Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Neuroscience, Brown University, 2023
  • B.S., Neuroscience, Wesleyan University, 2023
Professional Honors
  • John G. Peterson Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Brown University
  • Interactionist Cognitive Neuroscience Fellow, Carney Institute for Brain Sciences
  • George H. Acheson and Grass Foundation Prize, Wesleyan University
Professional Affiliations
  • Sigma Xi Honor Society
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Society for Neuroscience

Dr. Aarit Ahuja is a computational neuroscientist with over 6 years of experience deploying machine learning tools to solve complex problems. His expertise involves developing data handling and analysis pipelines, statistical approaches to large datasets, and visualization. While his primary area of focus is in the life sciences, his past experiences and background span a wide variety of fields, ranging from clinical research to consumer electronics, user experience research, and more. At Exponent, Dr. Ahuja consults clients on machine learning and AI driven data analyses, large-scale data collection efforts, pharmaceutical advances, and research on battery aging and performance.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Ahuja was a graduate research fellow at Brown University, where he studied the evolutionary bases of human cognitive abilities by carrying out comparative research with nonhuman primates. In this capacity, he developed novel methods for implementing functional, noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques for primates. This process involved solving a variety of engineering challenges (such as protoyping new equipment for use with primates in an MRI environment), as well as building unique data analysis methods to parse the highly multidimensional, multi-species data acquired from the scanner. Through his research, he showed that the process of mentally simulating potential future outcomes is associated with internal, visual representations of said simulations in visual cortices of the brain. Further, his research established rhesus macaques as a model organism for this cognitive phenomenon by demonstrating a striking overlap between the behavioral, computational, and neural bases of mental simulation between humans and monkeys. The implications of these discoveries are significant, with potential influence on brain computer interfaces and the development of therapies for patients with psychiatric conditions.

Aside from neuroscience, Dr. Ahuja has worked on research projects aimed at understanding user experiences in autonomous vehicles. Owing to these experiences, his technical expertise includes wearable technologies, virtual/augmented reality, time series analyses, and human computer interaction. He is well versed in Python (including machine learning tools such as tensor flow, pytorch, etc.), MATLAB, R, and SPSS.