people
members | alumni | collaborators
lab members
Abhilasha Kumar, Ph.D. (she/her)
Principal Investigator | website | CV
Abhilasha is a computational cognitive scientist who is fascinated by how humans learn the meaning of words and communicate with each other. She enjoys teaching statistics, coding, and interdisciplinary classes on AI & cognition. Outside of work, Abhilasha likes to play board games and tennis, and try new recipes and restaurants in Portland!
Sofia Bacolas (she/her)
NSF Research Fellow | Neuroscience major
Sofia is interested in exploring how communication in different languages affects the process of memory search. She is currently working on a project that investigates how patterns of verbal fluency in different languages influence lexical cue use in semantic memory retrieval. Outside of the lab, she loves playing piano, drawing, and writing.
Kyra Brown (she/her)
NSF Research Fellow | Psychology & Education major
Kyra is interested in discovering how an individual’s semantic network impacts their perception of their environment. She is currently working on the NSF project “Modeling Search within the Mental Lexicon,” which examines how mental search is influenced by idiosyncrasies in the lexicon through the development of individual level semantic representations. Outside of the lab she enjoys crafting, writing, and learning languages.
Sage Tonomura-MacDonald (she/her)
NSF Research Fellow | Neuroscience & Economics major
Sage is interested in understanding the neurological and cognitive processes involved in memory search and has developed a new interest in computational methods for understanding semantic memory. She is currently working on improving our computational methods of identifying explore-exploit tradeoffs in semantic memory search. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, rugby, and exploring Maine!
Anna Sullivan (she/her)
NSF Research Fellow | Psychology & Economics major
Anna is interested in how subtle cues, like semantic or phonological primes, can shape the way people navigate their own memory during retrieval. She is currently working on a project that involves probing memory processes using subliminal priming. Outside of the lab, she enjoys puzzling, going on walks, and baking.
Lillian Regal (any pronouns)
NSF Research Fellow | Math & Sociology major
Lillian is an aspiring biostatistician passionate about applying statistical data analysis to interdisciplinary research. They are currently contributing to the Modeling Search within the Mental Lexicon project, which aims to investigate the link between memory search and creativity. Outside of the lab, Lillian enjoys crossword puzzles, ultimate frisbee, and folk music.
student alumni
- Nate Branda – ’27 computer science major (NSF Research Fellow)
- Ethan Lam – ’26 psychology and mathematics major (Lifson Family Summer Research Fellow)
- Anushka Elavia – ’27 biochemistry and sociology major (Maine INBRE Research Fellow)
- Amanda Cooney – ’26 psychology major and computer science minor (NSF Research Fellow)
- Richard Lim – ’27 computer science and mathematics major (Gibbons Summer Research Fellow)
- William Warlick – ’24 computer science and philosophy major (Research Assistant)
- Mingi Kang – ’26 computer science and mathematics major (NSF Research Fellow)
- Stephanie Chun – ’24 neuroscience major and asian studies minor (Independent Study)
- Ulemj Munkhtur – ’26 computer science and economics major (Independent Study)
- Carrie Zou – ’24 psychology and economics major (Independent Study)
- Simon Thomas – ’25 physics and hispanic studies major (Research Assistant)
- Thomas Mazzuchi – ’23 psychology and mathematics major (Honors)
- Kavya Doraswamy – ’24 psychology and computer science major (Independent Study)
- Jon Sides – ’25 psychology and mathematics major (Independent Study)
- Nancy Xing – ’24 computer science major and psychology minor (Research Assistant)
- Reed Warburton – ’23 psychology and biology major (Independent Study)
collaborators and mentors(*)
- *David Balota, Washington University in St. Louis
- Simon De Deyne, University of Melbourne
- Ketika Garg, California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
- *Sudheendra Hangal, Stanford & Ashoka University
- [postdoc] Channing Hambric, Lehigh University
- Robert Hawkins, Stanford University
- Kevin Holmes, Reed College
- *Michael Jones, Indiana University
- Geoff Maddox, Rhodes College
- Erica Middleton, Thomas Jefferson University
- Peter Millar, WashU
- Nancy B Lundin, The Ohio State University
- David Pisoni, Indiana University
- Michele Scaltritti, University of Padova
- *Mark Steyvers, UC Irvine
- *Allyson Rosen, Stanford University