about me

I’m a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at UC Berkeley. In the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) lab I’m advised by Alyosha Efros, Angjoo Kanazawa, and Jitendra Malik.

research

My work aims to understand human behavior within a ‘biologically plausible optimization framework.’ This approach integrates traditional neuroscientific methods with deep learning frameworks from computer science, grounded in a mechanistic understanding of behavior. Concretely, I design computational models to reflect hypotheses around neural function, then evaluate them on their ability to predict experimental data (e.g., behavioral, neural, and lesion evidence).

training

I completed my PhD in 2023 at Stanford University, where I was mentored by Anthony Wagner and Dan Yamins. My work sought to formalize and evaluate theories of medial temporal lobe (MTL) involvement in perception using a combination of neural, behavioral, and computational approaches. Prior to graduate school I conducted neuroscientific research in the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, as well as the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany.

funding

My scientific research began while I was a student at Miami Dade Community College, with the support of the NSF’s Tools for Success program. My PhD was supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), alongside several Stanford programs, including Diversifying Academia Recruiting Excellence (DARE), Mind Brain Computational and Technology (MBCT), and NeuroCircles. In addition to the UC Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, my postdoctoral research is supported by the NIH’s F99/K00 Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award.

mentoring and collaboration

If you are interested in working together at the intersection of biological and artificial intelligence, feel free to reach out. I especially encourage students from groups underrepresented in cognitive science, neuroscience, or AI to contact me. Mentoring and collaboration is a core part of my scientific practice, and I’m excited to hear from you.