John Thorp, Ph.D.

John Thorp, Ph.D.

Directory of Undergraduate Studies; Lecturer

Columbia University Department of Psychology

biography

Hi! I’m John. I’m a Director of Undergraduate Studies and Lecturer in Psychology. I think a lot about how neural geometry supports human behavior and experiences. I care deeply about how we can apply these principles to the classroom. I’ve also played a lot of instruments in a lot of bands. These interests have left me with a very particular, somewhat non-sequitir set of skills and projects that I’d like to tell you about here.

Interests
  • neural geometry
  • human behavior
  • teaching & learning
  • improvised music
Education
  • PhD in Psychology, May 2024

    Columbia University

  • BA in Philosophy of Cognitive Neuroscience; BA in Music Performance; Minor in Chemistry, May 2017

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

experience

 
 
 
 
 
Columbia University
Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychology
September 2024 – Present Columbia University
Generated engaging, research-focused curricula for 2 advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods, statistics in behavioral sciences, and experimental design
 
 
 
 
 
Davachi Lab
Research Fellow
September 2019 – Present Columbia University
Designed and conducted 7 end-to-end behavioral and neuroimaging studies, leading to 3 conference posters, 5 invited talks, and 6 peer-reviewed manuscripts
 
 
 
 
 
Science of Learning Research (SOLER) Initiative
Graduate Research Assistant
January 2022 – May 2024 Columbia University
Conducted 5 innovative studies quantifying educational intervention impacts, securing increased university funding through compelling published findings
 
 
 
 
 
Adcock Laboratory
Research Associate
July 2017 – May 2019 Duke University
– Maintained project goals and deadlines for 5 behavioral studies by managing protocols, budgets, and recruitment

skills

scientific
human_brain experimental design

theory testing, operationalization, conducting experiments

dashboard data visualization

ggplot

documents written communication

peer-reviewed manuscripts, public science communication

presentation verbal communication

posters, technical talks, public talks, lectures

technical
Python

pandas, numpy, mne, nipy, nistats

rstudio R

tidyverse, dplyr, ggplot

linux2 UNIX

batch, slurm

matlab MATLAB

spm, structs

soft
pie-chart-icon project management

end-to-end research, google drive, slack

team team management

tailoring assignments and projects

businesswoman interfacing with senior leadership

communicating takeaways and project needs

pen-and-paper classroom design

lecture roadmaps, syllabi, classroom inclusion

analytical
rubikscube multivariate statistics

RSA, PCA, ICA

lmm02 multilevel, non-linear regression

random slopes, shifted log-normal, logistic, gompertz

embedding NLP

latent semantic analysis

Bayes_icon Bayesian statistics

brms, model comparison

projects

*
Reflectify
AI-powered learning reflection analyzer that predicts exam performance and provides personalized improvement strategies.
dopaminergic modulation of replay-mediated memory updating
leveraging NLP and multivariate pattern recognition to relate neural mechanisms to semantic interference
dopaminergic modulation of replay-mediated memory updating
inference guides retroactive effects of arousal on memory
manipulating experimental variables to precisely examine how the structure of learning determines how that learning strenghtens or warps existing memories
inference guides retroactive effects of arousal on memory
teaching observation fellowship
observing and being observed by fellow teachers across the university
teaching observation fellowship
contextual stability as a continuous moderator of event segmentation
leveraging non-linear multilevel Bayesian models to uncover novel sources of variance across subject behavior with theoretical and clinical relevance
contextual stability as a continuous moderator of event segmentation
eeg markers of mind-wandering in the real-world classroom
exploring effects of theta/beta power of students wearing a mobile EEG headset during class
eeg markers of mind-wandering in the real-world classroom
lead teaching fellowship
maintaining a discipline-based community of teachers within the department of psychology
lead teaching fellowship
representational granularity across the hippocampus
A data-driven approach towards the long-standing, impactful issue of whether separate regions of the hippocampus naturally process representations at differing levels of granularity
representational granularity across the hippocampus
quantifying bias in assessments of medical students
uncovering patterns of bias and making recommendations of how it can be reduced
quantifying bias in assessments of medical students
delivering real-time neurofeedback from emotiv epoc+
developing a package to acquire and deliver theta/beta bandpower from the proprietary api
delivering real-time neurofeedback from emotiv epoc+
monitoring real-time eyetracking data
developing scripts for calibrating and monitoring tobii X2-60 data with the proprietary api
monitoring real-time eyetracking data
python package to reconnect muse headset
rectifying a widespread connection issue with the MUSE mobile EEG headset
python package to reconnect muse headset

Recent Publications

Quickly discover relevant content by filtering publications.
(2023). Context-mediated retroactive memory effects. International Journal of Psychophysiology.

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(2021). Studying the Link between Attention and Reward-learning: Implications for Attentional Exploration and Attentional Exploitation Theory.. Impulse (19343361).

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(2020). Two routes to incidental memory under arousal: dopamine and norepinephrine. Journal of Neuroscience.

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(2020). Variability in the analysis of a single neuroimaging dataset by many teams. Nature.

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