About the Editors

Like the other Nature titles, Nature Human Behaviour has no external editorial board. Instead, all editorial decisions are made by a dedicated team of professional editors, with relevant research and editorial backgrounds.

Chief Editor: Stavroula Kousta, PhD, Springer Nature, UK ORCiD

Stavroula is the launch Chief Editor of Nature Human Behaviour. Prior to joining the Nature Portfolio, she was the Editor of Trends in Cognitive Sciences, one of the leading reviews outlets in the behavioural sciences. She then joined PLOS Biology, where she managed the journal’s magazine section, handled research manuscripts in neuroscience and introduced meta-science as a core discipline covered in the journal. Throughout her editorial career, Stavroula has been a strong advocate for rigorous research practices, the responsible communication of science, and inter-disciplinary research that directly addresses pressing social challenges. Stavroula’s academic background is in linguistics, experimental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. She obtained a PhD in English and Applied Linguistics (psycholinguistics) from the University of Cambridge and then spent four years doing post-doctoral research on the psychological and neural underpinnings of language and semantic knowledge at University College London. Stavroula can be contacted at stavroula.kousta@nature.com. 

 

Senior Editor and Team Leader (Magazine): Charlotte Payne, PhD, Springer Nature, UK ORCiD

Charlotte’s background is in Anthropology, Public Health, Primatology and Zoology. Before joining Nature Human Behaviour in 2019 she conducted research on the implications of using insects as food for our health, food security, and environmental footprint. This was the focus of her PhD thesis in Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and she has conducted field-based research on this topic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Japan, Zimbabwe, Mexico and Burkina Faso. Prior to this she assisted with health related research projects at the University of Oxford, where she worked with large scale epidemiological data and high-throughput genomic data. She spent time in Japan as a Daiwa scholar in 2009-2011 and as a MEXT research student in 2013-2015, and speaks fluent Japanese. She did her undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge in 2006-2009, where she conducted field- and zoo-based research on great ape behaviour, ecology and genetics. She has a broad range of interests and is passionate about the importance of meaningful, interdisciplinary and equitable research. Charlotte can be contacted at charlotte.payne@nature.com. 

 

Senior Editor: Samantha Antusch, PhD, Springer Nature, Germany ORCiD

While she is interested in a broad range of research fields including political science, Samantha’s main background is in psychology with an emphasis on social and health psychology. She did her undergraduate studies at the University of Groningen and Utrecht University. Originally being drawn to the field because of its clinical and practical relevance, she soon developed a strong interest in social cognitive research – especially focusing on (non-conscious) goal-pursuit, decision making and the sense of agency. Moreover, she has a keen interest in open and robust science as well as new developments in statistical testing. Before joining Nature Human Behaviour, she completed her PhD at Utrecht University where she researched the motivational underpinnings of the sense of agency. ​Samantha can be contacted at samantha.antusch@nature.com. 

 

Senior Editor: Aisha Bradshaw, PhD, Springer Nature, UK ORCiD

Aisha’s background is in political science, with an emphasis on international relations, conflict studies, and quantitative methodology. She was initially drawn to political science by the field’s strong interdisciplinary elements, and her interests remain broad. She began her studies with a B.A. in political science at the University of Chicago and completed her PhD at Ohio State University, where her research focused on the strategic provision of social services by violent groups. Additional research projects examined international alliance networks and causal inference methods for observational data. Aisha can be contacted at aisha.bradshaw@us.nature.com. 

 

 

Senior Editor: Jamie Horder, PhD, Springer Nature, UK ORCiD

Jamie’s background is in cognitive neuroscience. Before becoming an editor, Jamie completed  a postdoc at King’s College London on the neuroscience of autism, and prior to that a PhD at Oxford studying depression. Jamie joined the Neuroscience & Psychology team of Nature Communications in October 2017, where he handled a broad range of manuscripts, including cognitive and systems neuroscience, psychiatry, cognitive and social psychology, and network science. He joined the team at Nature Human Behaviour in January 2019 and he is primarily responsible for social and affective neuroscience, psychiatry, and complex systems, but also work from allied fields, especially cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and computational sciences. Jamie can be contacted at jamie.horder@nature.com. 

 

Associate Editor: Giacomo Ariani, PhD, Springer Nature, Germany ORCiD

Giacomo's background is in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. His research interests revolve around how human behavior is learned, planned, produced, controlled, and understood by others. He grew up in Italy where he obtained a Ph.D. in cognitive and brain sciences at the University of Trento. He then moved to Canada for a postdoctoral position at Western University, where he did research at the intersection of computational cognitive neuroscience and human sensorimotor control. Giacomo joined the team at Nature Human Behaviour in November 2022 and is primarily working with manuscripts from cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and computational sciences. He is passionate about sports and outdoor activities, which is why he has always been interested in the science of human movement. Giacomo can be contacted at giacomo.ariani@nature.com. 

 

Associate Editor: Yushi Jiang, PhD, Springer Nature, Germany

Yushi's expertise lies at the intersection of economics, psychology, and behavioural genetics. She began her academic journey in international finance during her undergraduate studies and later transitioned to behavioural and experimental economics while pursuing her master's degree at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Driven by a profound passion for biology, she moved to Singapore to undertake a PhD specializing in Behavioural and Biological Economics at the National University of Singapore. Her research primarily investigated the relationship between dopaminergic genes and economic decision-making. With rich experience and enthusiasm for scholarly publishing, she joined Nature Human Behaviour in May 2024 and is currently based in Berlin, Germany. Yushi can be contacted at yushi.jiang@springernature.com.

 

Associate Editor: Xiao Wang, PhD, Springer Nature, China ORCiD

Xiao’s background is in social psychology, sociology, and cross-cultural research. She began her studies as an undergraduate in sociology at the East China University of Political Science and Law and completed her master’s in sociology at Fudan University, where she conducted fieldwork on culture, emerging religions and social transitions. Her PhD project focused on personal and group identities and behavioural interventions to encourage pro-environmental behaviour across cultures at the University of Groningen. From 2013 to 2021, she was also a research assistant at Fudan University, working on projects related to shared-values, community-based environmental management, and sustainable development. She is interested in social interactions, and how people react to norms and social influences. Xiao joined Nature Human Behaviour in March 2023, and primarily handles manuscripts in sociology, social psychology, education, communication & media studies, and environmental studies. Xiao can be contacted at xiao.wang@nature.com.

 

 

The Research Cross-Journal Editorial Team supports the Nature-branded research journals, with a focus on handling primary research manuscripts. 

The Reviews Cross-Journal Editorial Team handles Research Briefing articles for the Nature-branded research journals.