#  MBB Postdoctoral Fellows  

 



  
**2026 AWARD RECIPIENTS**  
  
Leo Lee (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
Advisors: Jingyuan Chen (HMS Radiology, MGH) and Christopher Kuzawa (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
*Revisiting Energetic Stability: The Impact of Cognitive Load on Global and Regional Brain Metabolism*  
  
Yu Yang (Bioengineering, FAS SEAS)  
Advisors: Daniel Press (Neurology, HMS BIDMC) and Maurice Smith (Bioengineering, FAS SEAS)  
*Optimization‑based design of ADL scales for identifying mild cognitive impairment and predicting future Alzheimer’s disease onset*  
  
  
**2025 AWARD RECIPIENT**  
  
Jennifer Leestma (Bioengineering, FAS SEAS)  
Advisors: Matthew Carty (Surgery BWH, HMS) and Shriya Srinivasan (Bioengineering, FAS SEAS)  
*Expanding the degrees of freedom of the human nervous system*  
  
  
**2024 AWARD RECIPIENTS**  
  
Chika Ezeugwu (HGSE)  
Advisors: Dana McCoy (HGSE) and Charles Nelson (Children's Hospital Psychology, HMS)  
*Executive functions in low- and middle-income countries: A holistic perspective*  
  
Jing Zhang (Psychiatry, HMS)  
Dara Manoach (Psychiatry MGH, HMS) and Susie Huang (Radiology MGH, HMS)  
*Effects of closed loop auditory stimulation during sleep (CLASS) on offline learning and hippocampal plasticity*  
  
  
**2023 AWARD RECIPIENTS**  
  
Miguel Gareta Garcia (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
Advisors: Martin Surbeck (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS) and Mina Cikara (Psychology, GSAS)  
*Cooperation beyond group boundaries: Studying underlying structural aspects and associated social cognition*  
  
Trey Scott (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
Advisors: Naomi Pierce (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, FAS) and Nicholas Bellono (Molecular and Cellular Biology, FAS)  
*Identifying the drivers of behavioral manipulation*  
  
  
**2022 AWARD RECIPIENT**  
  
Jonnathan Singh Alvarado (Endocrinology, BIDMC)  
Advisors: Mark Andermann (Medicine, BIDMC) and Sam Gershman (Psychology, FAS)  
*Insular Cortex as a Homeostatic Compass*  
  
  
**2021 AWARD RECIPIENTS**  
  
Ilona Bass (Psychology, FAS)  
Advisors: Tomer Ullman (Psychology, FAS) and Elizabeth Bonawitz (Harvard Graduate School of Education)  
*Learning and Inference in Model-Free vs. Model-Based Pedagogy*  
[Video Presentation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=B5UuX9h_wos)  
  
Ivan Kroupin (HEB, FAS)  
Advisors: Joe Henrich (HEB, FAS) and Susan Carey (Psychology, FAS)  
*Exploring the Potential Role of Formal Schooling in Shaping Cognitive Capacities Assumed To Be Universal*  
[Video Presentation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usZcDjv59Tg)  
  
  
**2020 AWARD RECIPIENT**  
  
Rachna Reddy (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
Advisors: Martin Surbeck (Human Evolutionary Biology, FAS) and Katie McLaughlin (Psychology, FAS)  
*Pathways to Emotional Well-Being for Adolescent Ape*  
[Video Presentation](https://youtu.be/Q8sil9QLKWY)  
  
  
**2019 AWARD RECIPIENTS**  
  
Ugne Klibaite (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, FAS)  
Advisors: Bence Olveczky (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, FAS) and Cengiz Pehlevan (Applied Mathematics, SEAS)  
*Deep Unsupervised 3D Phenotyping of Rodent Behavior*  
[Video Presentation](https://vimeo.com/502376621)  
  
Beau Sievers (Psychology, FAS)  
Advisors: Joshua Greene (Psychology, FAS) and Leslie Valiant (Computer Science, SEAS  
*Memory and Compositional Cognition*  
[Video Presentation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upbl_STDB7c)