Kozyrkov grew up in
South Africa and moved to the US in her teens. As a child, Kozyrkov became interested in
data when she discovered
spreadsheet software and later became interested in the relationship between
information and
decision-making. She began her studies in
economics and
mathematical statistics at
Nelson Mandela University at the age of fifteen, and transferred to the
University of Chicago to complete her undergraduate degree. After graduation, Kozyrkov worked as a
research assistant at the University of Chicago Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, then enrolled in graduate studies at
Duke University in
psychology and
cognitive neuroscience with a focus on
neuroeconomics. Her research involved the neural processing of value and economic preferences. == Career ==