Kevin J. Mastro

The world is uncertain, and navigating it successfully requires the brain to continuously build and update internal models that guide behavior. A fundamental tension in this process is knowing when to exploit what you already know and when to abandon it to explore new possibilities. I study how the brain solves this problem and how that solution changes across the lifespan.

My research program combines behavioral computation, circuit physiology, and cross-species comparison to reveal the algorithms and cellular mechanisms that govern exploration and exploitation in mouse and common marmoset. Using the same computational framework across both species, I ask what changes with age, why those changes occur, and what cellular and circuit mechanisms drive them. My lab will pursue this question from synapse to behavior

I am jointly mentored by Bernardo Sabatini and Beth Stevens at Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, and the Broad Institute. Beyond the lab, I am committed to building inclusive scientific communities and have served as Head Teaching Fellow for MCB 80 and as a Residential Advisor at Harvard College.