TEACHING & MENTORSHIP 

FlyWire Academy, 2023-Present

I led effort to develop educational materials and curricula based on our whole-brain fly connectome data for high school and college classrooms. I created videos, worksheets, and exercises for digital dry-lab lessons, and worked with the Princeton Scientific Outreach Office to promote and disseminate these resources to teachers.

Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellows in Neuroscience (SURFiN) Mentor, Simons Foundation, 2023-2024

The SURFiN program is designed to support interest in neuroscience research among undergraduate students from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds. As a mentor for this program, I designed a year-long, wet-lab research project and supervised an undergraduate researcher through to the completion and presentation of this project. During my time as a SURFiN mentor, I also received formal mentorship training based on the Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) curriculum.

CPBF Summer School: The Physics of Life, Princeton University, 2022, 2023
Lecturer

The Physics of Life is an intensive summer biophysics course designed for undergraduates with a background in physics and an interest in biological systems which is run by the Center for the Physics of Biological Systems at Princeton. I worked on developing the neuroscience unit of this school, giving lectures and creating problem sets. We covered the basics of action potentials in neurons, explored neural circuits, and discussed cutting-edge systems neuroscience research. In the problem sessions students were taught to analyze high-dimensional neural activity and behavior data.

Research Mentor, Murthy Lab, Princeton University

As academic scientists, one of our primary duties is to help foster the next generation. As a postdoc in the Murthy Lab, I supervised both undergraduate and graduate students conducting semi-independent research projects.

Physics 141: The Physics of Sensory Systems in Biology, Harvard University, 2016, 2017, 2018
Teaching Fellow

The traditional physics curriculum generally covers little material pertaining to emerging fields such as biophysics. I believe that undergraduate courses which incorporate foundational materials from multiple disciplines are incredibly valuable for future scientists, especially as science becomes ever more interdisciplinary. I myself benefited from such a course when I was an undergraduate, the Integrated Science Curriculum at Princeton.

Together with Professor Aravinthan Samuel, I developed a curriculum for Physics 141, the Physics of Sensory Systems in Biology which integrated elements of physics, biology, neuroscience, statistics, mathematics, and computer science to teach the quantitative basis for vision, hearing, chemosensation, and other senses. We designed the course to be accessible to students from both physics and biology backgrounds, and as part of this effort I designed extra lessons which taught basic physics, biology, and mathematics concepts, as well as practical coding. I taught this course with Professor Samuel for three years, iterating and improving the course content and materials each year. My work as a teaching fellow for Physics 141 earned me the Distinction in Teaching Award from the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.

Undergraduate Research Mentor, Samuel Lab, Harvard University

In my time in graduate school, I have supervised many undergraduate students in summer research projects, and mentored early graduate students doing rotations. I developed semi-independent research projects which allowed each student to experience a cross-section of the scientific process: literature, biology, experiments & imaging, data analysis, and presentations of their work to the rest of the lab. As part of this process, I would teach students a variety of skills, from experimental design to coding.

Integrated Science Curriculum Mentor, Princeton University, 2012-2014

While an undergraduate at Princeton, I mentored underclassmen in the ISC program, providing tutoring support in math, physics, and coding.

OUTREACH

FlyWire Academy, 2023-present

I led effort to develop educational materials and curricula based on our whole-brain fly connectome data, bringing cutting edge neuroscience data into high school and college classrooms. We designed interactive dry-lab lessons to be used by high school and college teachers, instructors, or scientists doing educational outreach, and worked with the Princeton Scientific Outreach Office to promote and disseminate these resources to teachers

Skype a Scientist, 2020-present
Volunteer Speaker

Skype a Scientist is a program which connects volunteer scientists to teachers or parents, giving children the opportunity to virtually speak with scientists, learn about various scientific topics, and get their questions about science and the natural world answered. I have prepared and given interactive virtual lessons to children of various age groups, both on my research specifically and physics or neuroscience more generally. I have taught virtual classes across the country, including schools in Massachusetts, California, New York, Washington DC, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgia.

BioBus, 2018-2019
Volunteer

I have served as a local scientist volunteer during the annual visits of the BioBus mobile lab to the Boston area. BioBus is a NYC-based program designed to give students in underfunded schools access to cutting edge scientific equipment and instruction, and foster stronger relationships between scientists and their local communities. I gave hands-on science and microscopy lessons to elementary and middle school classes at local schools, and developed science lessons based on my research projects, tailored to students of different age groups.