Mafalda Cardoso-Botelho Peña- Graduate Student

Mafalda joined the lab as a volunteer in the Summer of 2020, before formally joining as a Ph.D. student two years later. Prior to that, Mafalda earned a B.A. in Psychology at the Universidad de Navarra (Pamplona, Spain), where she specialized in Clinical Psychology. After completing her undergraduate studies, Mafalda decided to pursue two Master's programs at the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain) in sync, in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology, as together they enrich her understanding of translational research while acquiring real-world experience with patients. During this time, she developed technical skills such as brain stimulation (tDCS, tRNS) and neuroimaging techniques (MRI, fNIRS, EEG) to understand the neural mechanisms of creativity and other higher cognition processes. Before Georgetown, Mafalda spent some time doing research in industry, working as a Psychologist and Data Scientist for Erudit AI training Artificial Intelligence models that predict workplace-related human behaviors through semantic analysis, such as burnout and turnover.

Her current research focuses on using neuroimaging, AI and neuromodulation techniques to better understand and enhance cognitive abilities, such as creativity. Outside of research, Mafalda enjoys spending time doing barre, hiking, cycling, cooking and playing tennis.

email: mcp158@georgetown.edu