Research

Current Research Projects

Multidimensional Pain Assessment in Marine Mammals

Developing machine learning classifiers to identify and quantify pain through behavioral indicators in seals and sea lions, including validation through structured behavioral scales.

Cortisol/DHEA-S Ratio as a Biomarker for Well-being in California Sea Lions

Evaluating the cortisol and DHEA-S hormonal profiles as biomarkers of animal welfare in California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) to assess their adaptive responses to environmental stressors, especially acoustic stimuli.

Human-IBL Task

Adapting the International Brain Laboratory rodent behavioral task for human participants. This project involves collecting pilot datasets with integrated eye-tracking and EEG recordings to enable direct comparison of neural activity patterns between humans and rodents.

Theories of Human Consciousness (COGITATE Consortium)

Utilizing large-scale MEEG, ECoG, and fMRI datasets to systematically evaluate competing theories of human consciousness and explore cognitive processes using advanced exploratory analysis and modeling techniques.

Behavioral Tasks for Human Decision-Making

Designing and implementing novel decision-making tasks informed by game theory and reinforcement learning, aiming to unravel the cognitive strategies employed by individuals and their corresponding neural correlates.

Facial Analysis Tool Development

Creating accessible, user-friendly software for sentiment and emotion analysis through advanced machine learning pipelines applied to video data, enabling non-technical researchers to leverage sophisticated analytic methods.