Alana Jaskir
Personal Website
Welcome
Hi there!
I’m a computational cognitive neuroscientist, and my research broadly examines how we learn and adapt in an ever-changing world. I am particularly interested in how we represent our world (computationally, cognitively, neurally), what environmental and individual factors (e.g., mental health, age) influence our learning and decision-making strategies, and how our representations/learning strategies evolve with time and new experiences.
In my work, I use computational models of reinforcement learning to simulate learning scenarios, analyze behavioral data, and generate hypotheses for experiments. I also employ neural network models of learning and memory for mechanistic and theoretical insight when designing experiments and hypotheses.
I am also excited by applied research and policy at the intersection of AI and cognition and recently worked with Google DeepMind as a contracted researcher examining the cognitive risks and benefits of AI use.
Presently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at New York University with Cate Hartley investigating the interaction of learning and memory systems during late childhood through young adulthood. I completed my Cognitive Science PhD at Brown University under the mentorship of Michael J. Frank, where I developed biologically-inspired RL models of risk and decision-making and tested model-derived hypotheses of human generalization and creative insight. I received my Bachelor’s in Computer Science and a minor in Cognitive Science from Princeton, during which time I completed an undergraduate thesis on the interaction of attention, memory, and learning systems with Yael Niv.
Selected Works
Jaskir, A., Frank, M.J. (2026). “Discovery and consolidation of analogous reward structure support generalization in humans”. PsyArXiv
Gallo, M., A.A. Hamid, A. Jaskir, T. Pan, D. Ofray, C. DeMaestri, J. Bretton, A.I. More, M.J. Frank, C.I. Moore, K.G. Bath. (2026). “Behavioral Opportunism and Altered Dopamine Dynamics in Mice Exposed to Early Life Adversity”. bioRxiv.
Jaskir, A. & M.J. Frank. (2022). “On the normative advantages of dopamine and striatal opponency for learning and choice.” eLife.
Jaskir, A. & Y. Niv. (2017). “The interaction between attention and learning as a mechanism for dimensionality reduction in the brain.” Princeton Undergraduate Thesis
Media spotlights
“Carney’s Brainstorm Program Hosts Its Second Annual Brainstorm Challenge Awards”
“Five Brown Ph.D. students receive 2023-2024 Graduate Awards in Brain Science”