The Numerical Brain Lab

I'm originally from South Africa, but grew up in the UK, where I completed a BSc (Hons) in Psychology at The University of York, and an MSc in Cognitive Neuropsychology at UCL. I then moved to Finland where I completed a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, studying the neural bases of developmental dyscalculia, a specific math learning disability. I then moved to Canada for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario. In my free time I enjoy making pottery, watching football ('soccer'), listening to music, collecting records, and racquet sports. 

I am a first-generation, queer, developmental cognitive neuroscientist. I attended Penn State University where I received my B.S. in Psychology and Neuroscience. After undergrad, I worked at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center with Drs. Bea Luna and Kirsten O’Hearn studying the development of face processing in autism. I recently completed my Ph.D. at Brown University where I worked with Dr. Dima Amso studying the development of visual processing and visual attention across childhood. Aside from research, I’m a dog-lover, foodie, and yogi.

I am a fourth-year student in the Neuroscience PhD program at Vanderbilt and a Nashville native. I received a B.S. in Pre-Graduate Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in 2012, further exploring my passion for understanding the brain through minors in Neuroscience and Philosophy. In 2013, I joined the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science as a research assistant, where I worked on a variety of neuroimaging projects looking at the functional and structural properties of both brain and spinal cord in healthy and diseased populations, including multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. As a member of the Numerical Brain Lab, I will be focusing on the neurobiological underpinnings of number processing as well as how these brain networks and representations mature in early school-age children. I am interested in applying advanced computational and imaging methods to tackle these questions. Outside of research, you may find me golfing, cooking, or most often, doing dad stuff with my daughters, three and ten years old!

After obtaining a B.A. in psychology from the National University of Singapore and a PG.Dip.Ed. in primary education from Nanyang Technological University, I taught mathematics in an elementary school in Singapore for 3 years. I then pursued a M.Ed. in child studies at Vanderbilt with a focus on understanding the development of numerical and mathematical cognition using complementary behavioral and neuroimaging approaches. I am currently pursuing my interest in educational neuroscience within the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.

Since 2013, I have also been contributing to the revision of a major math textbook series used by many elementary schools in Singapore. In 2014, I was also involved in adapting and aligning a highly successful Singapore math series, Primary Mathematics, to the Common Core State Standards for use in schools in the US.

Olive enjoys grass, sticks, and belly rubs. She graces the lab with her presence daily and goes to the bathroom on her own terms.