Kathryn Ambroze

After graduating college with a degree in neuroscience, Kathryn Ambroze (MBDS ‘22) was hired as a behavioral research scientist for a research house and consulting partner that applies insights from consumer neuroscience, psychology, and traditional market research. “A big part of my responsibility is helping companies design their research to ensure that they are using the right research tools for the right question,” she explains. “It has been a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with clients to work through the research process from design to execution, and then interpreting and strategizing how the results can make an impact in their organization.” After a few years of experience and advancement into a new role at her company, HCD Research, Kathryn decided to pursue a Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) on a part-time schedule so that she could continue working full time. “I decided to go for my master’s degree to really hone my technical skills, communicate science more effectively, and see what other strategies are out there that could help my clients get the most out of their research,” she says.

Consumer neuroscience, says Kathryn, is a multidisciplinary field: it incorporates schools of thought from not only neuroscience and psychology but also sensory science, computer science, marketing, and communications. “Humans are so complex and messy,” she says. “That’s why the interdisciplinary approach at Penn was attractive: in the MBDS program, you have access to thought leaders in these complementary fields. I had the opportunity to learn from social scientists with expertise in economics, public policy, or psychology and hear how their approaches to analyzing the same research may vary. I can integrate their perspectives back to my work so that I can investigate or analyze a phenomenon in a comprehensive way I might not have if I just focused on one theory.”

As a part-time student, Kathryn was able to sink her teeth into each course, bringing examples from work into the classroom and lessons from the classroom that could be integrated into her work, such as a statistical power analysis software that determines an appropriate sample size for client projects. She also took electives from the Organizational Dynamics program and Penn Engineering, and a course in statistical research methods that she initially found intimidating but ultimately used to create her own website. “That was one my proudest moments,” she laughs. “Creating a portfolio from scratch—coding it while having my instructor Alex Shpenev, PhD, as a resource—made me feel confident in my abilities.”

Kathryn’s clients come from a wide range of fields, including consumer packaged goods (CPG), media, tech, and healthcare, so she was glad to have the opportunity to collaborate with several companies through her coursework. In an elective course from Penn Engineering focused on needfinding, she worked with a pet supply subscription service on identifying pet owner needs as they returned to in-person offices after working remotely during the pandemic lockdown. “That was a timely question, and very applicable to consumer research,” she recalls. “I really loved learning tools and techniques to evaluate what people were saying and translate that into opportunities for the client.” For her capstone research, she worked with an online mental health therapy platform on utilizing behavioral messaging to encourage users to take advantage of what the app provided. “That was a really exciting project. I never worked in the digital mental health space before,” she recalls. “Having those opportunities to gain insight into different industries has helped me become a chameleon and learn to speak the languages of different clients.”

In addition, Kathryn’s own industry experience positioned her to bring a unique perspective to her classroom discussions—and even to set up a mutually beneficial opportunity for her peers as interns for HCD Research. “We worked with quite a few students to help them develop and execute a research project,” she recalls. “They developed their hypothesis and designed a study with full agency to lead the project and think critically about the research process. After we ran the study, they reported and presented it to internal stakeholders. Each of those students also had an opportunity to publish a blog post on HCD’s website and be a guest on HCD’s podcast, Mindset to hone their scientific communication skills.” Not only did this internship serve as the basis for student capstone projects, but it also gave HCD Research a range of fresh perspectives: “They were really creative in their insights and deliverables, showing us different data visualizations that we might not have used otherwise,” she adds.

Now the Director of Behavioral Insights and User Experience at HCD Research, Kathryn’s role still necessitates a technical grasp of behavioral research—with a greater emphasis on client communication and education. “There’s been a spotlight on behavioral science in the past few years because the pandemic was one of the biggest behavioral disruptors of our time,” she notes. “So, there is an opportunity for educating both the consumer and the client. Behavioral science isn’t a magic bullet, but if you use the scientific method to build a strong research question, develop a hypothesis, and guide the research design… then, no matter what, you will learn something at the end of the day.”

Kathryn encourages new MBDS students to take advantage of the resources available. “Try not to get overwhelmed by all of the opportunities, but find the things that are important to you. And you’re surrounded by like-minded people, so network amongst your professors and peers and don’t be afraid to challenge them. That’s how the field will continue to progress.”