GOHA Leadership Spotlight – Jeff Pollack

The Global One Health Academy Leadership Team devotes their time and expertise to help the Academy grow and prosper as a One Health leader. We had the chance to interview Jeff Pollack, GOHA Co-Lead for Facilitating Change and Lynn T. Clark Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, to learn more about how he is using his background in entrepreneurship to find innovative solutions to One Health challenges.

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Where did you go to school and what did you study?

My undergraduate degree is from Northwestern University. I got my masters in organizational communication at NC State. And I studied organizational behavior and Entrepreneurship at Virginia Commonwealth university.

What or who inspired you to pursue this career?

My wife, who got her PhD before me, and my closest friend, who is also a professor.

What do you research?

The psychology of entrepreneurship.

What project are you currently working on?

I’m working on a fun project right now that looks at passion and perseverance to try and figure out which one is more important for entrepreneurial outcomes. Passion is better for starting ventures, but perseverance is better for firm performance.

What is your favorite part of the job?

There are three things that I do as a part of my job. First I do research.  Second, I do teaching. Third I do service. In terms of research, I love the publishing process, it’s like a game. In terms of teaching, I enjoy being in the classroom with students and helping them achieve their goals. In terms of service, I like editing journal articles.

What do you view as a critical global challenge in One Health, and how does your research help address it?

In my opinion, the solutions to the problems we face today are going to need entrepreneurs’ solutions. So, to the degree that I can help more people become entrepreneurs and identify solutions to the problems we face, I think that I can have an impact on the future.

What does being a part of the Global One Health Academy mean to you?

For me, it’s always about helping other people achieve their goals, more effectively more efficiently.

Recent publication

“Advancing (Neuro)Entrepreneurship Cognition Research Through Resting-State fMRI: A Methodological Brief”
Authors: Frédéric Ooms, Jitka Annen, Rajanikant Panda, Paul Meunier, Luaba Tshibanda, Steven Laureys, Jeffrey M. Pollack and Bernard Surlemon
Published: March 2024, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
DOI: 1.1177/10422587231170217
Abstract: Despite many calls, functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies are relatively rare in the domain of entrepreneurship research. This methodological brief presents the brain-imaging method of resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and illustrates its application in neuroentrepreneurship for the first time. In contrast to the traditional task-based fMRI approach, rs-fMRI observes the brain in the absence of cognitive tasks or presentation of stimuli, which offers benefits for improving our understanding of the entrepreneurial mind. Here, we describe the method and provide methodological motivations for performing brain resting-state functional neuroimaging studies on entrepreneurs. In addition, we illustrate the use of seed-based correlation analysis, one of the most common analytical approaches for analyzing rs-fMRI data. In this illustration, we show that habitual entrepreneurs have increased functional connectivity between the insula (a region associated with cognitive flexibility) and the anterior prefrontal cortex (a key region for explorative choice) as compared to managers. This increased connectivity could help promote flexible behavior. Thus in brief, we provide an exemplar of a novel way to expand our understanding of the brain in the domain of entrepreneurship. We discuss possible directions for future research and challenges to be addressed to facilitate the inclusion of re-fMRI studies into neuroentrepreneurship.