Maura Austin

Maura Austin is a senior research scientist at the National Security Data and Policy Institute. She has years of experience investigating the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying judgment, decision making, and group dynamics. At the Institute, she applies this expertise in social and moral psychology to national security challenges, integrating behavioral insight with data-driven policy analysis.  

Maura earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UVA, where she later served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.