscientist whose research focuses on understanding the brain systems involved in emotional processes and cognitive performance. For the past decade, his work has focused nearly exclusively on the factors affecting the mental health, well-being, and performance of military personnel. Dr. Killgore’s work combines neurocognitive assessment with state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods to study the role of emotion in complex cognitive processes such as moral judgment, decision-making and risk-taking. His work also focuses on how these brain-behavior systems may be affected by environmental and lifestyle factors such as insufficient sleep, nutrition, light exposure, physical activity and the use of stimulants such as caffeine.

In particular, Dr. Killgore has explored the role of sleep as a mediator of psychological and emotional health and the potential role of insufficient sleep as a contributor to psychiatric disturbance, emotional dysregulation, risk-related behavior and performance. He is currently conducting several Department of Defense-funded studies aimed at improving sleep and resilience in military personnel. Some of his studies focus on assessment and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), developing statistical models of the stress response, enhancing resilience and emotional intelligence, and improving sleep and cognitive performance through various interventions such as targeted light exposure, caffeine and neuromodulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Prior to joining the University of Arizona in 2014, Dr. Killgore spent 17 years on the faculty at Harvard Medical School from 2000 to 2017, where he was director of the Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Belmont.

Dr. Killgore also serves a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, with 19 years of military service, including five years on active duty as an Army Research Psychologist. While stationed at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, DC, Dr. Killgore served as chief of the Neurocognitive Performance Branch in the Department of Behavioral Biology.

During the course of his career, Dr. Killgore has published over 200 scientific articles and book chapters, and has co-authored over 600 published abstracts and conference proceedings with his students, advisees and fellows.