My research is focused on the relationship between the brain and behavior. I aim to uncover general principles of how the biological machinery of the brain processes information from the world and uses it to shape behavioral choices. I believe that well controlled laboratory experiments are an indispensable tool for investigating how the brain works. At the same time, I take questions of ecological validity seriously - in order to really understand how the brain works, we need to place it in its proper context. Brains did not evolve in the modern world, and their purpose is, unfortunately, not to solve the problems of modern society. Rather, they are an ancient and highly refined biological solution to problems that animals face in the natural world - problems of how to find food and not become food, of how to compete and cooperate with others, of how to survive, reproduce, and raise young.

​

I think that the most promising path toward uncovering general principles of brain function is through examining how brains solve these real world challenges. One constant throughout my work is a balance between ecological context and experimental constraint that permits the use of modern neuroscience techniques to probe the natural functions of the brain. ​These days, I am plugged into research in the lab of Nao Uchida as a postdoc at Harvard University, where I am exploring how the brain processes reward information from the environment to support flexible decisions related to foraging for resources - a fundamental challenge that virtually every animal must solve in order to survive. Before this, I conducted graduate research with Weizhe Hong at UCLA on the neural mechanisms of social behavior using miniaturized microscopes to record brain activity from unconstrained, freely interacting mice. Using this method, I investigated how cortical neurons encode social information and use this to guide behavioral choices, as well as how neural dynamics are synchronized across animals' brains during social engagement.

​

Before starting graduate studies, I completed my undergraduate degree in biological sciences at Hunter College in New York. There, I got my first introduction to the world of science through work with Carmen Melendez-Vasquez on the cellular and molecular biology of myelin formation in glial cells. During this formative time, I was also fortunate to have been exposed to computational methods in biology through undergraduate research programs, including the TECBio REU at the University of Pittsburgh and a winter workshop at Lehman College. These experiences were critical to my development, as they permitted me to freely play with a variety of exciting research questions, to learn from inspiring peers and mentors, and to clarify my interest in the biological basis of behavior that is the platform for my research program today.