Research
My research sits at the intersection of systems neuroscience and computational modeling. I am broadly interested in how the visual system encodes and transforms sensory information during natural, dynamic behavior, and in developing computational tools to understand both biological and artificial neural networks.
Previous Research
Locomotion, Eye Movements, and Visual Cortical Encoding
Running strongly modulates neural responses in the primary visual cortex, but the mechanism is unclear. I contributed to an eye-tracking algorithm to quantify gaze dynamics during locomotion in head-fixed mice navigating a virtual reality environment, and built convolutional neural network models to explore how locomotion and eye movements jointly shape population-level visual encoding in mouse primary visual cortex.
Causal Interpretation of Neural Network Computations (CODEC)
Standard methods for interpreting neural networks (e.g., activation maximization, saliency maps) describe what a network responds to but not why. I am a co-author on CODEC, a causal framework that decomposes the contribution of individual units to network outputs by intervening on the activation x the gradient, which we coin as contributions. Applied to deep retinal models of the salamander, CODEC reveals interpretable computational structures that cannot be uncovered through correlation-based analyses alone.
Familiarity and the Bandwidth of Perceptual Awareness
For my senior thesis, I led a behavioral study with 50+ participants examining how familiarity with natural scenes affects conscious visual perception. Using continuous flash suppression and recognition paradigms, we found that familiarity expands the bandwidth of perceptual awareness — familiar stimuli are more readily perceived even at reduced contrast. This work was published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2024).
Somatic Mutations in Enhancer Regions in Schizophrenia and Batten Disease
I performed functional validation of gene expression changes resulting from single-nucleotide variants in transcription factor binding sites identified in post-mortem schizophrenia brain samples. In parallel, I designed and executed a genotyping project for post-mortem Batten disease patients using gel electrophoresis and Sanger sequencing to identify pathogenic variants.
Synaptic Plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster
I investigated the role of the exocyst complex in synaptic bouton formation and plasticity at the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila. Methods included immunohistochemical staining, genetic crosses, and confocal microscopy.