Programs
Education
- Ph.D., Biomathematics, University of California Los Angeles
- B.S., Mathematics/Applied Science, Chemistry Concentration, University of California San Diego
Interests
- Mathematical Modeling in Neuroscience
- Applied Mathematics
- Biophysics
- Neuromorphology
- Machine Learning
Select Works Published
- Neuron structure-function correspondence as revealed by biological scaling theory
Paheli Desai-Chowdhry, University of California, Los Angeles Doctoral Thesis, 2023 - Neuronal branching is increasingly asymmetric near synapses, potentially enabling plasticity while minimizing energy dissipation and conduction time
Paheli Desai-Chowdhry, Alexander B Brummer, Samhita Mallavarapu, Van M Savage, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2023 - How axon and dendrite branching are guided by time, energy, and spatial constraints
Paheli Desai-Chowdhry, Alexander B Brummer, Van M Savage, Scientific Reports, 2022
Philosophy
My drive to teach comes from my own experiences of marginalization in science and mathematics. I was lucky to have a few excellent teachers, particularly fellow women teachers, who helped give me the confidence to succeed and envision myself pursuing a career in STEM. Although there are barriers I have faced, I am also aware of the privileges that have allowed me to pursue higher education. It is my ultimate goal to carry these experiences forward and inspire others the same way.
Through my various teaching and mentoring experiences over the past ten years, I have developed a few best practices and philosophies that I aim to apply to my future endeavors in teaching and mentorship. The first one is the use of the Socratic method in explaining complex scientific concepts by asking a series of guided questions to lead students to conclusions, rather than lecturing students about laundry lists of facts. This allows me to see how they think and what they already know, and target any preconceived notions that might be incorrect. This also helps students contextualize what they are learning in relation to what they already know, playing an active role in obtaining information by coming to logical conclusions on their own. I think it is crucial when transitioning from a classroom to a work setting that students learn how to learn. It is impossible to memorize everything, but it is extremely important to know how to find information to address gaps in knowledge. When students ask questions, whether it is in the classroom or in the lab, I usually try to direct them to resources that allow them to answer their own questions, such as online documentation, or suggest search terms so that they can find this information themselves, making myself available for follow-up questions. This learning experience has the potential to benefit them even beyond the specific task or course at hand.
Courses Taught
MATH 108MATH 327
