Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person? ~Francois de La Rochefoucauld

My research focuses on understanding how the brain supports human memory. One overarching question that drives my research is why some experiences are fated to be remembered while other experiences are fated to be forgotten. My goals are to investigate in the brain how new memories are formed, how past memories are retrieved, and how we judge our own learning. In addition, I am interested in understanding why some individuals learn better than others. With neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it is possible to measure brain functions in healthy individuals to understand how these memory processes are supported by the brain.

I received my undergraduate degree in Psychology from UC San Diego where I worked with Dr. John Polich in his Cognitive Electrophysiology Laboratory. I then went on to complete the doctoral program at Stanford University in the Psychology department where I worked with Dr. John D.E. Gabrieli (now at MIT).    Currently, I am a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Randy L. Buckner at Harvard University.