This template doesn't support hiding the navigation bar.

    • NICE TO MEET YOU!

      I'M ALEX

       

       

       

       

       

      PhD Student at NYU

      brain evolution

      neurological disorders

      sex differences in the brain

      gene expression

    • What I Do

      I'm interested in the evolution of sex differences in primate cognition, neuroanatomy, and gene expression, and how these relate to the emergence of human neurological disorders. My dissertation will address this topic through both broad comparative analyses and targeted within-species studies. I will be considering multiple levels of brain organization, including functional brain region volumes, sulcal morphology, and gene expression.

       

      Besides writing R code and looking at brains all day... I'm a passionate Teaching Assistant, and I mentor some wonderful ladies (who are sure to be future STEM leaders). Kimberly and I worked together to get her a DART research grant, and she just got accepted into the Teacher's College of Columbia! Talar is an aspiring engineer, avid Science Fair winner, and wonderful writer!

       

      I am thankful for every day spent learning something new. Leaving Wall Street was the best decision I've ever made.

       

      Click here to check out what my fantastic lab-mates are doing!

    • Funding/Collaborations

      Thank you to everyone who supports me and my research!

      New York University

      Committee:

      Dr. James Higham,

      Dr. Scott Williams,

      Dr. Terry Harrison

      MacCracken Fellowship

      GSAS Predoctoral Summer Fellowship

      New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP)

      National Science Foundation

      Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

      George Washington University

      Dr. Chet Sherwood's Laboratory for Evolutionary Neuroscience

      Georgia State University | Neuroscience Institute

      Dr. Bill Hopkins' Research Lab

      Columbia University

      Dr. James Curley's Research Lab

      University of Dusseldorf

      Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute of Brain Research

      Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

      Dr. Patrick Hof's Laboratory of Neuromorphology

      University of Pennsylvania

      Platt Lab

      (Dr. Michael Platt)

      University of Washington

      Smack Lab

      (Dr. Noah Snyder-Mackler)

      Caribbean Primate Research Center

      University of Puerto Rico

    • Projects

      A selection of papers and projects I was/am involved with:

      Primate brain size is predicted by diet, not sociality

       

      DeCasien, A.R., Williams, S.A., Higham, J.P. (2017). Primate brain size evolution is predicted by diet but not sociality. Nature Ecology and Evolution 1:0112.

       

      Click here to read the paper, or here for a blog-style "behind the science" piece I wrote!

       

      You can also go here or here for some great media coverage, and here to read a comment by Dr. Richard Wrangham!

      Megalencephaly and macrocephaly genes are associated with comparative variation in primate brain size [abstract].

       

      DeCasien, A.R., Yim, A. (2017). Megelencephaly and macrocephaly genes are associated with comparative variation in primate brain size [abstract]. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 162(S64): 159.

       

      Click here to read more!

      Primate energy requirements: brains, babies, or behavior?

       

      DeCasien, A., Brown, M., Ross, S., Pontzer, H. (In press). In Primate Diet & Nutrition (Eds. Lambert, J., Rothman, J.) University of Chicago Press.
       

      Sex and dominance rank effects on gene expression across the mouse brain

      Collaboration with Dr. James Curley's lab at Columbia University

      Sex and dominance rank effects on gene expression across the rhesus macaque brain

      Collaboration with the Platt Lab, Smack Lab, and Caribbean Primate Research Center

    • Education 

      Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

      New York University (NYU)

      Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) 2016-present

      Biological Anthropology

      Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

      New York University (NYU)

      Master of Arts (M.A.) 2014-2016

      Biological Anthropology

      Leonard N. Stern School of Business

      New York University (NYU)

      Bachelor of Science (B.S.) 2009-2013

      Economics & Biological Anthropology

    Natasha Kingsley © 2017