[1] She is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she directs the Developmental Neuroscience laboratory.
[2] She was appointed the Jeffrey Wenzel Term Chair in Behavioral Neuroscience and the Dean of Undergraduate Education at UCLA.
[3] Galván completed her bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Behavior at Barnard College, Columbia University in 2001.
[2] She was the honored recipient of the UCLA Department of Psychology Distinguished Teaching Award (Senior Ladder) in 2015.
[15] Her studies have explored neural mechanisms underlying decision-making and risk-taking,[16][17] the influences of stress and other experiences on behavior and brain functioning,[18][19] and neurobiological factors associated with cigarette smoking in adolescence.