Ilya Monosov is an internationally recognized neuroscientist who has dedicated his career to understanding the neural and algorithmic mechanisms that underly brain functions such as decision-making, learning, curiosity, and cognitive control, as well as their breakpoints in psychiatric disorders such as in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. 

 Monosov is particularly interested in the mechanisms behind novelty seeking and curiosity, and how these impact our daily lives. While curiosity and uncertainty are important drivers of decision-making, the underlying neural mechanisms are still largely unknown. Monosov’s lab investigates the neural-circuit and algorithmic basis of intelligence, cognition, and their breakpoints in psychiatric disorders using a combination of cutting-edge neurobiology, neurophysiology, economics, artificial intelligence, psychology, and computational psychiatry. Combining economics with reinforcement learning and machine learning, the Monosov lab has recently made significant progress in understanding the neural basis of information and novelty seeking. 

Monosov joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2026 from the Washington University School of Medicine as part of the Brain Resilience Across the Lifespan Cluster.