Hi, I'm Laura. I'm a systems neuroscientist who uses a behaviour-first approach to understand how the brain can learn from and exploit complex, changing environments. I believe that the study of naturalistic behaviours such as foraging can allow greater insight into the neural mechanisms that have evolved to support flexible higher order cognitive processes such as decision-making, planning, and memory. As part of this interest I co-organise an online seminar series, the Future of Foraging. You can find my CV here:
I'm currently a postdoc in the Dudman lab at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus in Virginia. In my current research I'm using fibre photometry to record dopamine in the striatum as naive mice learn about many changing options in a large arena. Before moving to the U.S., I completed a D.Phil. in the Walton and Husain labs at the University of Oxford. During my D.Phil. I trained rats to make or withhold movement to understand the relationship between ventral striatal dopamine release and motivated action. My research has resulted in a number of publications.
In my spare time I enjoy playing videogames, hanging out with my cat Waneta, and briefly indulging in and then abandoning various creative pursuits - painting, embroidery, playing the piano...