Natalya S
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of Chicago

Expertise

Neuroscience, Vision, Touch, Motor, Perception

Bio

Hello! My name is Natalya and I am a graduate student at the University of Chicago studying touch perception! My primary research is focused on understanding how tactile signals are filtered and processed by the thalamus, however, my true passion is studying how to restore sensation in individuals with spinal cord injuries. Prior to this, I worked as a vision scientist for 4 years, studying how eye movements and attention modulate visual perception. In my free time, I enjoy baking, rock climbing, and aerials. I also have two cats at home who are happy to accompany me in my day to day activities and are always there to support my research efforts.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

The Science Behind Where's Waldo

There are two main types of attentional mechanisms; endogenous attention where attention is deployed based on task demands and exogenous attention where attention is captured by salient stimuli. Games like Where’s Waldo exploits the former, by surrounding filling the page with characters and objects that have black and white stripes, wear glasses, and have red hats. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying attention can help explain how exogenous/endogenous attention are deployed, while also providing insight into other attentional phenomena such as change blindness and inattentional blindness.

Mechanisms of Touch and Perception

Although touch is one of the 5 basic senses, it is crucial to our ability to explore and navigate the world. It helps convey how much force we need to exert to hold an object without breaking it, whether an object is pleasantly warm or hot enough to burn, or if the clothing you are wearing is soft or itchy. The filtering and separation of tactile signals starts at our fingertips and continues throughout the neuraxis with the filters becoming more complex and specific as we ascend the hierarchy. We can use our understanding of how tactile signals are transformed and represented in the brain to create models that explain tactile perception and can be implemented in prosthetic devices to restore sensation in paralyzed individuals.

Coding skills

MATLAB, Python, Java, R

Languages I know

Russian

Teaching experience

In the past, I have worked as a TA for an undergraduate Neural Control of Movement class at Boston University, and for a graduate level Systems Neuroscience class at the University of Chicago. I have also tutored students of all ages in math and science for over 5 years.