Mapping the Brain with Machine Learning and More
Senior Lani Krossa conducted cross-disciplinary neuroscience research throughout her time at SCU.
By Catherine Joy ’23
In her early college years, Lani Krossa ’23 craved a deeper understanding of the content she was studying, as she was continually cramming for tests, and then forgetting everything she had memorized a week later. Then, she began taking Computer Science courses, and everything changed! As a major, she finds that hours of homework can feel like minutes, and is leaving her coding classes at Santa Clara University with technical skills she will likely have forever.
In addition to her studies, Krossa has worked as a research assistant in SCU’s Lab of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience since the beginning of her sophomore year. She has even published a paper on human brain mapping with two fellow students and Professor Lang Chen (Neuroscience). Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and she recently won SCU’s prestigious DeNardo Senior Prize for Science Research.
Learn about Krossa’s advice for those majoring in computer science, her senior thesis, and her postgraduate plans below!
What advice would you give to fellow Computer Science majors?
My biggest advice to other computer science majors is to not constantly compare yourself to others. There is a diverse set of skills we are expected to learn, so what clicks for others may not click for you and vice versa. Even if it seems like no one else is struggling, trust me they are! Your unique skill set will get you far, and you can still get a job even if you aren’t a LeetCode genius.
Tell us about your senior thesis!
I based my senior thesis on the research I completed in the Lab of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, where I tested the effects of neural capacity and excitability on quantity processing using a computational model. Through the application of machine learning techniques, I was able to provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of math learning difficulties. I love being a computer science major because of its applications to other fields; I have always been interested in neuroscience and my programming skills allow me to participate in cross-disciplinary research.
Krossa will be living in San Francisco with fellow SCU friends and working at Ondas Networks as a software developer starting this August. She has goals to eventually start her own healthcare software company. Before starting work, she’ll spend this summer driving from Santa Clara to Boston and visiting national parks along the way!