Dr. Joel Salinas is an expert on people’s brains and their behaviors. He is a neurologist specializing in brain health, cognitive-behavioral neurology, and neuropsychiatry who trained at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurology. To offer solutions and techniques for a more productive and kinder society, he studies the intersection of neuroscience, our social environments, and why we think, feel, and do the things we do. Dr. Salinas also has synesthesia, a well-studied neurologic trait that makes him experience each sense as a mix of one or more other senses, as well as physically feel an automatic re-created replica of what others around him physically feel. His best-selling book, Mirror Touch: A memoir of synesthesia and the secret life of the brain (HarperOne, 2017), chronicles his experience as a neurologist living with this rare brain condition, the significant lessons it teaches us about our capacity for empathy, and his unique understanding of how we can master our minds and the art of human connection. He shares his powerful insights through the extraordinary stories of his personal experiences and of equally remarkable people with atypical brains, weaving in the best science and practical applications from the study of empathy, sensory perception, and human behavior.

 After studying the intersection of biology and sociology at Cornell University, he completed his medical degree with research distinction at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine followed by neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He subsequently completed a combined research and clinical fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has served as Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Clinical Director of the Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, and Faculty Neurologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Neurology. Currently, he is the Lulu P. and David J. Levidow Assistant Professor of Neurology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and a Faculty Neurologist at the New York University Langone Health Department of Neurology’s Center for Cognitive Neurology. He conducts NIH-funded research to understand the complex interplay between social relationships, social behavior, and neurobiology.

 Dr. Salinas is also a respected speaker on a variety of topics, including:  the intricacies of how to best use our current understanding of the human brain; the future of science and neurology; and, understanding how we connect with one another and what that means for our individual and collective well-being. He was a keynote speaker at the Worlds Fair Nano where he spoke about “The Future of the Brain.” He has spoken at a wide range of events and conferences about the intersection of neuroscience and business, such as Cannes Lions and Boston’s HUBweek where he touched on "The Neuroscience Behind Consumer Decision-Making in Advertising.” He has also spoken in-depth about the implications of synesthesia, neurodiversity, and social neuroscience as an invited speaker at TEDxCambridge, #Reframe Conference: Mental Health and The Media at UCBerkley, MIT, the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, and more.

 His insights have been featured in national and international broadcast television and radio talk shows and news outlets on BBC, CNN, VICE, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, and more.

 You can follow him on Twitter with the handle @joelsalinasmd or through his newsletter and website at joelsalinasmd.com.