Home Department: Symbolic Systems
 

2023 Research Project:“The Effect of “Meaning” and “Salience” on Memory Precision”

2023 Mentor: Anthony Wagner (Psychology)

Kristine aims to unravel how repetitive learning of a target location within a room shifts visual attention from “salience” to “meaning”. Her project will leverage participants’ fixations to determine how individuals visually engage with an indoor room, generating “meaning-” and “salience-maps” of each room. By studying how different mechanisms of attention such as “meaning” and “salience” drive learning for a location in a room, the team can isolate how learning is expressed via eye movements and relate these outcomes to memory. These assays test certain aspects of brain function and could potentially be used as early indicator assays to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

2025 Research Project:“Cross-Species Neural Organogenesis: Engineering and Ethical Implications of Human-Animal Chimeras”

2025 Mentor: Sarah Heilshorn (Materials Science & Engineering)

Neural organoids provide a cutting-edge platform for studying cross-species brain development, but achieving robust integration in human-animal chimeras remains challenging. Building on her prior work engineering HELP hydrogels to address limitations in biomechanical compatibility, Kristine now aims to apply this system to compare neural circuit formation in organoids derived from human and animal iPSCs. While recent studies report transplantation success rates of up to 80%, challenges remain in bridging species-specific developmental tempos—mouse organoids develop 2-3 times faster than human ones. By tailoring hydrogel properties to optimize compatibility and functionality, Kristine’s research seeks to enhance organoid integration and inform translational neuroscience.