SASHA SOMMERFELDT, PHD
she/her
I am a Data Scientist with over 10 years of experience in statistical data analysis and quantitative social science research.
I recently completed my PhD in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison where I worked with Dr. Richard Davidson and the Center for Healthy Minds. My research used peripheral physiological, neuroimaging, and behavioral methods to investigate mind-brain-body connections under experiences of stress and emotion.
ABOUT
“But how does meat get contents?” My favorite philosophy professor would repeatedly shout at our class. He was echoing the hard problem of consciousness – how can a physical substance such as the brain give rise to the beautifully diverse and colorful phenomenological experiences we enjoy as human beings?
This question is part of the insatiable curiosity that led me to doctoral training in science and my research focus of how the "meat" of the brain and body give rise to the subjective experiences of the mind.
TEACHING
I assisted teaching our Psychology Department's year-long advanced statistics seminar for graduate students for the 2020-2021 academic year.
I developed and taught weekly 2-hour lab sections in R on topics including probability and sampling methods; experimental design; descriptive, inferential, and multivariate statistics; t-test; ANOVA; mediation; moderation; power; linear and nonlinear regression; and multilevel (HLM) models.
My teaching is supported by formal training in inclusive and evidence-based teaching:
Capstone Project in Evidence-Based Teaching (semester-long course) through National Science Foundation Funded Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning. This involved identifying a problem area in student learning, using backwards design to develop a teaching plan incorporating a variety of active and inclusive teaching strategies, and collecting data to empirically examine the effectiveness of my teaching approach.
Engaging Students in the Teaching of Statistics (4-week course) through the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CITRL)
Evidence-Based Teaching (4-week course) through the National Science Foundation Funded Delta Program in Research, Teaching, and Learning
MENTORING
I've also taught more informally by mentoring students in research experiences.
What past students have said
PHILOSOPHY
As a first-generation Bachelor's student, the mentoring I received across my experiences in academic laboratories was invaluable in supporting my trajectory to doctoral training, and I am driven to similarly guide other students. My mentoring style focuses on socializing students into the culture of research (with an aim towards a more inclusive and healthy future academic culture), empowering students to independently solve problems, supporting students' professional development towards whatever their future goals may be, and training in rigorous methods.