Wenshuo Qin, former Lab Manager
website: qinwenshuo.github.io
Wenshuo graduated from Boston College with a BS in Computer Science and a BS in Neuroscience. At BC, he worked with Prof. Joshua Hartshorne studying linguistic transfer using neural networks. He is broadly interested in computational methods for modeling human knowledge and is currently investigating neural networks in social perception.
Wenshuo is currently a PhD student at the University of Washington.
Abdul-Rahim Deeb, former Postdoctoral Fellow
website: ardeeb.com
My research combines vision science with intuitive physics, focusing on how we derive an understanding of physical laws from our sensorimotor experiences.
I completed my PhD at Brown University, where I explored how the brain internalizes concepts like gravity, mass, and momentum through everyday interactions—think of a little leaguer perfecting their pitch or a server skillfully balancing dishes. By employing methods such as computational modeling, motion tracking, psychophysics, and virtual reality, I investigate how our perceptual systems help us navigate complex physical environments and how these insights can inform both cognitive science and artificial intelligence.
Hannah Small, former PhD Student
website: hannah-small.com
Hannah was a PhD student in the Department of Cognitive Science. She is interested in the spatial organization of the brain. Before joining the lab, she worked on how the brain processes language as a research tech in Ev Fedorenko’s lab at MIT. In undergrad, she studied biology and computer science at University of Richmond, where she researched action potential modulation in an ion-channel electrophysiology lab.
Aydan Huang, former Undergraduate Student
Aydan was a senior undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Computer Science and Neuroscience. He is interested in the computational basis of social cognition—specifically, how learned perception (what is seen) integrates with structured inference (what is meant) and actionable world models (what is there). His goal is to understand how these systems can move beyond automating outcomes to instead illuminate minds, interactions, and the shared world between them.
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Manasi Malik, former PhD Student
website: https://manasimalik.com/
Manasi was a PhD student in the Department of Cognitive Science. Prior to joining JHU, she worked at TCS Innovation Labs to develop deep learning models to improve advertising effectiveness. She did her B.Tech from IIIT Delhi and worked on multisensory perception for her bachelors' thesis at National Brain Research Center, India.
Manasi is currently a postdoc at Princeton
Astrid Jiang, former Master student
website: https://www.astridjiang.com/
Astrid graduated from the Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. and M.S. in Neuroscience (and Computer Science as a second major). Prior to joining the Department of Cognitive Science's M.A. program, she worked on cortical visual prosthesis with a focus on cortical mapping and psychophysical response from electrical stimulation in the visual cortex at the Ultra-Low Vision Lab at the Wilmer Eye Institute, JHMI, for her thesis.
Astrid is currently pursuing her PhD at Harvard and MIT
Yuan-fang Zhao, Postdoctoral Fellow
Yuanfang obtained his Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from Beijing Normal University under the supervision of Jia Liu. Prior to joining JHU, Yuanfang worked with Marius Peelen at the Donders Institute as a postdoctoral researcher. His research was primarily centered around utilizing behavioral, EEG, and fMRI techniques to unravel the cognitive and neural foundations of high-level aspect of visual recognition in naturalistic environments.
Yuanfang is currently a lecturer at JHU
Emalie McMahon, PhD Student
website: http://emaliemcmahon.github.io/
Emalie was a PhD student in the Department of Cognitive Science. Prior to joining the lab, she complete a post-baccalaureate research fellowship at the NIH in the lab of Leslie Ungerleider. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee.
Emalie is currently a postdoc at MIT
Paul Soulos, PhD Student
Paul was a PhD student in the Department of Cognitive Science. He is interested in neurosymbolic computation, reasoning as program induction, and bringing together Cognitive Science and Neuroscience through computational tools and imaging techniques. Before grad school, Paul was a software engineer at Fitbit and Google working on applications and wearable devices. He received his BS in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and his MS in Cognitive Science at JHU.
Paul is currently the Technical Advisor to the CEO of Microsoft AI.
Colin Conwell, Postdoctoral Fellow
Colin Conwell was a postdoctoral researcher in cognitive neuroscience and machine learning. He received his PhD in Cognition, Brain, and Behavior from Harvard University’s Vision Sciences Laboratory, in the Department of Psychology, working with George Alvarez and Talia Konkle. As an undergraduate he studied International Relations and Comparative Literature. His current research focuses on the intersection between perception and language in biological and artificial intelligence.
Colin is a founding research scientist for a AI startup
Elizabeth Jiwon Im, Lab Manager
Elizabeth graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Cognitive Science and BA in Medicine, Science and Humanities. While she was an undergrad, she worked with Leyla on an on-going social perception research, and with Dr. Michael McCloskey on developmental dysgraphia and motor plans for handwriting. She is broadly interested in social cognition and is currently investigating social perception and theory of mind neural networks.
Elizabeth is currently a PhD student at Stanford.
Haemy Lee Masson, Postdoc
Haemy obtained a Ph.D. in Brain Imaging Engineering (2016) at Korea University. Before joining JHU, she worked with Hans Op de Beeck at KU Leuven in Belgium. Her research focuses on the neural basis of social (touch) scene processing in healthy adults and how these processes go astray in autism. To address these questions, she employs multimodal neuroimaging techniques and computational modeling. She is also a guest scientist at the Max Planck Institute for intelligent systems in Germany.
Haemy is currently an assistant professor of psychology at Durham University.
Diana Dima, Postdoc
Before joining the lab, Diana worked with Krish Singh at Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre in Wales. She also completed her PhD in Cardiff, where she investigated face and scene perception using MEG.
Diana is currently a postdoc at Western University.
Angira Shirahatti, MA student
Angira completed her MA degree in the Department of Cognitive Science in 2022. Prior to joining JHU, she was a Product Designer at Etsy, working on tools for Etsy sellers. She received her BA in Computer Science at UC Berkeley, where she focused primarily on human-computer interaction. Angira is now a Senior Product Designer at Gusto.
Gemma Nicholson, MA Student
Gemma completed her MA in the Department of Cognitive Science in 2020 (the lab's first graduate!) Before coming to JHU, she completed her undergraduate studies at Quinnipiac University while working as a research assistant in both the Schizophrenia Neuropharmacology Research Group and the Computation and Cognitive Development Lab at Yale University. Gemma is now a Senior Research Analyst at Allegient Defense where she is directly supporting the Office of Naval Research. Gemma is closely supporting Dr. Rebecca Goolsby who heads the Social Networks and Computational Social Science research, and Dr. Ray Perez in Cognitive Science for Naval Adaptive Training.
Alyssandra Valenzuela, Lab Manager
Alyssandra was the Research Coordinator for both the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab as well as the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience & Machine Learning Labs from 2019-2020. Before joining the lab, Alyssandra received her Bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Cognitive Science, with a focus on Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuropsychology.
Lucy Chang, Undergraduate RA
Lucy is from San Jose, California and currently a sophomore undergrad majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in CS. In the lab, she is investigating social cognition through a computational analysis of the neural data. In her free time, she likes playing with her dog, reading, and drawing.
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Cora Roy, Undergraduate RA
Cora is a senior Systems Neuroscience undergrad at JHU. Prior to joining the lab, she worked in Connectome research at the JHU Applied Physics Lab. She is now interested in human social interactions and is working with Diana.
Susan Liu, Undergraduate RA
Susan is a Computer Science and Cognitive Science undergraduate student at JHU. She is interested in visual cognition and computer vision.
Bethany Kemp, Undergraduate RA
Bethany is a sophomore undergraduate majoring in Computer Engineering and Cognitive Science. She is working with Diana and is interested in brain-computer interfaces and the neural computations underlying human vision.
Josh Kim, Undergraduate RA
Josh is a Computational Neuroscience and Computer Science undergraduate student at JHU. Before joining the lab, he worked at the Delineo Disease Modeling to develop a COVID-19 community-level simulator. He is now interested in social cognition and computer vision.
Emmanuel Ochieng, Undergraduate RA
Jiewan Hong, Undergraduate RA
Jiewan is an undergraduate junior majoring in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. He is
currently assisting Emalie with an ongoing research on human perception and response to
external stimuli in the lab. He is interested in learning about the development of AI and the embedded science of human cognition!
Veric Tan, Undergraduate RA
Veric is from Singapore and currently a Junior undergrad majoring in Material Science & Engineering and Cognitive Science with a minor in Applied Math. In the lab, he is computationally investigating fMRI imaging data and social cognition. In his free time, he like learning about exciting new startups and freedives.