Dr. Shira Gabriel is an Associate Professor of Psychology at SUNY, University at Buffalo. She is a Social Psychologist and internationally renowned expert on the social nature of the self. Dr. Gabriel is the editor of Self & Identity, the primary journal of the International Society for Self & Identity. She has received funding for her research from the Templeton Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Dr. Gabriel received her PhD in Social Psychology from Northwestern University in 2000. She studies how social surrogates fill belongings needs, the relationship of religion to the social self, and the importance of immersion in large crowds for well-being.