Welcome!

About me

I’m a PhD student working with Payam Piray at the University of Southern California. My research focuses on how the brain constructs 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 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.

At some point, I’m hoping to be able to apply this work back to the fields of artificial intelligence and deep learning, hopefully developing models that are able to learn more useful and general representations of the world.

My other interests

On a more personal side, my interests include various outdoor activities like hiking, running, skateboarding, and backpacking. I also enjoy coffee (typical LA coffee snob) and reading. Basically, when I’m not doing research, spending time with my dog, or getting caffeinated, I try to be outdoors.