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Gil T

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

Expertise

Neuroscience, Vision Science/Vision, Virology, Science Communication, Sculpture/3D Art

Bio

Hi! My name is Gil Torten and I am a 5th year Ph.D. student at UCLA studying Neuroscience, with a focus on vision science and the rod photoreceptor. I am passionate about all things neuroscience, and am interested in the way that neurons interact to create a sensory experience of the world. I am also particularly interested in the intersection of art and science - outside of my lab work, I am an artist (check out my IG: @tortenceramics), and an illustrator for a website called Knowing Neurons where I make vision science infographics and illustrations. Beyond that, I have been working with clay for over 12 years and am passionate about sculpture and resin work. I look forward to meeting you and working on some amazing projects! Best, Gil

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.

Neuroscience of Optical Illusions

Publish a compiled article on the current neuroscience knowledge of optical illusions. This might involve a range of topics from cell biology at the retina level to higher order systems topics aimed at understanding how optical illusions are produced in the brain. The end goal might be a research article compiling different neuroscience concepts associated with optical illusions in the style of a review article.

Neural Circuitry Art Piece

Create a large-scale sculpture or mural aiming to visualize neural circuitry concepts in a visual artistic way. The exact way this might be done could vary, but could include a mural of canonical neural circuits with an 'infographic' style aimed at education. Another alternative might be a children's book to explore these topics with a focus on outreach and education. Yet another possibility could be a large-scale sculpture of a neural circuit (either literal or abstract) aimed at provoking thought in the audience about the way the brain works.

Coding skills

Basic R

Teaching experience

I was a mentor and lab trainer to younger undergraduates as a senior undergraduate within my research lab for 2 years. I also previously mentored a 4th year undergraduate in research techniques and methodology to assist with my own research, and have mentored 3 Polygence students so far, each with their own successful completed projects.

Credentials

Work experience

University of Tokyo (2018 - 2018)
Summer Research Assistant

Education

University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
BA Bachelor of Arts (2019)
Biology (Neuroscience Focus)
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Neuroscience (Retinal Cell Biology Focus)

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