STEFFIE TOMSON
University of California Los Angeles
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
steffietomson@gmail.com
713-305-2464
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
WORK
UCLA
Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Susan Bookheimer
2013-present
EDUCATION
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
PhD in Neuroscience
2008 - 2013
Tulane Medical School, New Orleans LA
Graduate Studies in Biomedical Sciences [GPA 3.8/4.0]
2007 - 2008
Rice University, Houston TX
B.A. Hispanic Studies
2003 - 2006
AWARDS AND HONORS
T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neurobehavioral Genetics
2013-2015
Steed Fellowship
$2000 toward international travel, to be used for OHBM meeting in Beijing, China
2012
Selected as student representative on seminar selection committee
2012
Selected as student representative for graduate admissions committee
2012
Nominated for Deborah K. Martin award
Each department nominates one student based on scientific enthusiasm and success
2011
NIH Neuroimaging Training Program Participant
Funded 2-week neuroimaging workshop at UCLA
2011
Louisiana Board of Regents Fellowship, Tulane Medical School
Full funding for 4 years of graduate education
January 2007
PUBLICATIONS
Tomson SN, Narayan M, Allen GA, Eagleman DE (In Press). Neural networks of colored sequence synesthesia. Journal of Neuroscience.
Tomson SN, Avidan N, Lee K, Sarma AK, Tushe R, Milewicz D, Bray M, Leal S, Eagleman DM (2011). The genetics of colored sequence synesthesia:
Suggestive evidence of linkage to 16q and genetic heterogeneity for the condition. Behavioral Brain Research. 223(1):48-52. PMID: 21504763
Eagleman, D. M., A. D. Kagan, Nelson, S.S. Sagram, D., Sarma, K. (2007). "A standardized test battery for the study of synesthesia." J Neurosci
Methods 159(1): 139-45. PMID: 16919755
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
FYI Mentor
Mentor for new graduate students
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
2011
TOMSON
Analyses of Neuronal Function Tutor
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
Session Leader – NIH-funded Summer Neuroscience Review for Incoming Graduate Students
Delivered lectures introducing sensory systems, neural anatomy, and functional MRI to incoming
students
RBI Tutoring Program, Houston TX
Math and English Tutor
Provided SAT preparation classes for underprivileged high school students
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX
Companion Class Instructor – Introduction to Neuroscience Methods
Developed syllabus and taught ten review lectures in tandem with the course
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2010, 2011
2009, 2010
2009, 2010
2009
STUDENT MENTEES:
Hannah Bosley
Rice University Undergraduate
Projects: Genetics of Synesthesia, fMRI of Sensory Processing Disorder
2011 – 2012
Christopher Sinke and Janina Neufeld
PhD students at Hannover Biomedical Research School, visiting lab for 6 weeks
Projects: Does motion-sound synesthesia show auditory activation in fMRI?
Skills learned: fMRI experimental design, fMRI data analysis, data mining on synesthete.org
2011
Amber Sandoval-Menendez
High school senior at Albequerque Academy, visiting lab for 2 weeks
Project: Do different drugs have an effect on the synesthetic experience?
Skills learned: Database analysis, data mining on synesthete.org
2011
Roshni Singh
High school student in Authentic Scientist Training Program, New York
Project: Is there a difference between synesthetic music colors in minor vs. major keys?
Skills learned: Experimental design, data analysis
2010
POSTERS
S.N. Tomson, M. Narayan, G. Allen, R. Gibbs, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. Functional connectivity and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, June 2012.
Organization for Human Brain Mapping annual meeting.
S.N. Tomson, M. Narayan, G. Allen, R. Gibbs, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. Functional connectivity and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, February 2012.
Rush and Helen Record Annual Neuroscience Retreat.
S. N. Tomson, M. Bray, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. New results in the neuroscience, behavior, and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, November 2010.
Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting.
S. N. Tomson, M. Bray, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. New results in the neuroscience, behavior, and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, May 2010.
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting.
S.N. Tomson, M. Bray, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. New results in the neuroscience, behavior, and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, March 2010.
UK Synaesthesia Association Annual Meeting.
S.N. Tomson, M. Bray, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. New results in the neuroscience, behavior, and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, February 2010.
Rush and Helen Record Annual Neuroscience Retreat.
S.S. Nelson, M. Bray, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. New results in the neuroscience, behavior, and genetics of synesthesia. Poster, November 2009.
Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting.
TOMSON
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TALKS
S.N. Tomson, M. Narayan, G. Allen, R. Gibbs, S. Leal, D.M. Eagleman. Neural networks and genetics of colored sequence synesthesia. October
2012.Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.
Multisensory integration of wine and music pairings. Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. November 2011.
Functional connectivity and genetics of colored-sequence synesthesia. American Synesthesia Association Annual Meeting. October 2011.
Synesthesia and multisensory integration. Biopsychology, memory and cognition class at the University of Houston. September 2011.
Functional connectivity and genetics of colored-sequence synesthesia. Synesthesia class at Rice University. September 2011.
Functional connectivity and genetics of colored-sequence synesthesia. Rush and Helen Record Annual Neuroscience Retreat. February 2011.
Natural viewing paradigm reveals neural networks of synesthesia. American Synesthesia Association Annual Meeting. October 2010.
MEDIA
Huffington Post – ‘Talk Nerdy to Me’ April 4, 2012
Nova ScienceNOW – ‘How does the brain work?’ February 2, 2011.
Secret Life of Scientists – January 2011. Season 2, episode 25.
SCIENTIFIC SKILLS
Programming languages:
Matlab
Psychtoolbox (stimulus presentation)
Python
Psychopy (stimulus presentation)
fMRI analyses:
Functional Connectivity (Matlab, SPM8, Brain Connectivity Toolbox)
Graph theory, edge detection, group network comparison, modularity
Dynamic Causal Modeling (SPM8)
COURSES
At UCLA
NIH Neuroimaging Training Program Participant
Funded 2-week program covering all aspects of functional MRI, EEG, and DTI data collection and analysis
At Baylor College of Medicine
Neurobiology of Disease
Neurobiology of Sensation and Movement
Higher Brain Function
Analyses of Neuronal Function
Neuroanatomy and Development
Introduction to Neuroscience Methods
At Tulane Medical School
Statistics
Cellular Biology
Biochemistry
Biotechnology
LANGUAGES
English – Native Language
Spanish – Fluent
TOMSON
MEMBERSHIPS
Organization for Human Brain Mapping
Society for Neuroscience
Young Texans Against Cancer
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