Lab members
Robb rutledge
principal investigator
Robb is an assistant professor of psychology and psychiatry at Yale University. He is also a member of the Wu Tsai Institute at Yale. Robb completed a BSc in Biology at Caltech and a PhD in Neural Science at New York University supervised by Paul Glimcher. He was a postdoc at University College London at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging working with Ray Dolan and Peter Dayan. Prior to moving to Yale, Robb was a Group Leader at the Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research at University College London. He has won early career awards including the MRC Career Development Award, the Society for Neuroeconomics Early Career Award, and the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. Robb is interested in subjective feelings like happiness and sadness, and how feelings relate to events in our lives and to the decisions we make.
CV | scholar | bluesky | Email: robb.rutledge (all email addresses have the domain yale.edu unless otherwise noted)
AKSHAY nAIr
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Akshay is a consultant neuropsychiatrist at Atkinson Morley Regional Neurosciences Centre at St George’s Hospital. He was a Leonard Wolfson Clinical Training Fellow for his PhD research at UCL supervised by Robb, Sarah Tabrizi, and Geraint Rees. He uses behavioural paradigms, computational modelling and neuroimaging to better understand the mechanisms driving loss of motivation in the general population and patients with Huntington’s disease, a familial neurodegenerative condition. Before moving to UCL, Akshay was a NIHR-funded Academic Clinical Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry (KCL) where he did research in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. He completed his medical degree, and an intercalated degree in neuroscience, at Oxford University.
scholar | Email: akshay.nair (ucl.ac.uk)
Joey Heffner
Postdoctoral researcher
Joey is a postdoctoral associate at Yale in the Rutledge Lab. He received his PhD from Brown University under the mentorship of Oriel FeldmanHall, where he studied how violations of emotion expectations predict social decisions such as punishing norm transgressors. His current research combines computational modelling, longitudinal experience sampling, and neuroimaging to explore questions like: What is the functional role of emotions in learning and choice? How are emotions organized and related to low-level constructs like mood and core affect? How do different symptoms of depression including apathy, avolition, and low mood relate to everyday decisions? Joey is interested in identifying computational assays and brain networks that map onto different depression dimensions.
FREDERICK d’OLEIRE UQILLAS
Postdoctoral researcher
Frederick d’Oleire Uquillas is a postdoctoral associate at Yale Psychology and Yale School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Princeton University, where he focused on characterizing how the cerebellum contributes to brain development, aging, and neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Using large-scale neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, and machine learning approaches, his work investigates the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive resilience and individual differences in brain health across the lifespan. His research has been supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the National Academies of Science, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and has been featured in CNN, The L.A. Times, Forbes, and The Discovery Channel, among other media outlets. Building on his previous work investigating the cerebellum, his current research aims to better understand how cerebellar computations shape adaptive responses to environmental uncertainty and influence vulnerability or resilience to mood disorders.
Kaustubh Kulkarni
Postdoctoral researcher
KK is a psychiatry resident in the Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP) at Yale University. He completed his MD and PhD in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and conducted research at the Center for Computational Psychiatry under the co-mentorship of Xiaosi Gu and Daniela Schiller, centered on understanding computational mechanisms linking craving and decision-making in addictive disorders. Broadly, KK is interested in how attention, salience, structure learning, and affect can interact maladaptively in psychiatric disorders. His research aims to utilize computational and statistical modeling, in combination with brain imaging, to infer the aberrant cognitive and affective processing underlying psychiatric dysfunction, with a focus on identifying diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for addictive disorders.
XIHAN ZHANG
PHD STUDENT
Xihan is a Psychology PhD student at Yale in the Rutledge Lab. Xihan’s current interest focuses on the naturalistic affective dynamics and their relationship with depressive symptoms. Xihan completed a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at the Ocean University of China. She additionally received an MS in Computational Biology at Harvard and worked as a lab manager at the University of Chicago.
Email: xihan.zhang
Kathy SHi
pHD STUDENT
Kathy is a Psychology PhD student at Yale in the Rutledge Lab. She is interested in how current and past decisions affect mood in people with and without mood disorders, and how this might appear in neural signals during neuroimaging. Kathy received her BS in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins University. During her time there, she investigated the neural correlates of emotional memory.
Email: kathy.shi
GLORIA FENG
PhD student
Gloria is a Psychology PhD student at Yale in the Rutledge Lab. Her research examines decision-making under uncertainty, with a particular focus on how surprising events introduce habit-like biases to human behavior. She combines behavioral experiments with computational modeling, and examine data from pharmacology (L-DOPA) and deep brain stimulation experiments in Parkinson’s disease patients to link decision-making patterns and perturbations to their underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Gloria received her AB in Behavioral Decision Science from Brown University. As an undergraduate, she did research on value-based decision making and information seeking, and also worked as a UI/UX Designer for technology startups.
CLARA HAEFFNER
phd STUDENT
Clara is a Psychology PhD student in the Rutledge lab, excited by interactions between affective states (e.g., stress, happiness) and decision-making. By considering various timescales and individual differences, she hopes to better understand how we make choices and how this may be impacted in mental health conditions. Before coming to Yale, she completed a BS in Neurobiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a postbac fellowship at NIMH.
website | Email: clara.haeffner
NUNO BUSCH
VISITING phd CANDIDATE
Nuno is a visiting doctoral researcher from the Pachur Lab at the Technical University of Munich. Previously, he studied psychology and cognitive neuroscience, earning a B.Sc. from the University of Heidelberg and an M.Sc. from LMU Munich. Throughout his studies, including his time at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the University of Lausanne, he investigated neurocognitive mechanisms underlying memory, attention, and cognitive control. In his doctoral research and in the Rutledge Lab, he applies computational models to understand how contextual uncertainty (such as the type of information available about our options) drives biases like loss aversion in risky decisions.
scholar | bluesky | linkedin | email: nuno.busch
hUW JARVIS
VISITING phd CANDIDATE
Huw is a Fulbright Future Scholar visiting the Rutledge Lab from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University, Australia. His PhD research is supervised by Trevor Chong and utilises novel behavioural paradigms combined with computational modelling to understand interactions between motivation and reward-based learning. Prior to his PhD, he completed studies in medical science (University of Tasmania) and public health (University of Melbourne), and worked in research translation at the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia’s leading expert body in health and medical research. Huw is interested in bringing computational psychiatry out of the lab and into the clinic with the aim of improving outcomes for people with psychiatric and neurological disease.
jihyun hur
affiliate phd sTUDENT
Jihyun is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at Yale supervised by Jutta Joormann. She uses computational modeling and neuroimaging to reveal the latent decision-making processes in patients with mood disorders and to understand how momentary changes in individual mood states impact learning and decision making. After graduating with a BSBA in Accounting from Washington University in St. Louis with Honors in Management, she completed her MA in Clinical Psychology at Seoul National University supervised by Woo-Young Ahn. In her MA research, she investigated the association between worry and model-based reinforcement learning. She also served as a practice clinician at the university counseling center. Jihyun hopes to utilize computational models to help patients with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders restore happiness in their lives.
katie Myerscough
postgraduate research associate
Katie is a postgraduate research associate in the Rutledge Lab. She is interested in understanding how affective mechanisms such as emotion dysregulation can confer risk for mood disorders such as depression and how they can impact cognitive processes such as decision making. Previously, Katie studied how Parkinson’s disease can affect the relationship between mood and decision making and investigated the influence of psychosis on learning and memory. She received her BSc in Psychology from Cardiff University.
Email: katie.myerscough
Junxi Chen
postgraduate research associate
Junxi is a postgraduate research associate in the Rutledge Lab. He is interested in understanding the computational mechanisms of learning and decision-making and how they are impacted by psychiatric disorders. He received his BS in Computational Neuroscience and Mathematics from the University of Southern California. At USC, he investigated reinforcement learning and Bayesian models of learning under uncertainty.
Email: junxi.chen
RAPHAEL YAMAMOTO
postgraduate research associate
Raphael Yamamoto is a postgraduate research associate in the Rutledge Lab. He is interested in the computational mechanisms underlying learning and generalization and how they interact with mood and disorders such as anxiety/depression. He received a BS in Computer Science with Neuroscience and Statistics minors from Haverford College.
Email: r.takakiyama@gmail.com
ANGELA ZHONG
POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Angela is a postgraduate research associate in the Rutledge Lab. She is interested in integrating multi-level approaches and computational modeling to investigate how latent affective and cognitive processes interact to shape human behavior in both normative and clinical contexts. Before joining Yale, Angela received her BA in Psychology (Honors) and Neuroscience from Northwestern University.
Linkedin | Email: angela.zhong
KATHERINE TRIMMER
LAB MANAGER
Katherine is the Lab Manager for the Rutledge Lab. She is on her year abroad placement, and is a Bsc psychology undergraduate from the University of Bath. She runs the day-to-day operations for the lab and assists with data collection. Katherine is interested in how emotional regulation affects decision-making, behaviour and communication in relationships.
Linkedin | Email: katherine.trimmer
MANALI KOTECHA
RESEARCH INTERN
Manali is a research intern in the Rutledge Lab. She is on her year abroad placement and a BSc Psychology undergraduate at the University of Bath in the UK. Prior to joining the lab, she worked as a research intern at Bath's Institute for Sustainability and Climate Change, where she explored public engagement with climate change and the role of behavioural science in encouraging sustainable action.
Her research interests centre on human decision-making, particularly how mood, emotions, and socioeconomic circumstances influence consumer behaviour and everyday choices. She is also interested in applying insights from behavioural science to promote healthier and more sustainable choices, understand addictive behaviours and social media use, and inform social policies that improve wellbeing and reduce socioeconomic inequalities. Outside of the lab, she enjoys engaging musically and a good nature-esque hike!
Email: manali.kotecha
NOOR VERDDING
RESEARCH INTERN
Noor is a research intern for the Rutledge Lab. She was a BSc psychology undergraduate at the University of Bath. She runs day-to-day operations for the lab and assists data collection. Noor is interested in the processes underlying emotional dysregulation in clinical populations.
Email: noor.verdding
Sonam Wangchuk
UNDERGRADUATE Research ASSISTANT
Sonam is a senior undergraduate at Yale in the Rutledge Lab, currently pursuing a double major in Computer Science & Psychology and Statistics & Data Science. He is interested in studying neurodegenerative diseases, gambling behavior, and their intersection. Outside of the lab, he is interested in studying social implications of income inequality and medical uses of video games.
Email: sonam.wangchuk
YUKI Sugita
UNDERGRADUATE Research ASSISTANT
Yuki is a sophomore undergraduate at Yale University in the Rutledge Lab, pursuing a double major in Psychology (neuroscience track) and Statistics & Data Science. He is interested in understanding the mechanisms underlying intrinsic reward and developing computational models of motivation, particularly in educational contexts. He also studies how decision-making processes relate to depression.
Email: yuki.sugita
Wyatt Fishman
UNDERGRADUATE Research ASSISTANT
Wyatt is a junior at Yale from Los Angeles in the Rutledge Lab double majoring in Cognitive Science and Architecture. He is interested in studying visual perception and decision-making from both a subconscious and practical design perspective. Additionally, he is interested in how his research can help individuals with mental health conditions regulate their emotions. Outside of the lab, he is a member of the musical improv group Just Add Water, a member of the cooking group Yale Pop-Up, a FOOT leader, and a shift leader for the Yale Community Kitchen.
Email: wyatt.fishman
Alumni
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BASTIEN BLAIN was a postdoc working with Robb. Bastien is now an Assistant Professor at the Sorbonne Economics Centre at University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
CHANG-HAO KAO was a postdoc working with Robb. Chang-Hao is now a data scientist at NIMH.
LIAM MASON was a postdoc working with Robb and Ray Dolan. Liam is now an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at University College London.
RITWIK NIYOGI was a postdoc working with Robb. Ritwik is now a Senior Researcher at the AWS Generative AI Innovation Centre.
PAUL SHARP was a postdoc working with Robb. Paul is now an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bar-Ilan University.
MATILDE VAGHI was a postdoc working with Robb and Ray Dolan. Matilde is now an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London.
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RACHEL BEDDER was a PhD student working with Robb. Rachel is now a postdoc with Yael Niv at Princeton.
ARCHY DE BERKER was a PhD student working with Robb, Ray Dolan, and Sven Bestmann. Archy is now Head of Data and Machine Learning at CarbonChain.
BENJAMIN CHEW was a PhD student working with Robb and Ray Dolan. Benjamin is now a co-founder of artificial intelligence startup Whimseo.
AKSHAY NAIR was a PhD student working with Robb, Geraint Rees, and Sarah Tabrizi. Akshay is now a consultant neuropsychiatrist at Atkinson Morley Regional Neurosciences Centre at St George’s Hospital.
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MILLIE LAWRENCE was a postgraduate research associate working with Robb. Millie is now a Cognitive Neuroscience PhD student working with Morgan Barense at the University of Toronto.
ELLEN MARTIN was a postgraduate research associate working with Robb. Ellen is now pursuing a Masters in Data Science at the University of New Haven.
CHELSEA UDDENBERG was a postgraduate research associate working with Robb. Chelsea is now a Clinical Psychology PhD student working with Angela Fang at the University of Washington.
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CHRISTINA ADCOCK was a BSc student in Psychology at Cardiff University who worked as the Rutledge lab manager and research assistant during her placement year.
SUZANNE BUSS was a BSc student studying Biochemistry at the University of Surrey who worked as the Rutledge lab manager and research assistant on her placement year. Suzanne is now a MSc student in Neuroscience at University of Southampton.
KAREN CHEN was a MRes student in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology working with Joseph Heffner and Robb. Karen is now a PhD student at Boston University.
SANKALP GARUD was an MRes student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Bastien Blain. Sankalp is now a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford.
GIACOMO GLOTZER was a BSc student working with Robb. Giacomo is now a Neuroscience PhD student at Rockefeller University.
CALUM GUINEA was an MRes student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Rachel Bedder. Calum is now a PhD student in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge working with Becky Lawson.
LOUISE HRYNKIEWICZ was a iBSc Medical student working with Robb. Louise is now an Assistant Psychologist at the NHS.
OLIVIA JORASCH was a BSc student working with Robb. Olivia is now a Quantitative Trader at Jane Street.
JORDAN LAM was a iBSc Medical student working with Robb. Jordan is now a Neurosurgery Resident at University of Michigan.
MILLIE LOWTHER was an MSc student in Natural Sciences working with Rachel Bedder. Millie is now a PhD student at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, working with Oliver Robinson.
ELLIE LUGT was an MSc student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Bastien Blain. Ellie is now a Senior Advisor at The Behavioral Insights Team.
JAK MALORET was an MRes student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Liam Mason.
AMIE OKUMA was a BSc student in Psychology at Cardiff University who worked as the Rutledge lab manager and research assistant on her placement year. Amie is now a MSc student in Marketing at Cardiff University.
LARA PUHLMANN was an MSc student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Robb. Lara is now a PhD student at Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig with Pascal Vrticka.
IOANNIS SARIGIANNIDIS was an MSc student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Robb. Ioannis is now a Wellcome Trust-NIH PhD student with Oli Robinson and Jon Roiser at UCL.
SOPHIE SHANG was an MSc student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Akshay Nair. Sophie is now a PhD student in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford working with Mike Browning.
NIKOLINA SKANDALI was an MSc student in Clinical Neuroscience working with Robb. Nikolina was a PhD student with Barbara Sahakian and Trevor Robbins and is now a trainee psychiatrist and academic clinical fellow at University of Cambridge.
JULIANA SPORRER was an MSc student in Brain and Mind Sciences working with Matilde Vaghi, Marion Rouault, and Steve Fleming. Juliana is now a PhD student with Dominik Bach at UCL.
CASEY SWERNER was an MRes student in Cognitive Neuroscience working with Robb. Casey is now an Analyst at DN Capital.
RACHEL THOMAS was a BSc student in Psychology at Cardiff University who worked as the Rutledge lab manager and research assistant on her placement year.
MADELEINE WALLIS was a BSc student in Psychology at Cardiff University who worked as the Rutledge lab manager and research assistant during her placement year.