Clara Sava-Segal
PhD Candidate in Cognitive Neuroscience
Dartmouth College
Research Focus
How do our past experiences inform how we process new information? How do individuals reach different interpretations of the exact same experience?
Using neuroimaging and behavioral methods, I investigate how we integrate incoming information with existing knowledge and how this differs meaningfully at the individual level. Specifically, I study how two people—or the same person at different times—can reach different perceptions of identical information, and the impact this has on our memories.
I'm a Cognitive Neuroscience PhD candidate advised by Emily Finn at Dartmouth College, working in the Functional Imaging and Naturalistic Neuroscience Lab. I am currently funded by an F31 NRSA Fellowship and was previously supported by an NSF GRFP.
Background
I earned my Bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago, where I completed my thesis with Daniel Casasanto and worked with Christopher Gomez and in the Awh-Vogel Lab.
Following graduation, I worked as a lab manager and research assistant at Stanford in Josef Parvizi's lab, gaining experience with intracranial recordings and human neuroscience research.
Beyond Research
I'm passionate about science communication and public education. Prior to graduate school, I did medical editing and worked in classrooms at both ends of the K-12 spectrum (Pre-K and 12th grade). Most recently, I've been designing and teaching discussion-based courses for older student (ages 50 and older) Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dartmouth, which I've found incredibly rewarding.
Outside of research, I also enjoy bringing science to creative projects in the real world—check out ArtLibs, a collaborative art project with the Hood Museum at Dartmouth, funded by an internal Arts Integration Grant!