Antonio Rangel studies the computational and neurobiological basis of human decision making. He uses a variety of tools from neuroscience, economics, psychology, and computer science, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), single-unit recordings in human patients, eye-tracking, and computational modeling.

The Rangel Neuroeconomics Lab seeks to understand how the brain computes and compares values to make simple choices, such as choosing between an apple and an orange, and how the workings of the decision-making system change in more complex forms of choice, such as decisions involving self-control or altruism. The lab is also interested in applications of neuroeconomics to economics, psychiatry, and the development of "neurotechnologies" designed to improve decision making.

Rangel received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1998 and his BS in economics from Caltech in 1993. He was a recipient of the 2019 NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award. In 2018, he was named a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, and he served as the President of the Society for Neuroeconomics from 2009 to 2010. He received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation in 2002 and was a national fellow at the Hoover Institution from 2000 to 2001.