Career Profile
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Computational Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (with Xiaosi Gu and Laura Berner). I earned my Ph.D. while working in the Neuroeconomics Laboratory at The Ohio State University with Ian Krajbich.
My research tries to answer the question: “How do people decide what to value?” I approach this question by studying both how people learn about value (e.g., “Which product should I buy?”) and how they approach situations in which those values may vary (e.g., “How should I approach my choices at a fancy supermarket versus a dollar store?”). I’m interested in answering this question in the context of consumer goods and social interactions, as well as how these valuations go awry in mental illness. My primary tools are computational modeling and functional magnetic resonance imaging. I greatly enjoy tinkering with code and improving workflows. Ultimately, I hope to work on projects that make a positive social impact.
Experiences
Independently manage dual research programs across two labs; Supervise graduate students and research assistants in experimental design, data collection, and analysis; Develop computational models predicting clinical outcomes from neurobiological measurements (findings under review at Nature); Collaborate with neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, and neurologists to integrate complex data pipelines;
Collected neuroimaging and behavioral data from 200+ participants across multiple studies; Investigated signal magnitude effects on decision speed and accuracy; First-authored 3 publications in high-impact journals (PNAS, eLife, Journal of Mathematical Psychology)
Designed and implemented IRB-approved studies on compulsive phone-use and cognitive performance; Successfully recruited diverse participant populations through multiple channels (in-person, online, institutional); Published safety research on decision-making factors in transportation (Transportation Research Part F)
Contributed to technical writing, proposal development, and data management/analysis; Wrote Standard Operating Procedures and created Excel workbooks to aide project management; Mapped emergency management courses for DHS-related projects
Wrote reports on transportation safety for state and federal agencies; Analyzed large datasets to identify trends in driver behavior and safety outcomes; Developed and tested in-car driver saftey assessments
Designed assessments tools to measure community needs and well-being; Developed and implemented training programs for volunteers and staff; Managed data collection and analysis to inform organizational strategy; Maintained relationships with community partners and stakeholders
Administered cognitive training interventions to clinical populations in methadone maintenance treatment; Maintained rigorous adherence to federally-funded research protocols and safety standards; Ensured proper documentation and quality control for sensitive clinical data