Samuel Vander Dussen

Sam is a Ph.D. student in the Bioengineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his M.S. degree from UCLA in bioengineering with a specialization in NeuroEngineering in 2023. He previously attended Azusa Pacific University where he played collegiate football and received a B.S. in Systems Engineering in 2019. His current research with the Brain Injury Research Center at UCLA focuses on the system design of a synchronous behavioral and functional ultrasound imaging platform to acquire information about functional network connectivity changes after traumatic brain injury. His research interests include computational neuroscience, machine learning, and graph theory to understand plasticity and working memory in the whole brain. He previously worked as an electrical engineer at Raytheon Technologies from 2019 to 2021 where he automated the testing of various satellite modules. Outside of research, he enjoys going to the gym, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Mentor: Paul Mathews, Ph.D.