Chelsea X
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Yale University

Expertise

biology, neuroscience, learning and decision-making, mood disorders, psychology

Bio

I'm a graduate student at Yale University, where I study learning and decision-making! For example, are these processes different for rewards and punishments? My cat is able to learn that whenever I go into the kitchen in the morning, he's very likely to get a treat. He likes this a lot! My cat is also able to learn that when I'm filling the bathtub with his shampoo, he's going to to get a bath. He hates this. Does he learn one faster than the other? Is he more likely to value one more than the other? Would this be different for my friend's cat, who is more anxious? How does uncertainty (risk or ambiguity) around choice outcomes play into this? These are the types of questions I ask in my research. Before Yale, I lived in NYC for 10 years; before that, in Montana for many years; before that, Boston for a few years; and before that, Japan for 1 year. I've been all over and I love to travel! I love exploring cities, hiking, live music, and eating all sorts of food. My next trip is Seattle!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Podcast on rare diseases

It's estimated there are 7,000 different rare diseases that people in the world experience. Hence, there is a critical need for funding on rare disease research in the United States. A mini-series with a focus on rare disease may help to highlight this need. Episode topics could include: testing for rare diseases, outcomes for rare diseases, the structure of funding for rare disease research, ethics of family-funded research, and personal stories.

Coding skills

Matlab, R, Python

Teaching experience

I have experience working with a wide range of students. I teach middle and high school students annually during Brain Education Week, where local students visit my university and we give talks and demos on different topics. These included human brain anatomy and imaging and brain disorders. I've also taught neuroanatomy to medical students, as teaching fellow for a lab course. Outside of science, I previously mentored undergraduates through an 8-week long op-ed writing workshop, where we helped them think of ideas for and craft an op-ed piece that was eventually published in an undergraduate publication. Lastly, I served as a mentor for my graduate program as I met 1-on-1 with first-years to discuss how to navigate graduate school, choosing a thesis lab, work-life balance, and professional development.