Priyamvada Modak

Those of our waking moments that most significantly shape our lives are when we make decisions. Decisions are at the core of economic activity, criminal activity, voting, and environmental impact. What are the neural mechanisms that govern this process? Can we use neurostimulation to better align our decisions with objective goals or prevent maladaptive decision-making?

Hi, I am Priyamvada Modak (but I will respond to 'Priya' as well! - pronounced pre-yaa), and I am interested in studying how humans make decisions and how the experiences of control arise.

I currently approach these questions through cognitive neuroscience methods including neuroimaging, neurostimulation, innovative experiment design, and cognitive modeling. I use several statistical methods including general linear modeling, nonlinear regression, and machine learning to squeeze out the insights from the data.

You can find more in my CV here.

You can also find my research philosophy here, where I share the story of how and why my motivations for research have evolved.

Additionally, I come from an interdisciplinary background that includes engineering, dynamical systems, and molecular biology. I understand the value of making scientific findings accessible to everyone, which is why I often engage in science communication by writing blogs for my own blogging website. I have also written blogs for other platforms like SciU (IU's student blog) and Your Say (PLOS ONE's blog).

For the same reason, I also tend to discuss research in as few compound/technical terms as possible. This is not to say that I despise technical terms (or the people who use them); I understand their utility in compressing one's thoughts into fewer words (and, less importantly, in signaling expertise). However, precisely this utility can create vagueness and leave room for ambiguity. Avoiding the latter weighs far more than accomplishing the former for me, but that is my subjective preference, and I am flexible to the needs of my fellow conversationalists!

Please feel free to reach out to me at priyamvadamodak95@gmail.com for discussions regarding my research or yours.

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