I was super excited for this meeting since it’s sorta in my backyard (I live in the Philly suburbs). But also because I got to be part of the organizing committee.

I walked into ISN nervous, unsure how I’d fit among such an extraordinary roster. I walked out feeling energized, inspired, and grateful to have contributed.

Two days of rich, cross-disciplinary science reminded me that understanding food, flavor, and behavior requires more than treating people like machines. We need to embrace the quirks, the biases, and yes, even the cookie stomachs, that make us human.

As a PhD neuroscientist, I spend a lot of time talking about data—implicit scores, EEG signals, physiological readouts, statistical significance. But before any of that, I often find myself recommending something far less flashy: good old qualitative research.

Why? Because the hardest part of a study isn't usually the measurement. It’s figuring out what to measure—and why.

In this post, we take a more methodical look at how to study consumer experience with beauty devices. Not just satisfaction, but emotional engagement, habit formation, and long-term adherence. Here’s how behavioral neuroscience can guide more meaningful evaluation and insight generation in this fast-growing space.