Research in the Neuroscience-Informed Learning & Education (NILE) Lab combines the fields of brain, cognitive, and behavioral sciences with technology and pedagogy to inform optimal conditions for learning, with a focus on health sciences. We are an interdisciplinary group of educators, cognitive neuroscientists, data scientists and clinicians working together on current issues in health science education.
Our work encompasses three pillars of education:
Learning
- We are interested in retrieval-based learning and the biopsychosocial factors affecting optimal knowledge-acquisition in medical school
- We are developing and evaluating Generative AI tools for precision medical education.
- The AI Patient Actor app helps practicing clinical communication skills.
- The NeuroBot Teaching Assistant provides personalized, high-fidelity answers that are grounded in course materials.
- We are interested in the application of cognitive science principles to real-world learning and the use of technology to support memory retention. We are developing and testing evidence-based methods of pedagogy that promote optimal active and self-directed learning in healthcare trainees, such as retrievla-based learning.
Instruction
- We develop and evaluate learner-centered educational experiences, often co-created with students, with a focus on evidence-based practices and equity in education.
Environment
- We are investigating the relationship between educational stress, mental health, learning, flourishing, and the learning environment using a Precision Well-Being approach. Through the Wearable Wellness Study, we collect data from wearable consumer devices (FitBit, Apple Watch) and Ecological Momentary Assessments to track and predict changes in stress, cognitive performance, and well-being across the medical school curriculum to, eventually, provide targeted and individualized interventions. The CREST Study provides fitness tracker-assisted coaching to medical students to help meet their lifestyle wellness goals.
Our research has been funded by the NIH, NSF, IAMSE, FACES, Epilepsy Foundation, American Medical Association, American Academy of Neurology and the Wellcome Trust