Manasi Jayakumar
(she/her/hers)
- Assistant Professor of Psychology
Areas of Study
Education
- BSE, biotechnology, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani - Dubai Campus, 2013
- MS, applied cognition and neuroscience, University of Texas at Dallas, 2016
- MA, psychology, Columbia University, 2020
- MPhil, psychology, Columbia University, 2022
- PhD, psychology, Columbia University, 2024
Biography
I am a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist. I graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University. My dissertation research examined the impact of spontaneous attentional fluctuations on episodic memory. Broadly, I am interested in how our internal cognitive states during an experience can influence memory organization and retrieval, and how these processes differ between individuals. To address these questions, I use lab-based and online behavioral studies, eye-tracking, pupillometry, and computational modeling methods.
I have an undergraduate degree in biotechnology engineering, during which time I had a chance encounter with research on patient H.M. that ignited my curiosity about the cognitive neuroscience of memory. I then pursued a master’s degree in applied cognition and neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas, followed by a two-year stint as a lab manager and research coordinator at Stanford University, before pursuing my PhD.
ºauthor is/was an undergraduate research mentee.
⁺author is/was a post-baccalaureate research scholar.
- Jayakumar, M., Tsegai Moore, A.⁺, Nemeth, C.º, Aly M. (under review). Pupil size at encoding predicts the temporal structure of memory. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bzqfu
- Jayakumar, M., Balusu, C.º, & Aly, M. (2023). Attentional fluctuations and the temporal organization of memory. Cognition, 235, 105408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105408
- Jayakumar, M.*, Tarder-Stoll, H.*, Dimsdale-Zucker, H.R., Günseli, E., & Aly, M. (2019). Dynamic internal states shape memory retrieval. Neuropsychologia, 138, 107328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107328 *denotes equal contribution to first authorship.
- Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Instructor, Columbia University, 2024
- Teaching Scholar, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Columbia University, 2023-2024
- Graduate Student Travel Grant, Society for the Teaching of Psychology, 2023
Fall 2024
Introduction to Psychological Science — PSYC 100
Complex Cognition — PSYC 209
Teaching Assistant — PSYC 500
Practicum in Psychology — PSYC 501
Supervised Research in Psychology - Full — PSYC 510F
Supervised Research in Psychology - Half — PSYC 510H
Spring 2025
Introduction to Psychological Science — PSYC 100
Complex Cognition — PSYC 209
Teaching Assistant — PSYC 500
Practicum in Psychology — PSYC 501
Supervised Research in Psychology - Full — PSYC 510F
Supervised Research in Psychology - Half — PSYC 510H
Senior Portfolio — PSYC 599