What is it like to be a graduate student in the CNBC?

We asked our graduate students to answer questions about their research, the student experience in the CNBC, and living in Pittsburgh. Their answers, grouped by individual and by question, are below:

audette_nickName: Nick Audette
Year: 5th
Advisor: Dr. Alison Barth (Barth Lab)
University and Department: Carnegie Mellon, Biology
Research Summary: My research uses electrophysiological recordings and genetic tools to study how diverse types of brain cells interact in the mouse somatosensory cortex to enable sensation and sensory learning.

jarbo_kevinName: Kevin Jarbo
Year: 4th
Advisor: Dr. Timothy Verstynen (Cognitive Axon (CoAx) Lab )
University and Department: Carnegie Mellon, Psychology
Research Summary: I study risky spatial decision making using behavioral and computational methods together with fMRI to understand biases in sensorimotor control.

Scott Marek

Name: Scott Marek
Year: 5th
Advisor: Beatriz Luna (LNCD)
University and Department: University of Pittsburgh, Center for Neuorscience
Research Summary: I am interested in brain development from an organization and oscillatory perspective and how changes in brain structure and function contribute to the development of cognitive control.

Casey Roark Name: Casey Roark
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Dr. Lori Holt (Holt Lab )
University and Department: Carnegie Mellon, Psychology
Research Summary: I study auditory perception and category learning. Specifically, I want to understand how attention and reward can improve second language category learning.

Mariya TonevaName: Mariya Toneva
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Dr. Tom Mitchell (Mitchell Lab)
University and Department: Carnegie Mellon, Machine Learning and Program in Neural Computation
Research Summary: I’m most interested in creating statistical models of cognitive processes, such as concept representation and language processing.