hello!

I am a final year Ph.D. student at Harvard in the Neuroscience program, supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the Harvey Fellowship. I am advised by Sam Gershman. I am also currently a TSVP Visiting Scholar with Gail Tripp and Kenji Doya at the beautiful Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Previously, I studied Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Applied Math at Rice University.

I’m broadly interested in theories of learning: how do our intricately-designed brains enable us to interact with and learn from the world? What makes our learning capabilities different than the best artificial intelligence systems? How do these learning mechanisms break down in neurological and psychiatric disease? I attempt to answer these questions using tools from computational, cognitive, and systems neuroscience.

Outside the lab, I enjoy teaching, running along the Charles, hosting dinner parties, writing stuff, and dancing bachata. From 2021-2023, I was a Resident Tutor at Quincy House, where I lived with and advised Harvard College students.

All About PhD Applications Blog Post (Second Edition, Updated July 2022)

Email me at lucylai (at) g (dot) harvard (dot) edu.