hello!

I am an Assistant Teaching Professor 👩🏻‍🏫 in the Department of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego ☀️. I wrote this short reflection about my personal journey towards a teaching-focused academic career.

Previously, I was a TSVP Visiting Scholar at the beautiful Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. Before that, I recieved my Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard, where I was advised by Sam Gershman and supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Harvey Fellowship. I received my B.A. in Cognitive Science from Rice University.

In my free time, I enjoy writing poetry, classical music, good coffee, and latin dancing. From 2021-2023, I was a Resident Tutor at Quincy House, where I lived with and advised Harvard College students.

quick links

My popular guide on applying to grad school: All About PhD Applications
Do oysters have thoughts?, to appear in Meter, Scientific American
Here are some fun interviews I have done:

recent and upcoming

Jul 2026: Presented a poster at the Computational Psychiatry Conference at Yale University in New Haven, CT
Jun 2026: Attended the Veritas Scholars Summit in Park City, Utah
Jun 2026: Organized and chaired the Cognitive Science session of the Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI Conference in Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
Jul 2025: Attended CogSci 2025 in San Francisco, CA
Jul 2025: I joined the Department of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego as an Assistant Teaching Professor 👩🏻‍🏫☀️
Jun 2025: Gave talks at Araya Research, RIKEN Advanced Intelligence Project, and RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵
Apr 2025: Organized the Global Summit on Open Problems for AI in Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵
Feb 2025: Gave a talk at the National University of Singapore / SfN Singapore Cognitive Science, Psychology & AI Seminar Series 🇸🇬
Oct 2024: Visited Rice University (my alma mater!) to give a lecture and alumni panel Q&A for Rice Omega Psi 🇺🇸
Jul 2024: Taught COGS 180: Decision Making in the Brain for UCSD Summer Session 🇺🇸
Jun 2024: Taught at the OIST Computational Neuroscience Course (OCNC) in Okinawa, Japan 🇯🇵
May 2024: Gave a spotlight talk at the Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI Conference in Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
Apr 2024: Successfully defended my Ph.D.! 🎓
Jan 2024: Gave a Theoretical Sciences Visiting Program Talk at OIST in Okinawa, Japan 🇯🇵