I am a doctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Malenka, supported by fellowships from the National Science Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. My thesis research integrates optogenetics, calcium imaging, viral tracing, and behavior to understand how dopamine and serotonin neurons work together to drive learning. Along the way, I have completed all coursework for certificates in Data Mining and Applications and Fundamentals of Data Science from the Stanford Center for Professional Development and Institute of Computational and Mathematical Engineering, respectively.Skills:- In vivo optogenetics- Fiber photometry- Data science & statistical learning

As an undergraduate in the neurobiology lab of Dr. Stephan Lammel, I led a research project comparing the efficiency and specificity of transgenic mouse lines used to study the brain's major neuromodulatory systems. Then, I applied these tools to map the connectivity of the dorsal raphe nucleus, the only brain region known to contain both dopamine and serotonin neurons. This work earned me three first-author publications - a research article in Nature Communications, a commentary in Nature Neuroscience, and a review in Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior - as well as numerous awards and fellowships listed below.Skills:- Virally-mediated neural circuit tracing- Stereotaxic surgery- Immunohistochemistry- epifluorescence & confocal microscopy