Armin Bazarjani
Email: bazarjan@usc.edu
Advisor: Piray
Research Interests: My research focuses on how the brain creates flexible and general representations of the world. Currently, I am investigating the principles behind the brain’s construction of a “cognitive map,” particularly the interplay between various specialized cell types in the hippocampal-entorhinal system. This includes place cells in the hippocampus, as well as grid cells, object-vector cells, and border cells in the entorhinal cortex. I aim to understand how these neural components work together to create—or potentially emerge from—a comprehensive cognitive map that represents not only spatial information but also object relationships and environmental boundaries. I approach this problem by combining ideas from reinforcement learning, control theory, Bayesian probability theory, and theoretical neuroscience.
Olesia Bokhanovich
Email: bokhanov@usc.edu
Advisor: Mintz
Research Interests: Olesia’s research interests are in exploring cognitive abilities across human development. She is specifically interested in language acquisition, comprehension, and production, as well as neighboring topics of language learning and memory. My current research explores how very young children make use of language categories.
Neshat Darvishi
Email: neshatda@usc.edu
Advisors: Toby Mintz
Research Interests:
I study the mechanisms of non-adjacent dependency (NAD) learning in the visual domain, focusing on how adults detect and process patterns when presented with dynamic, non-linguistic stimuli. My work bridges cognitive psychology, visual perception, and learning mechanisms, integrating perspectives from neuroscience and affective psychology to understand the cognitive and emotional processes underlying pattern learning. I am particularly interested in how segmentation cues, stimulus modality, and affective states shape statistical learning, and I aim to incorporate computational modeling to better link behavioral findings with theoretical accounts of learning; bridging the gap between observed performance and underlying mechanisms. My broader research interests include the intersection of moral cognition, collective behavior, and the role of affect in shaping learning and memory.
Nona Ghazizadeh
Email: nghaziza@usc.edu
Advisors: Morteza
Research Interests: My research interests lie in Computational Cognitive Science and Natural Language Processing. I am especially interested in investigating the neural correlates of moral language in prosocial behavior using techniques from Computer Science.
Bram (Yi Sin) Goh
Email: yisingoh@usc.edu
Advisors: Zevin
Research Interests: Application of computational modeling to the learning of statistical regularities in language.
Sarah Hennessy
Email: hennesss@usc.edu
Advisors: A. Damasio/Habibi
Research Interests:The role of music in human development across the lifespan, including the impact of music on emotion, cognition, and physiology.
Ellen Herschel
Email:herschel@usc.edu
Advisors: Damasio/Habibi/Kaplan
Research Interests: Ellen is interested in the intersection of neuroscience and the arts. Areas of interest include embodied cognition, creative improvisation, rhythm, synchrony, and music as they relate to neuroplasticity and cognition in childhood development, older adults, and disease populations. She graduated with a BA in Theatre and an BS in Neuroscience from Muhlenberg College.
Milad Kassaie
Email:kassaie@usc.edu
Advisors: Monterosso/Coricelli
Research Interests: He is interested in the neurocognitive processes involved in human motivation and decision making, and the contextual factors that influence them. He uses neuroimaging, physiological measurements, and computational modeling to tackle issues of interest in the field of Neuroeconomics. Milad is currently working with Dr. John Monterosso, studying the patterns of neural and physiological activity associated with different types of value discounting under varied physical/cognitive loads. He is also collaborating with Dr. Giorgio Coricelli to develop and test biologically plausible models of context-dependent reinforcement learning from reward and punishment, using fMRI and computational modeling.
Xiao Liu
Email: xliu5899@usc.edu
Advisor: Read
Research Interests: Subtyping of reward processes in treatment-resistant depression and substance use disorders.
Roshni Lulla
Email: lulla@usc.edu
Advisors: Antonio Damasio & Jonas Kaplan
Research Interests: The influence of emotions on decision-making, specifically within a moral context.
Chaodan (April) Luo
Email: chaodanl@usc.edu
Advisor: Read
Research Interests: I would like to develop theoretical framework or computational models to analyze and simulate human emotions and social interactions. Then I would extend research to the design of artificial intelligence models, investigating AI-driven emotional responses and social dynamics. I also would like to utilize Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology for the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression.
Colin McDaniel
Email: cbmcdani@usc.edu
Advisors: A. Damasio/Kaplan/Habibi
Research Interests: Colin’s esearch interests include the cognitive and neural mechanisms of problem solving, creativity and music cognition, as well as their overlap with other cognitive processes such as mental imagery, mathematical reasoning and language.
Chelsey Pan
Email: cxpan@usc.edu
Advisor: Kaplan
Research Interests: Neural representations of structure and meaning of stories; how strangers become friends; naturalistic stimuli and machine learning methods
Natalia (Natalie) Peraza
Email: nperaza@usc.edu
Advisor: Monterosso
Ajith Senthil
Email: aksenthi@usc.edu
Advisor: Read
Research Interests: I like studying how humans interact with artificial intelligence, social intelligence for artificial intelligence, and computational neuroscience. I also work with brain computer interfaces (BCI) and using machine learning to build out applications and systems using BCI. I am interested in using technology to improve democratic engagement and policy centered around human needs using artificial intelligence.
Anthony Vaccaro
Email: agvaccar@usc.edu
Advisor: Damasio
Research Interests: Affective Neuroscience, Consciousness, Decision-making.
Jed Villanueva
Email: jedvilla@usc.edu
Advisor: Assal
Research Interests: Jed is interested in rhythmic entrainment, musical groove, and the far-transfer effects of music training.
Shuning Wang
Email: shuningw@usc.edu
Advisor: Monterosso
Research Interests: Self-control, addiction, motivation, decision-making, behavioral economics.
Mengxuan (Helen) Wu
Email: mengxuan@usc.edu
Advisor: Kaplan
Research Interests: Naturalistic fMRI, narrative processing, predictive processing, and affective neuroscience.
Sherry Zhang
Email: sherryzh@usc.edu
Advisor: Green
Research Interests: Sherry’s main research interests are in visual perception, attention, and short-term memory. Her current research focuses on exploring the limits of rapidly shown visual stimuli and how the messages can be encoded and understood by the rest of the brain. Sherry works with Dr. Ernest Greene.
Vani Dewan
Email: vbdewan@usc.edu
Advisor: Habibi
Research Interests: Vani is a doctoral student with the Brain and Creativity Institute studying how music training affects developmental and educational outcomes, including executive functioning and audio-motor integration. She hopes to utilize mobile technologies and naturalistic stimuli to push the boundaries for how these complex cognitive processes are studied, and to prioritize the study of diverse global music traditions and underrepresented communities. These interests are a confluence of prior research experience studying musical improvisation with the UCSF Sound and Music Perception Lab and various topics in educational neuroscience (including auditory attention, narrative speech engagement, visual word form recognition) with the Stanford Educational Neuroscience Initiative. Vani is also a lifelong musician and DJ, stimulating the brain and body and activating audiences worldwide with global music.
Eric Wang
Research Interests: Eric is interested in memory-guided decision-making. His research explores how emotional responses and prediction mechanisms interact with episodic memory systems, and how these memories are subsequently used in social inference and prediction.
Evelene Zhang
Research Interests: Evelene’s research interest lies at the intersection of computational cognitive science and artificial intelligence, focusing on how humans learn, adapt, and make decisions over time in complex, dynamic environments. She investigates key questions such as the impact of environmental noise and uncertainty on individual decision-making strategies and the emergence of collective decision processes in groups. To address these challenges, she utilizes a range of computational tools, including Bayesian inference, reinforcement learning, and differential equations. Her methodology combines these computational approaches with behavioral experiments and, as a future direction, neuroimaging studies.
Armin Taherifard
Research Interests: Armin is deeply curious about how our minds work, especially from a computational perspective. I’m particularly fascinated by how we learn from each other, how observing or interacting with others shapes our own decisions and behaviors. To explore this, he uses computational models, mainly reinforcement learning, to better understand and simulate these social learning processes. His goal is to uncover the mechanisms behind how social experiences influence our everyday choices and actions.
