Juliet Y. Davidow, Department Affairs Chair, Columbia University Chapter

Juliet graduated from New York University in 2005 with a B.A. in Psychology and a Minor in Dramatic Literature and Cinema History.  She spent the next four years working full-time in research labs at NYU’s Infant Perception Lab and Weill-Cornell Medical College’s Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, where she fell in love with the scientific method and exploring the mechanism that underlie human behavior.  As a researcher in these labs, Juliet learned techniques for investigating her research questions. She tested developmental populations from birth through adolescence using multiple converging methods, including eye-tracking and non-invasive brain imaging techniques. She is currently enrolled at Columbia University in a doctoral program in Psychology where she continues to study cognitive development over the course of adolescence, employing psychological tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging as tools to understand behavior. Juliet’s interests are in learning and memory behaviors, specifically how positive and negative learning experiences might be used differently by teens to make decisions at a later time. Juliet is generously supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. 

In addition to her own research program, Juliet spends her time mentoring undergraduate and high school students through independent research projects. She’s very excited to be joining the Scientista Team and reaching a broader group of young women across the sciences.  As a person who owes great thanks to female role models in science, Juliet is committed to bridging relationships between women at all stages along the “career path”. She’s excited to bring her ideas to the table towards building a scientific community that spans academic departments at Columbia.
Outside of the lab, Juliet enjoys cooking and eating in NYC’s awesome restaurants. She loves the arts, and spends what time she can at screenings of historic films, live shows of theater and music, and attending gallery openings and museum exhibits. She’s an avid fan of watching baseball and football (though most enthusiastically during playoffs).