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Shawn Rhoads

@shawnrhoadsphd.com
1.4K followers 535 following 65 posts

Assistant Professor @ ISMMS NIH Director's Early Independence Awardee Lindau Nobel Laureate Young Scientist PI @ sinclaboratory.com Using computational models, fMRI, & intracranial EEG to study social inference, learning, empathy, loneliness, & well-being

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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 13/07/2026
6/ pyEM also performs well for more complex reinforcement learning models like the SARSA(lambda) algorithm in a two-step task.
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 13/07/2026
5/ A simple example is a Rescorla-Wagner reinforcement-learning model with two parameters (inverse temperature, learning rate) pyEM recovers parameters fast, accurately, and consistently (in three lines of code)! shawnrhoadsphd.com/pyEM/example...
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 13/07/2026
1/ I am thrilled to begin sharing the latest release of pyEM, a Python package I built for fitting cognitive computational models to behavioral data using hierarchical expectation maximization (EM) with maximum a posteriori estimation (MAP). github.com/shawnrhoads/...
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/04/2026
We built an interactive web app to visualize how different model parameters shape craving dynamics: shawnrhoadsphd.com/social-cravi... Chronic loneliness was linked to a lower craving setpoint and stronger shifts in craving when social expectations did not match reality doi.org/10.31234/osf...
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/04/2026
📢 New preprint out now! In three samples (N=594), including a U.S.-representative cohort and a test-retest cohort, we formalize social motivation, learning, and homeostatic control within a single computational framework and identify a phenotype linked to chronic loneliness doi.org/10.31234/osf...
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 17/04/2026
Excited to be back in San Diego for #SANS2026! 🌅 Join the poster session today (4/17) to learn about our new computational framework for craving social connection & its links to chronic loneliness: osf.io/preprints/ps... Also reach out about collaborating & opportunities to get involved w/ the lab
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 21/01/2026
Delighted to be featured in @thetransmitter.bsky.social's Liftoff series: bit.ly/3ZkMQl8 Learn more about our lab's work at the intersection of social interaction, neural computation, & mental health. Reach out if you are interested in collaborating or becoming involved! sinclaboratory.com
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/10/2025
People also vary in their learning patterns: Those with higher levels of subclinical psychopathic traits are less sensitive to other-relevant information, leading to more instrumentally harmful behaviors (i.e., benefiting themselves at an expense to others)
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/10/2025
Multiple brain regions distinctly encode the asymmetric value update that guides future prosocial or antisocial behavior during learning, noting the subgenual and pregenual anterior cingulate play key roles for dual outcome learning (in addition to ventral striatum)
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/10/2025
In 3 pre-registered studies, we examined how these behaviors are acquired + built computational models to test overarching hypotheses We found people update the expected value of choices asymmetrically based on 4 prediction errors related to the target (self, other) & valence (positive, negative)
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 22/09/2025
📢 My lab at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is considering graduate student applications this fall We welcome applicants interested in using computational modeling & fMRI to study social connection 🗓️ Deadline: December 1, 2025 🔗 Learn more: sinclaboratory.com/apply #comppsychiatry #socialneuro
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 31/07/2025
📢 @markkho.bsky.social & I are recruiting a joint postdoc interested in computational models of social interaction & mental health 💻 Ideal candidates have experience w/ multi-player web-based experiments & computational modeling 📅 Apps are reviewed on a rolling basis 🔗 apply.interfolio.com/165809
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 04/04/2025
🚨 @markkho.bsky.social & I are hiring a joint postdoc interested in computational models of social interaction & computational psychiatry 💻 Ideal candidates have experience w/ multi-player web-based experiments & computational modeling 📅 Review begins April 18, 2025 🔗 apply.interfolio.com/165809
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 11/02/2025
My lab is hiring a full-time research coordinator! (Ideal for anyone who would like to pursue a PhD in computational social neuroscience and/or computational psychiatry) We will begin reviewing apps on Feb 21, 2025 Learn more here: sinclab.github.io/connect/hiring #compneuro #socialneuro #cpsy 🧠📈
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 08/10/2024
I am thrilled, honored, & grateful to be a recipient of this year's NIH Director's Early Independence Award I will be launching my research lab soon, so please stay tuned for announcements & opportunities to get involved! commonfund.nih.gov/highrisk/hig...
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 19/09/2024
🚨 Exciting opportunity for trainees 🚨 Join us For the New York #ComputationalPsychiatry Workshop, a 3-day course (Oct 21-23) for learning computational psychiatry methods 🚀🧠💻 Apply by Sept 23: form.jotform.com/242484145124... More info: center-for-computational-psychiatry.github.io/course_nycpw/
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Shawn Rhoads @shawnrhoadsphd.com · 05/03/2024
📣 Calling all high school and college students 📣 Join us this summer to learn how to conduct #mentalhealth research using #computational approaches Apply by April 1, 2024 Website: www.neurocpu.org/spice Application: bit.ly/SPICEApp2024 #computationalpskychiatry #neuroskyence #psychscisky
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