Corashe/her Coraline Rinn Iordan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Neuroscience, & Center for Visual Science Affiliated Faculty, Goergen Institute for Data Science and AI & Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience cora (at) rochester.edu ♦ CV ♦ @coralineiordan.bsky.social
Dr. Iordan is a cognitive and computational neuroscientist who studies how we construct, remember, and communicate naturalistic stories and events. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and she earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Vision and Learning Lab at Stanford University. Her academic journey started at Williams College with a B.A. in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Cognitive Science. When she's not in the lab, Cora enjoys watching Sci-Fi shows in search of new stimuli, playing board games, and building cities out of Legos with her son.
Graduate Students
Claireshe/her Claire Sun, M.S. Ph.D. candidate, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellow (2025-2026)
csun28 (at) ur.rochester.edu AI amalgamation trying to understand humans
Claire's research focuses on the neural and behavioral mechanisms of information summarization in complex narratives. Prior to joining the lab, Claire was a Research Associate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and she earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Computer Science from Brandeis University. Outside the lab, Claire enjoys working on her sewing machine making plushies and cosplays. Her favorite genre is Sci-Fi and she likes to look at media as an inspiration for the future.
Alexthey/them, she/her Alex Ye, M.A., M.A. Ph.D. student, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
xye13 (at) ur.rochester.edu Publishes fanvids on Bilibili, some of which have 40k+ views.
Alex’s research focuses on the factors that contribute to how people generate event boundaries in naturalistic narratives. Before joining the lab, Alex was a Research Associate at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They earned an M.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Linguistics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Outside the lab, Alex is interested in hiking, swimming, cooking, and K-pop.
Undergraduate Researchers
Vanditashe/her Vandita Soni Major: Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Computing & AI) Wiesman Fellow (2025)
vsoni3 (at) u.rochester.edu
Vandita is interested in the role of priming in narrative comprehension and recall. She is a fourth-year student at the University of Rochester. Outside the lab, Vandita enjoys snowboarding, ceramics and cooking.
Soniashe/her Sonia Chun Majors: Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Neurobiology) & Psychology
schun8 (at) u.rochester.edu
Sonia is interested in the mechanisms of episodic & semantic memory and the role of emotion in naturalistic perception. She is a third-year student at the University of Rochester. Outside the lab, Sonia enjoys spinning yarn, cooking Korean food, and working with animals.
Lab Alumni
Aishwarya Jayan, M.S., Neuroscience, Center for Visual Science NEI T32 Fellow (2025-2026) Odessa Meulbroek, RA, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Meliora Fellow (2024), Schwarz Discover Fellow (2025) Xiomara Ortiz Lopez, RA, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Ronald E. McNair Fellow (2023-2025)
