Gayathri Dowling

Gayathri “Gaya” Dowling is the director of the AI Century Study, a 100-year national study of how AI shapes human development, opportunity, and society.

Before joining AIR, Dr. Dowling led the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term study of brain development and child and adolescent health in the United States. The ABCD Study® enrolled nearly 12,000 children ages 9-10 and is tracking them as they transition from late childhood into early adulthood to explore how diverse experiences during adolescence shape brain, cognitive, social, emotional, and academic development.

Prior to the ABCD Study, Dr. Dowling served as the deputy director of the Office of Science Policy, Engagement, Education, and Communications at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the chief of science policy at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In these positions, she provided scientifically based information to patients and their family members, health professionals, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders to inform policy and promote the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases. 

Dr. Dowling earned a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of California at Davis, where she studied the developing nervous system, and subsequently conducted research at the Parkinson’s Institute prior to joining NIH where she initially worked at the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.