As a versatile technology leader with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and a diverse background in physics, AI, machine learning, product management, and engineering, I bring a unique multi-disciplinary perspective to the table. This enables me to facilitate rapid synthesis and prototyping of new technologies, transforming them into innovative solutions. With a keen understanding of state-of-the-art technology—acquired through an amalgamation of rigorous education and extensive practical experience—I continually strive to foster innovation and drive cutting-edge advancements in the technology landscape. My goal is to capitalize on these strengths and challenge myself to continue growing and exploring in the ever-evolving tech space.
Prompt Therapy Solutions, Inc. Remote
Designed and implemented a comprehensive AI strategic roadmap to enhance operational efficiency in outpatient rehab clinics, alleviate clinician workload, and improve patient outcomes.
Engineered a fully integrated AI platform from the ground up, enabling rapid development, deployment and monitoring of advanced AI-powered features to clients.
Assembled and led a highly skilled, cross-functional team, fostering an agile environment to deliver, test, and launch impactful, explainable and ethical AI use cases.
Championed innovation in AI-driven healthcare solutions, translating complex ideas into actionable improvements for customers and internal processes.
Partnered with stakeholders to align technology initiatives with business goals, ensuring measurable and sustainable outcomes.
Aitomatic, Inc. Remote
Leading the design and development of innovative new AI and LLM enabled SaaS products
Aligning distributed, multi-national team towards product development
Managing the development of multiple products in parallel with multiple contracting firms & teams
Driving product releases and on-boarding of customers onto new product tools
Running R&D, Intellectual Property Development, and rapid prototyping activities
Writing and filing patent documentation
Assisting sales, pre-sales and marketing activities with live talks and demos
Interviewing and hiring new team members
Aitomatic, Inc. Remote
Designing and developing state-of-the-art AI solutions for industrial use-cases
Managing customer relations during development
Coordinating development collaborations across internal and customer teams
Overseeing development contractors and reviewing deliverables
Deploying and managing production-ready applications in the cloud
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
Ph.D. in Neuroscience
2021
University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, TX
M.S. in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience
2014
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
B.S. in Physics
2013
Graduate Researcher Waltham, MA
Advisors: Dr. John E. Lisman, Dr. Shantanu Jadhav, Dr. Don B. Katz
Studied the neural mechanisms that underlie network dysfunction in schizophrenia with in vivo electrophysiology in awake and behaving mice.
Studied the molecular and network mechanisms supporting taste learning and memory in gustatory cortex.
Created and performed protocols for virus injection and neural electrode implantation
Designed and setup equipment for in vivo electrophysiology in mice
Designed and carried out in vivo electrophysiology experiments in freely behaving mice and rats
Created custom data processing pipelines and data analysis algorithms in MATLAB and Python
Laboratory Technician Houston, TX
Lab: Dr. Russell S. Ray
Used Solidworks to design custom lab equipment for mouse plethysmography, head-fixed behavior for in vivo neural imaging and CLARITY tissue clearing
Manufactured equipment in-house with use of 3D printing, CNC milling and various other machining techniques
Graduate Intern / Lab Technician Dallas, TX
Lab: Dr. Robert Greene
Developed MATLAB software to characterize sleep/wake states in mice
Created a neural network to classify sleep/wake states from EMG and EEG data
Created front-end GUI for manual validation and correction of automated sorting
Automated analyses of slow-wave and spindle power in EEG signals
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow Pasadena, CA
Lab: Dr. Glenn S. Orton
Developed algorithms in IDL to de-noise and automatically detect planet edges in infrared telescope images of Saturn and Jupiter
Worked on algorithms to analyze planetary weather conditions from IR telescope images.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow Pasadena, CA
Lab: Dr. Steven D. Vance
Worked on determining the possibility of life on Jupiter’s moon, Europa
Used fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize the temperature and pH conditions under which lipids such as those most likely found in the seas of Europa will self-assemble into vesicles
Wrote analysis software in Mathematica
Summer Research Intern Houston, TX
Lab: Dr. Mauro Ferrari
Determined the time and temperature dependence of the decay of fluorescent molecules
Used fluorescent spectroscopy to test the diffusion properties of a microfluidic membrane to be used in an implantable capsule for controlled drug release.
Collaborative project build of the Stanford quadruped robot (Pupper). Led a team to build, modify, and enhance the robot with additional sensors and software to allow autonomous operation and navigation. Implemented odometry, computer vision, and obstacle avoidance.
Custom python package for neuroscience encapsulating data extraction, pre-processing, validation, sorting and analysis for multi-channel electrophysiological recordings. Features semi-automated sorting of single unit spikes and curation GUI. Poisson HMM implementation for analyzing neural population dynamics.
MATLAB package to query and consolidate neural gene expression data from the Entrez and Allen brain databases. Allows visualization and analysis of expression of groups of genes. Useful for assessing potential sites of dysfunction especially in disorders with many possible risk genes.
For all of my repositories please visit my github portfolio.
"Translating from Natural Language to Domain Specific Language for Representing Expert Knowledge" - (Pending) U.S. Patent Serial #63425578, Provisional Filed: November 15, 2022.
"Knowledge Based Artificial Intelligence Architecture for Industrial Systems" - (Pending) U.S. Patent Serial #18194564, Filed: March 31, 2023. Priority: April 1, 2022.
"Classification Based on a Knowledge Model Combined With a Machine Learning Based Model" - (Pending) U.S. Patent Serial #18194559, Filed: March 31, 2023. Priority: November 15, 2022.
"Artificial Intelligence Based Fault Detection For Industrial Systems" - (Pending) U.S. Patent Serial #18194549, Filed: March 31, 2023. Priority: November 15, 2022.
"Collaborative Augmented Language Models for Capturing and Utilizing Domain Expertise" - (Pending) U.S. Patent Serial #63510335, Provisional Filed: June 26, 2023.
Nanu, R., Murdy, T.J., Levitan, D., Nelson, S.N., Katz, D.B. (2021). Loss of Stk11 in basolateral amygdalar projection neurons impairs taste aversion learning by altering the temporal pattern of taste response plasticity in gustatory cortex [Manuscript submitted for publication]. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.31.446460. In submission.
Rahman, F., Nanu, R., Schneider, N.A., Katz, D., Lisman, J., Pi, HJ. (2021). Optogenetic perturbation of projections from thalamic nucleus reuniens to hippocampus disrupts spatial working memory retrieval more than encoding. Neurobiol Learn Mem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107396
Lin, J. Y., Stone, B. T., Herzog, L. E., Nanu, R., Mahmood, A., & Katz, D. B. (2020). The function of groups of neurons changes from moment to moment. Current Opinion in Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cophys.2020.12.002
Richard, E.A., Khlestova, E., Nanu, R. and Lisman, J.E. (2017) ‘Potential synergistic action of 19 schizophrenia risk genes in the thalamus’, Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2016.09.008
Popovic, M., Stacy, A. K., Oettgen, C. E., Kang, M., Nanu, R., Wise, D. L., . . . Hooser, S. D. (2018). Development of cross-orientation suppression and size tuning and the role of experience. J. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2886-17.2018
Sun, J. J., Nanu, R., & Ray, R. S. (2017). A low cost, simplified, and scaleable pneumotachograph and face mask for neonatal mouse respiratory measurements. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods, 86, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vascn.2017.02.019