Lab Members
Principal Investigator | Emily S. Finn (she/her) Emily is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College. She completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at Yale, and her postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health. Before that, she received a B.A. in linguistics, also from Yale. Emily’s work is focused on individual variability in brain activity and behavior, especially as it relates to appraisal of ambiguous information under naturalistic conditions. When not science-ing, she can often be found doing something outdoors, playing guitar (poorly), or summoning the motivation to exercise. [CV] - [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Rekha Varrier (she/her) Rekha is a postdoctoral fellow in the FINN lab. She holds a bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from NIT Warangal (India) and a Master's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from Maastricht University (The Netherlands). She did her doctoral work at the Visual Perception lab at Charite-Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany) and was part of the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin. Rekha is broadly interested in learning what makes perception subjective even in the absence of explicit biases (e.g. “the dress” on Tumblr). In the FINN lab, she is excited to study how changing low-level physical properties can influence complex social percepts. Her current hobbies include discovering new hiking trails, hogging history videos on YouTube and perfecting a sourdough recipe. [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Qi (Kay) Liang (she/her) Kay is a postdoctoral fellow in the FINN lab. Before Dartmouth, she received her B.S. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from East China Normal University. Kay has always been fascinated by the social nature of humans. In the FINN lab, she would like to learn how individuals perceive and represent social information under their own biases. Outside the lab, Kay enjoys reading sci-fi novels, stepping on snow, and catching Pokémon around every corner. [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Clara Sava-Segal (she/her) Clara is a Cognitive Neuroscience graduate student in the FINN Lab. Before Dartmouth, she got her Bachelor’s degree from UChicago in 2018 and then worked as a research assistant at Stanford’s Laboratory for Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. Broadly, Clara is interested in how we integrate information with our existent knowledge, and how neural patterns are formed, modified and updated with experiences. Specifically, she is interested in how certain experiences and traits drive differences in behavior and neural activity across individuals and is excited to use naturalistic stimuli to investigate these questions. Outside the lab, Clara can be found painting, reading, hiking, or doing science education outreach. [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Thomas Botch (he/him) Tommy is a Cognitive Neuroscience graduate student co-advised by the FINN Lab and Robertson Lab. He received a B.S. in Psychobiology in 2017 from UCLA. After graduating, he worked as a research assistant for UCLA Center of Behavioral and Addiction Medicine, a cheesemonger, and, penultimately, a lab manager for the Robertson Lab. Broadly, Tommy is interested in how differences in brain and behavior drive individual experience under ambiguous circumstances. Specifically, how do state- and trait-based factors, across neurotypical and neurodiverse populations, influence the processing of information and resulting behavior. Outside of lab, Tommy enjoys hiking, playing music, cooking, and petting animals that cross his path. [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Kathryn O'Nell (she/her) Katie is a graduate student in the FINN Lab. She holds an undergraduate degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT and a master's degree from Oxford in Experimental Psychology. Her main interests center on social cognition, particularly how we represent others' minds in terms of social concepts and categories -- and how traditional narrative forms drive the creation of these concepts. Outside of the lab, Katie enjoys hiking, puzzle hunts, and proselytizing about the wonders of public libraries to anyone who will listen. [Google Scholar] - [Email] |
 | Tory Benson (she/her) Tory is a full-time research assistant and lab manager in the FINN Lab. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley in 2022. She is broadly interested in what leads individuals to perceive the world around them differently. Specifically, how differences in brain structure and functional connectivity may give rise to these differences in perception, and differences between neurotypical and neurodivergent perception. Outside of the lab, Tory can be found doodling, making homes out of various coffee shops, admiring nature, and excitedly pointing out every dog she sees. [Email] |
 | Dallas Brodersen (she/her) Dallas is a full-time research assistant and lab manager in the FINN Lab. She received a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from Princeton University in 2024. She is interested in naturalistic neuroimaging and individual differences in cognition. Outside of the lab, Dallas has been known to scavenge for furniture on FB marketplace, flaunt her dog breed identification abilities, and promote Billie Eilish's new album. [Email] |
 | Zishan Su (she/her) Zishan is a full-time research assistant the FINN Lab. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Psychology from the University of Rochester, and her Master’s degree from the University of Chicago. She is broadly interested in how beliefs and motivations shape human perception and decision-making. Specifically, how factors like traits and negative experiences impact individuals’ prior beliefs and how those beliefs subsequently influence their perceptions of events or interactions, as well as their judgments and decisions. Outside of the lab, Zishan enjoys swimming, skiing, reading, and binge-watching Netflix. |
 | Ella Russ (she/her) Ella is an undergraduate research assistant in the FINN Lab. She is a potential psychology or neuroscience major with many different interests! She is hoping to have a career in the general area of the healthcare field. Outside of the lab, she can be found spending time outdoors, playing soccer, hiking, or hanging out with friends. |
 | Ash Chinta (they/them) Ash Chinta is an undergraduate research assistant in the FINN Lab. They plan on majoring in neuroscience or psychology. Their hobbies include writing, traditional dance, taking photos of everything (but especially ducks), and reading weird stories. |
 | Sofia Yawand-Wossen (she/her) Sofia Yawand-Wossen is an undergraduate research assistant in the FINN Lab. She is a ’25 currently pursuing a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a minor in psychology hoping to study behavioral economics and business administration. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, reading, spending time outdoors, and hanging out with friends. |
 | Caroline Balick (she/her) Caroline is an undergraduate research assistant in the FINN Lab. She is a psychology major with a sociology minor in social inequalities: she is fascinated about the impact that larger social structures have on individual mental health. On campus, she is involved in Spare Rib Magazine, the Sexual Assault Peer Alliance, Hillel, and First Year Trips. Some of her hobbies include listening to music (her favorite artists are Frank Ocean, Japanese Breakfast, and Lucy Dacus), playing tennis, reading memoirs, and biking around campus! |
 | Katherine Bartolino (she/her) Katie is an undergraduate research assistant in the FINN Lab. She is planning on double majoring in Neuroscience and Film and Media studies. On campus, she is involved with Club Ski, Women in Media, and First Year Trips. In her free time, she loves to go on walks around Pine Park, spend time at the river, journal, and watch lots of movies. |
 | Crosby Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (who goes by Crosby) is a full-time Bernedoodle and alternates between two alter egos, "Muppet" and "Monster". Crosby recently graduated from the White Mountain College for Pets as vale-dog-torian (class size: 2). He is responsible for making sure Emily gets her daily dose of fresh air, no matter the weather, and can often be found chewing rugs or terrorizing plants. |
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows
 | Peng Liu, postdoc 2022-2023 now postdoc at the University of Florida |
 | Clare Grall, postdoc 2020-2022 now Behavioral Researcher at StoryFit |
 | Hongji Kim, visiting PhD student 2021-2022 current PhD student in the Cocoan Lab at SungKyunKwan University in South Korea |
 | Eneko Uruñuela, visiting PhD student 2022 current PhD student in the Signal Processing in Neuroimaging Lab at the Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language in Spain |
 | Josie Equita, lab manager 2020-2022 |
 | Jordan Selesnick, full-time RA 2022-2023 |
Robin Sandell, part-time RA 2023
now research assistant in the Brain Networks Lab at UCSF
Evan Bloch, undergraduate RA 2023-2024 & honors thesis advisee
Anna Katherine Ray, undergraduate RA 2022-2024 & honors thesis advisee
now analyst at BlackRock
Megan Leung, undergraduate RA 2021-2024
now Digital Electronics Design Engineer at The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Eliana Stanford, undergraduate RA 2023-2024
Evan Lai, undergraduate RA 2023
Shannon Zeilman, undergraduate RA 2022-2023
Hannah Nicolson, undergraduate RA 2022-2023
Alison Sasaki, undergraduate RA 2022-2023
Jonathan Pazen, undergraduate RA 2022
Ashna Kumar, undergraduate RA 2021-2022
Payton Weiner, undergraduate RA 2021