"Hi there, I'm Alex! I'm a newly-minted PhD at UCLA and have extensive experience teaching psychology and neuroscience courses. I enjoy helping students understand difficult topics and concepts, especially in science. In my current research, I draw on literature and methodologies from both biology and psychology to design and conduct rigorous experiments to understand how the brain learns and uses memories to navigate our world.

At UCLA, along with doing research, I have assisted and taught multiple courses in psychology and neuroscience. I have extensive experience creating and presenting teaching materials to undergraduate students in small classes, facilitating individual teaching and group learning. Having many one-on-one interactions with students in class and in office hours, I realized I enjoy helping students find new ways to grasp difficult concepts and am excited by the challenge of helping someone master their course material.

I also have multiple years of experience mentoring undergraduate students interested in biomedical research and medical school. I have mentored multiple undergraduates in conducting their own research projects, presenting at conferences, crafting scholarship applications, and more. These opportunities led to my trainees securing authorships on scientific publications, and their own fellowship funding to enable their continuing education, that both help position them as top candidates for graduate school and medical school. As someone else who has already gone through the process, I want to help people along the way to achieving their ultimate career goals.

Finally, I strive to make the learning process rigorous, but also fun! Being a student is hard, and if I can find a way to make it easier for you, I find that is very rewarding for everyone involved. If you're struggling with a concept or assignment, please don't hesitate to reach out and say hi, and I will do my best to help you achieve your dreams!" less...