I am an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University (starting 1 July, 2024). My research group focuses on integrating computational and experimental approaches to investigate the neural computations underlying complex cognitive functions in both health and disease.

I completed my BA in Neuroscience and Mathematics at Middlebury College, VT in 2014 and received my PhD in Neurosciences from University of California, San Diego in 2020. During my graduate studies, under the guidance of Dr. John Serences and Dr. Larry Squire, I used a complementary blend of novel psychophysical paradigms, neuroimaging techniques, and lesion studies to gain insights into how the brain encodes and utilizes probabilistic sensory information for adaptive decision making. Prior to joining Columbia, I was a Swartz Theoretical Neuroscience Fellow in the lab of Dr. Terry Sejnowski at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where I investigated the neural underpinnings of flexible information processing using biologically-inspired deep learning models. In addition, I was a visiting Postdoctoral Scientist in the lab of Dr. Ueli Rutishauser at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where I studied the neural correlates of contextual information processing. I was also an Inaugural Provost’s Research Fellow as part of the Inclusive Faculty Pathways Initiative at Columbia University.

News

• I gave a talk at the Young Investigator Seminar of the Brain and Cognitive Science Department, the Seoul National University (Mar, 2024) [link]
• I gave a talk at the Manifolds in Nature Conference organized by Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (Feb, 2024) [link]
• I presented our recent modeling work at the Neurosurgery Seminars at Baylor College of Medicine (Dec, 2023)
• I gave a talk at the Brain Conference: Structuring Knowledge for Flexible Behavior (Oct, 2023) [link]

Selected Awards & Honors

• Middlebury Alumni Achievement Award (2024)
• Rising Star in Engineering in Health Award (2022) [link]
• Edwards-Yeckel Professional Development Award (2022) [link]
• Inaugural Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind Postdoctoral Award (2022) [link]
• Salk Women & Science Special Award (2021) [link]
• UC San Diego Chancellor’s Outstanding Postdoctoral Award(2021) [link1], [link2]
• Salk Institute Next Gen Postdoc (2021) [link]
• Cell Press/ Society for Neuroscience Anuradha Rao Memorial Award (2021) [link]