Hi there, I’m Ben.

I am currently a sixth year PhD student in Psychology at Columbia University. My primary advisor is Dr. Kevin Ochsner and my secondary advisor is Dr. Chris Baldassano.

My research sits at the intersection of social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and information science: I’m interested in how our motivations impact how we learn about the world, both in our social environments and in digital spaces, as well as how we build and update representations of other people in the brain. See my Research page for more about my research interests and a list of my projects.

---

I grew up in Rockland County, about an hour north of New York City. I did my undergrad at Brown University, where I majored in Cognitive Neuroscience and worked on a senior honors thesis with Dr. Dima Amso. My research focused on the relationship between pretend play and executive functioning in 3-7 year olds. Outside of research, I did a lot of theater and some film. I was also the coordinator of Brown’s tour guide program - very good at walking backwards, etc etc.

After undergrad, I worked as a lab manager at Weill Cornell Medicine with Dr. Rebecca Jones and Dr. Jonathan Power. I worked on projects related to restricted interests in Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as improving fMRI methods for reducing motion and the effects of physiological noise.

I care deeply about science communication and education. I’ve taught students of all ages, with a particular emphasis on high school students through the Zuckerman Institute’s BRAINYAC program. I’ve also written for Muse, a children’s science magazine. I’m into theater and film, although at this point, it’s mostly watching, not so much performing. On occasion, I’ve helped with data science for political campaigns. I love Duolingo. I’m trying to get into painting - any advice?

Enjoy poking around my website. I hope you’re able to get whatever it is you came here for. If you’re not, just email me and I’ll do my best.

Me about to experience the curse of knowledge.