Biography

Sofia graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with her BA in Psychology in 2020 and her MA in Psychology in 2022 with a focus in behavioral neuroscience. During this time, she worked with Dr. Kiran Soma to explore the relationship between sex steroids and social behavior in an avian model. Specifically, Sofia investigated the role of steroid fatty acyl esters in modulating seasonal aggression in song sparrows and she also studied the relationship between neurosteroids and non-breeding aggression in juvenile song sparrows. For her undergraduate and master's work, she received the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, the Graduate Entrance Scholarship, and the NSERC CGS-M. Sofia joined the Sisneros lab at the University of Washington in September 2022. 

Research

Sofia is broadly interested in understanding the relationship between the brain and behavior. Particularly, she is interested in investigating the neuroendocrine mechanisms that underlie shifts in social behaviors and in auditory sensitivity in plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus). Moreover, she is interested in how different social contexts or life stages can shape and/or be shaped by various neuroendocrine mechanisms.