Tara Raam, Ph.D.
Welcome to NEU C61! I'm excited to be teaching this course. I'm a Lecturer and Project Scientist here at UC Berkeley, where I study how the brain coordinates the dynamics of social groups. I use experimental approaches and machine learning to understand how animals sense, respond to, and are shaped by others around them. I also teach multiple courses in the Neuroscience department, including NEU C64: Exploring the Brain, and I'm passionate about developing thoughtful approaches to AI use for teaching and learning science. Outside the lab and classroom, I enjoy hiking, running, finding good coffee, and spending time with my son.
Gretchen Huston
Gretchen is a second-year Master of Public Health (MPH) student in Infectious Diseases & Vaccinology at UC Berkeley. She earned her B.S. in Cell & Developmental Biology from UC Santa Barbara and has taught biology to undergraduate students for several years. She taught this class last semester and is excited to be teaching it again because she thinks it's such a fun course! Before starting her MPH, Gretchen worked at Headspace, a mental health technology company, for three years. Her experience there sparked her interest in neuroscience and the brain. Her current research focuses on improving health systems in rural Madagascar, where she studies how geographic barriers affect access to care for acute and chronic diseases. Outside the classroom, Gretchen loves to backpack and camp, ski, salsa dance, and throw pottery. She's also an avid traveler and has visited 30 countries, always looking for the next adventure.
Lauren Eckhardt
Lauren Eckhardt is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student at UC Berkeley, specializing in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She earned her B.S. in Biopsychology from UC Santa Barbara, where she also completed an honors thesis investigating interception of occluded targets in virtual reality. For the past 3 years, she facilitated behavioral marketing, economics, and psychology research as the lab director for UC San Diego's Atkinson Behavioral Research Lab. She now hopes to pursue research pertaining to her interests in environmental epidemiology and neuroepidemiology, including neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. A native Coloradan, Lauren spends the majority of her free time outside — whether that's hiking, camping, or listening to audiobooks while crocheting in the park.
Yuheng Feng
Yuheng is currently a PhD student in the joint UCB-UCSF Bioengineering program and a member of the Michael Yartsev lab. His research is focused on understanding the neural mechanism underlying the spatial navigation of Egyptian fruit bats, specifically the 3D head direction coding during passive and spontaneous movement from the single-unit and the large ensemble level. He values teaching as an important process to promote understanding and inspire curiosity, while simultaneously consolidating his own knowledge. Outside of teaching and research, Yuheng enjoys running, hiking, reading, writing, and painting.
Joseph Serafino
Joseph Serafino is a first-year MPH student in the department of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology. He is particularly interested in the transmission of diseases from animals and parasites to humans. He graduated with Latin honors from UCLA, where he participated in studies on light pollution, healthcare policy implementation of PrEP, and antibiotic resistance from animal feeding operations. Outside of the classroom, Joseph can be found trying new food all around the East Bay, hiking, and attending all sorts of concerts!
Sam Reifenstein
Sam is a second-year PhD student in the Neuroscience department. He studies language and computational neuroscience with Bruno Olshausen and Alex Huth.