hello!

I am currently on a year-long “sabbatical” from formal academic work, where I will be writing, traveling, and tinkering with some creative side projects. If you’re interested, you can follow along my sabbatical journey here!

I am lucky enough to spend my sabbatical as a TSVP Visiting Scholar at the beautiful Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Okinawa, Japan. I recently 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. Before that, I received my B.A. in Cognitive Science from Rice University.

Outside of research, I enjoy teaching, writing poetry, running, hosting dinner parties, and latin dancing. From 2021-2023, I was a Resident Tutor at Quincy House, where I lived with and advised Harvard College students.

My popular guide on applying to grad school: All About PhD Applications (Second Edition, Updated July 2022)

For the 2024-2025 application cycle only, I am available for PhD application coaching and review. I can work with you to develop a strong application strategy and materials (CV, SoP), do mock interviews, and more. ! Please email me at lucylai@g.harvard.edu for more information!

recent happenings

July 2024: Teaching COGS 180: Decision Making in the Brain for UCSD Summer Session / Course syllabus
June 2024: Teaching 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
April 2024: Successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis!
January 2024: Gave a TSVP Talk on my research at OIST