Lab News

When making decisions, we rely on different kinds of memory. How does the brain decide which to use? New research suggests it depends on uncertainty. Read more about the research here

To celebrate the essential work postdocs do to move science forward, the Zuckerman Institute asked several post-docs to sit down with them and share the big questions they think about. In this video, meet Katie Insel, PhD, discusses her work investigating what makes the brains of adolescents different from those of adults. Check it out here

What is a neuroscientist who studies adolescents teaching the legal system? Meet Katie Insel, PhD, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Shohamy Lab.

Advancing science takes all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds. Join us for The Science Life, an illustrated series that explores the lived experiences of people working in brain research: the human moments of tragedy and triumph that define what it means to be a scientist and how science is done.

You can read Natalie's paper here... Also check out this great blog post she wrote here...And a great summary of her paper by the Zuckerman Institute.

Columbia University has named Daphna Shohamy and Larry Abbott to lead its Kavli Institute for Brain Science. Daphna has also been appointed to the Kavli Professorship of Brain Science, an endowed professorship reserved especially for a director of Columbia’s Kavli Institute. Read more about the news from the Kavli Institute's announcement here.

Lentils or pasta? Why small decisions feel as tough as big ones in this time of crisis. Check out the article here

Congratulations to Ellen Tedeschi who successfully defended her dissertation on Friday titled: "Knowledge for the Sake of Knowledge: Understanding the Relationship Between Curiosity, Exploration, and Reward." 

You can read the paper here

As millions of teens head back to the classroom, discover what the latest research into the adolescent brain reveals about how teens learn and interact with their environment.

Watch the video here

Congratulations to Dr. Erin Kendall Braun and Dr. Raphael Gerraty for successfully defending your dissertations! 

We received the Templeton Foundation's: Templeton Science of Virtue Award as part of of multi-site center project to study "Understanding How Curiosity Drives Learning."
 

The lab received a grant from the Klarman Foundation to study "Mechanisms of Decision-making in Anorexia Nervosa: A Computational Psychiatry Approach"

WNET’s "Treasures of New York" aired on Sunday, June 15, an episode that explores the first building to open on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus, the Jerome L. Greene Science Center.

Our lab is now located at Columbia’s 450,000-square-foot Jerome L. Greene Science Center, home to the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, located on Broadway between 129th and 130th street. 

Read more about our new location at https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu

Congratulations to Akram Bakkour for being awarded the NSF SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (SPRF)! 

Congratulations to Raphael Gerraty for being awarded the National Research Service Award (NRSA) Predoctoral Training Fellowship (F31)!