Six years ago, during my master’s degree, I started learning more about artificial intelligence (AI) at a time when the field was evolving quickly. While I found AI fascinating, I kept wondering, ‘What — if anything — do artificial neural networks reveal about real brains? Can we use models to reverse-engineer cognitive processes?’
Those questions pulled me toward theoretical neuroscience, where my PhD research, under the supervision of Drs. Chris Eliasmith and Jeff Orchard, focused on building biologically plausible neural network models of spatial cognition. I was interested in how the brain represents space and the neural mechanisms behind navigation — and what those mechanisms can tell us about cognition more generally.
I hope the findings of my research will not only advance our understanding of navigation in the brain but also push the field to rethink how we model cognition more broadly — from memory and planning to social behaviour.
Looking ahead, I’ll be pursuing postdoctoral research since I would like to extend my expertise to understand how computations underlying spatial navigation may apply to other domains like navigating a social landscape.
Read the full story from Waterloo News to learn about five other featured graduating PhDs.