Nikasha Patel

Nikasha is a second-year PhD student in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences department at MIT. She builds models of how humans learn new movements—from infants learning to walk, to adults learning complex athletic skills—using computational methods drawn from robotics and cognitive sciences. In addition to her research, Nikasha has a deep interest in civic engagement and science policy. During her undergraduate years at MIT, she interned at the Government Accountability Office through MIT’s Washington DC program and at the US Census Bureau through Coding It Forward’s Civic Digital Fellowship. At the PKG Center, Nikasha serves as the Graduate Community Fellow promoting civic engagement efforts in the MIT student body and collaborating with MITvote, of which she has been a member since 2020.

Outside of research and the PKG, Nikasha enjoys playing volleyball, hosting her radio show at WMBR, doing arts and crafts, and making new friends.