Aramis D. M. Valverde
J.D. Candidate at American University Washington College of Law
M.A. in Bioethics Candidate at New York University
M.S. in Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California Merced
J.D. candidate (expected Spring 2028), at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. Program is ranked No. 6 nationally in the specialty areas of Intellectual Property Law and International Law.
M.A. in Bioethics candidate (expected Fall 2025, cumulative & major GPA 3.8) at NYU’s Center for Bioethics and School of Global Public Health. The program integrates clinical, research, global, and environmental ethics. Courses taken include Systems Toxicology, Mind and Language Seminar w/ Ned Block, Environmental Ethics, and other such coursework.
M.S. in Cognitive and Information Sciences (Fall 2020 – Spring 2022), with training in experimental,
analytical, and computational approaches to cognition, perception, behavior, and human–technology interaction.
Coursework and research spanned neural computation, complex systems, and computational cognitive neuroscience.
Thesis:
Outlining the Diverse Etiologies of Autism Spectrum Disorder
.
B.A. in Psychology (2015–2020), with emphasis on cognitive and biological foundations of behavior, and quantitative methods including EEG. Work included research on neural circuitry, political knowledge, voting behavior, social media usage, and susceptibility to misinformation, culminating in two invited undergraduate podium presentations.
B.A. in Philosophy (2015–2020), with focus on philosophy of mind, ethics, and logic. Training emphasized analytic reasoning, argumentation, and long-form philosophical writing, providing the conceptual backbone for later work in philosophy of mind and bioethics.
The Policy and Neuroscience of Death by Neurological Criteria (2024–Present).
Investigates the etiology and neurology of post-cardiac-arrest brain-death, including ECMO contexts,
and applies findings to clinical case studies. Developed a brain-process-based framework for determining
death and produced policy recommendations advocating for more stringent neurological screening and
scientifically grounded brain-death declaration criteria.
Neural and Biochemical Mechanisms of Serotonergic Compounds (2024–Present).
Analyzes biochemical mechanisms underlying LSD and related serotonergic compounds, including a
biochemically grounded proposal for understanding the lack of serotonin syndrome in LSD and
similar hallucinogens. Connects receptor-level and network-level models to predicted changes in
perceptual processing and presented findings at various conferences (ASSC27, NYU Minds, Brains, and
Machines).
External collaborator (2024–Present) with Dr. Judith Zelikoff, working alongside Voice of Gowanus and Friends & Residents of Greater Gowanus. Synthesized toxicology and chemical-exposure literature to design a community-driven environmental-health survey around the Gowanus Canal Superfund/Brownfield region, and developed IRB-ready protocol and materials for the NYU Washington Square HRPP, work in the near future includes the shepherding of the project through NYU Langone's IRB and actual performance of the study developed.
Membership Committee Chair (2023–Present) and prior Membership Committeeperson (2021–2022). Proposed, secured funding for, and executed a multi-demographic membership drive; worked to expand travel grants and opportunities for underserved and early-career scholars; overhauled and redesigned divisional marketing and branding, including a new logo and stylebook aligned with the division’s mission.
Co-founded CERC (2021–2022) to assess environmental hazards and health impacts in Central California communities. Developed protocols under guidance from NASA’s USRA and NAMS programs, and later pursued independently with periodic consultation from NASA program leadership. Work combined environmental risk analysis, community engagement, and science communication for the ends of public environmental education.
Research Assistant (2020–2022) in computational cognitive neuroscience, developing models of relational and object representation and using network simulations to examine microscale and mesoscale mechanisms underlying perceptual differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Work informed later thesis and ongoing systems-level frameworks for the modeling and comprehension of cognition and perception.
Served as Treasurer of the Doctors Without Borders student chapter at San Francisco State, one of the first officially sanctioned DWB student groups in the U.S. Helped organize a large formal fundraiser, served as a primary contact for the “Far from Home” exhibit, expanded membership via collaborations with other campus organizations, and designed most chapter posters and event materials.
Competed on the SFSU Speech and Debate Team in Lincoln–Douglas and related events, with multiple wins across dozens of tournaments, including a unanimous 1st-place finish in my section at the Berkeley Invitational.
Collected and analyzed data on Cognitive Science PhD student outcomes, focusing on trajectories, placement patterns, and structural factors shaping academic and non-academic career paths.
- - - GPH-GU 2222: Ethics and Clinical Practice. Teaching Assistant. Fall 2024 - -
- - - PHIL 003: Applied Ethics. Two Weekly Discussion Sections. Fall 2020 - -
- - - POLI 130: Institutions of Democracy. Teaching Assistant. Spring 2021 - -
- - - COGS 177/PHIL 173: Consciousness in Philosophy and Cognitive Science. Teaching Assistant. Fall 2021 - -
- - - PHIL 001: Introduction to Philosophy. Two Weekly Discussion Sections. Spring 2022 - -
Delivered invited talks and workshops on perception, conscious report, neural systems modeling, anesthetic mechanisms, and neuroethics for academic and public audiences, including presentations on functional and mechanistic frameworks for conscious report. See presentations tab for more information.
Membership Committee Chair (2023–Present) and Membership Committeeperson (2021–2022), focusing on membership growth, equity in access, travel support, and divisional branding.
Cognitive and Information Sciences Fellow (2021 & 2022) at the University of St Andrews. Presented work on environmental health, neurobiology, and consciousness, and participated in an interdisciplinary, multi-modal research community on “diverse intelligences.”
Associate Member, contributing to ongoing discussions bridging mathematical modeling, neural architectures, and theories of consciousness.
Member of OMCAN, a network centered at the University of Oxford focused on mathematical and computational approaches to consciousness and their applications.
Associate Member (2025–Present), recognized for research on biomolecular systems inducing the development of subtypes of ASD.
Student member (2020–Present), engaged with developments in systems and cognitive neuroscience relevant to consciousness and perception.
Member of AAAS, connecting neuroscience, environmental health, and policy work to broader scientific and public audiences.
Member, with divisional involvement primarily through APA Division 24 (Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology).
Member and presenter at ASSC27 (Tokyo), focusing on temporal perception, self-modeling, and connectome-based hypernetwork models of cognition and qualia.
Officer & Treasurer & Fundraiser (2017–2019), coordinating fundraising, event planning, and chapter outreach in support of Médecins Sans Frontières.
Novice and Open Lincoln–Douglas competitor (2015–2017), developing high-level argumentative, rhetorical, and public-speaking skills.
Instructor & assistant (2017) for STEM/STEAM teacher workshops in Phnom Penh, supporting cross-cultural STEAM education and curriculum development.
- - - NYU GPH Bioethics Fellowship – Fellowship Recipient, $20,000 (2024 & 2025).
- - - Cognitive and Information Sciences Fellow – Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (2021 & 2022).
- - - Templeton Foundation Honoraria – DISI honoraria of $1,250 (2021) and $3,450 (2022).
- - - Dean’s List – San Francisco State University (2016, 2019, 2020).
- - - Co-Awardee – Privacy Financial Hack Challenge, SF State Hackathon (2017).
Licenses & Certifications (CITI Program)
- Accreditation 101 for New and Adjunct Faculty — CITI Program. Issued Sep 2025; Expires Sep 2026. Credential ID 70046295.
- Working with Your IRB — CITI Program. Issued Sep 2025; Expires Sep 2026. Credential ID 70046294.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Subject Protections — CITI Program. Issued Jun 2025; Expires Jun 2028. Credential ID 70046284.
- Conflicts of Interest — CITI Program. Issued Jun 2025; Expires Jun 2029. Credential ID 70022669.
- Social and Behavioral Research – Basic IRB — CITI Program. Issued Jun 2025; Expires Jun 2028. Credential ID 70022668.
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Regulations and Requirements for Human Subject Research — CITI Program. Issued Jun 2025; Expires Jun 2028. Credential ID 70046315.
Legal & Professional Qualifications
- Patent Bar Eligible (United States Patent and Trademark Office) – Category B, Option 4, based on scientific and technical coursework.
- Spanish–English Translation: P1 Certified (Clinical Non-Technical) for healthcare and clinical materials.
- Languages: English (native), Spanish (fluent), introductory Korean.
Advanced statistical methods and graphics (R, MATLAB, Jamovi); large-scale data analysis and exploratory data analysis; computational cognitive neuroscience methods; neural systems analysis and electrophysiological methods; molecular docking and molecular dynamics workflows; Java-based neural simulation platforms (SIMBRAIN, EMERGENT); CSS and front-end development; Photoshop and design tools; organizational financial management; event management and community engagement; public speaking and argumentation; translation of technically dense books (Korean → English); Spanish–English translation (clinical, non-technical). First-year legal training includes common-law case reading and briefing; doctrinal analysis in core 1L subjects (Contracts, Torts, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Property, and Constitutional Law); statutory interpretation and rule synthesis; Legal Rhetoric / Legal Research & Writing over a full academic year; CREAC/IRAC-based predictive and persuasive memoranda; Bluebook (22nd ed.) citation; and introductory oral advocacy and negotiation exercises. I also built this site, and if you buy me a coffee I'll send you the code for it. If you buy me two dozen coffees, I'll re-write the code myself, to your specifications.
Neural basis of cognition, neural computation, neural-chemical mechanisms, philosophy of mind, neural architectures, computational bases for cognition and consciousness, phenomenological consciousness as informational processing, neuro-physiological correlates of behavior and cognition, neural basis of representation, systematicity and evolving systems.