John earned his bachelor's degree in physics and math from the
University of Kentucky and his PhD in physics from Princeton. He became a
neuroscientist at Duke, where he did his postdoctoral training with Michael
Platt, working on the neurobiology of reward and decision-making. From 2015 to
2018, he was an Assistant Research Professor in the Duke Institute for Brain
Sciences. In 2018, he moved back to the School of Medicine as an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, with secondary
appointments in the departments of Psychology & Neuroscience and Electrical
and Computer Engineering.
Anne obtained bachelor's degrees in physics and computer
science from NC State University. She completed graduate school at Duke
University with a master's in electrical and computer engineering and a PhD in
physics, focusing on low temperature quantum transport. Currently she studies
machine learning and statistical techniques to facilitate real-time analysis
of neural data, and is interested broadly in the design and construction of
new measurement and analysis methods. For stress relief, she enjoys reading,
MMA, and dancing with her husband.
After earning a BA in
psychology and economics from New York University, Seth completed his PhD in
Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania where he used computational
methods to glean new insights into the social behavior of non-human primates.
His research interests include reproducible research practices and the
application of probabilistic machine learning to understanding complex
behavior, and he currently works on models for evidence integration in
subjective legal judgements. His non-scientific activities include biking,
reading Victorian novels with his wife, and attempting to appreciate jazz.
CNAP Graduate Student
Kelsey is a graduate student in
the CNAP program at Duke University. She received a BA in Psychology from
Princeton University, writing a senior thesis in computational reinforcement
learning under Dr. Yael Niv. Before coming to Duke, she was a research
assistant in Dr. Catherine Hartley's lab at Weill Cornell Medicine, studying
the neurodevelopment of learning and decision making. At Duke, she is focusing
on using computational models to study neuroeconomics, learning, and decision
making. Outside of the lab, she loves to cook, read, and play with her husky
puppy, Khaleesi.
CNAP Graduate Student
Pranjal is a second-year graduate
student in the Cognitive Neuroscience Admitting Program at Duke. He obtained
his bachelor's degree in Computational Biology from the University of
Maryland, College Park, where he worked under Dr. Daniel Butts to use neural
networks to elucidate retinal ganglion cell function. Pranjal's research
interests include studying biological and artificial reinforcement learning as
well as studying the neural basis of perception. Away from a computer, Pranjal
enjoys meditation and playing basketball.
Neurobiology Graduate Student
Na Young is a third-year graduate
student in the Neurobiology program at Duke University. She received her
Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Yale University under Dr. Jessica
Cardin, where she studied distinct patterns of network activity in
Channelrhodopsin variants. After graduation, she worked on retinal circuitry
with Dr. Jonathan Demb at Yale. At Duke, she is focusing on the computational
understanding of retinal information processing. Na Young also loves to
travel, especially when she travels to eat.
CNAP Graduate Student
Kevin is a second-year graduate student in
the CNAP program at Duke. He received a BS in Cognitive Science and Computer
Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he worked with Dr. Selmer
Bringsjord on developing human-like formal reasoning systems. Later, he worked
as a Computer Scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory under Dr. Paul Bello
developing cognitive models to capture mechanisms involved in perception,
memory, attention, and reasoning. At Duke, studying jointly with Felipe De
Brigard, Kevin's research now focuses on the processes underlying causal
reasoning and other forms of inference. Outside the lab, Kevin enjoys playing
the bass, cooking, and biking.
MD-PhD student
Daniela is a
student at Duke's MD-PhD program. She received her B.S. in Neuroscience from
Duke and wrote a senior thesis on the mechanisms of attention and
working memory while working under Dr. Marty Woldorff. Before coming back
to Duke, she was a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the NIMH, where she
worked on developing computational screening methods for genomic and imaging
biomarkers of working memory deficits in schizophrenia. As a first year ECE
graduate student at Duke, she is interested in applying statistical machine-learning
methods to model brain imaging data. When not in front of a computer, she loves to surf,
read and hike.
Trevor is a second year Neurobiology graduate student at Duke University.
He holds two Biomedical Engineering Degrees; he received his BS degree from Rutgers University and his MS degree from Northwestern University.
His research interest is in Neuroengineering and brain-related technologies. Outside of the lab he likes hanging out with friends, playing games, and watching TV.
Raphael is a second-year graduate student in the CNAP program at Duke. He double majored in Neurobiology and Psychology at UC Davis, and was a research assistant in Dr. Steve Luck’s lab exploring the mechanisms of threat attention in anxiety using EEG. Before coming to Duke, he next worked with Dr. Marjorie Solomon at the UC Davis MIND Institute studying cognitive control developed in teens with autism. Raphael’s interests include studying reinforcement and network learning and applying these to understanding cognitive control and behavior. Outside the lab he enjoys reading, piano, and rock climbing.
Miles is a first-year graduate student in the
CNAP program at Duke rotating with John in the Fall. He majored in
Cognitive Neuroscience at Brown, where he worked with Joo-Hyun Song to better
understand how we learn new motor skills and underlying cognitive strategies
for action. Right now, he's interested in applying computational methods to
understand the interactions between perception and action. When not doing
research, he loves getting outside and hiking or rock climbing - unless it's
too cold, in which case you can find him indoors cooking or playing games.
Achint is a fourth-year PhD candidate in Physics department. He received his
undergraduate degree in Physics and Electrical Engineering from BITS Pilani, India in 2017. His ressearch is on
using machine learning techniques to understand ultrasonic vocalizations in mice. In his spare time, Achint likes
to read about the history of science, play tennis, and go hiking.
Richard is a third-year undergraduate majoring in an interdisciplinary program at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University. He is focusing on new, high-performance computational techniques to gain knowledge from massive biological datasets. In addition to research, he maintains a science Facebook page in Thai and is a member of Duke Climate Coalition.
Nicole is a second-year undergraduate completing an
interdepartmental major in Neuroscience and Computer Science at Duke
University. She is working on a platform for real-time processing, analysis,
and visualization of neuronal activity from calcium imaging data. Aside from
research, she is an A.B. Duke Scholar, Design Team co-lead for the HackDuke
planning committee, and a member of the Duke Innovative Design Agency.
Daniel is a Third-year undergraduate student studying Computer Scienece
with a minor in neuroscience and a certificate in Science & Society. His primary
interest is in the use of computational methods to improve the way we research the brain.
Outside of the lab, Daniel is a Duke Huang Fellow, President of his a cappella group,
and a member of Hoof 'n' Horn.
Dominic is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Neuroscience
and Mathematics with a minor in chemistry. His research focuses on developing
online machine learning techniques for real-time spike sorting.
He hopes to graduate with distinction in both majors, using his research in this lab to form his thesis.
Outside of lab, Dominic teaches an undergraduate course in Aerospace Medicine, works as an EMT with
Duke University EMS,
volunteers as a counselor with
Camp Kesem,
and is the founder of Duke SEDS.
He also cooks a fantastic risotto.