AZA Allsop

I am a first-generation American who grew up in Trinidad. I studied at North Carolina Central University before carrying out my PhD research training in the Tye lab at MIT as part of the Harvard Medical School-MIT MD PhD program. In the Tye lab I used systems neuroscience tools in conjunction with machine learning approaches to study how social information is computed and integrated in the brain. We were able to detail the role of an cortico-amygdala circuit in social learning.

Since coming to Yale, I have been able to expand on this project to begin discovering the ways in which these circuits bias social computations based on social context. I am excited to be at Yale because not only do we have the opportunity to do research during residency, it is a place to grow. I am now also doing human research in efforts to develop a translational research effort. There are many great mentors in the Department to help with this learning process and as a result I was able to complete my first IRB proposal as a PGY2. I am now also studying the role of music and mindfulness as interventions for stress management and social connectedness in populations with disproportionate amounts of perceived stress.

All of my research is guided by the belief that deconstructing mechanisms of social cognition and social stress management will provide a better understanding of how social groups function and offer insights into enhancing the evolution of society at large.