PhD in Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Advisor: Nicole C. Rust, Ph.D.
Thesis title: The Neural Correlates of Visual Recognition Memory as a Means of Bridging Observations Across Primate Species
2019 - 2026
Electrophysiologist and computational neuroscientist working at the intersection of visual and cognitive neuroscience to study how neural populations dynamically and flexibly support cognitive processes like visual memory. 7+ years of experience thinking critically about complex datasets, conducting electrophysiological and behavioral experiments, and communicating complicated ideas. Passionate about translation across model species, collaborative science, and clear scientific communication.
EducationPhD in Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Advisor: Nicole C. Rust, Ph.D.
Thesis title: The Neural Correlates of Visual Recognition Memory as a Means of Bridging Observations Across Primate Species
B.S in Neuroscience with honors, University of Southern California, Summa cum laude
Honors thesis advisor: Irving Biederman, Ph.D.
Undergraduate research advisor: Sarah W. Bottjer, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Chicago
PI: Marlene Cohen, Ph.D.
Research focus: How does the brain support visual memories that are both highly specific and easily generalizable? What role do neurotransmitters play in mediating this balance and how does that relate to memory changes observed with aging?
Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S., Foster, B.L. & Rust, N.C. (2026). Neural representations of visual memory in inferotemporal cortex reveal a generalizable framework for translation between spikes and field potentials. bioRxiv. doi: 10.64898/2026.01.03.697516. (Under Review) [link]
Jannuzi, B.G.L., Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2026). Sharpened visual memory representations are reflected in inferotemporal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience. doi: 110.1523/JNEUROSCI.0833-25.2025. [link] [PDF]
Bohn, S., Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2025). Resolving a paradox about how vision is transformed into familiarity. bioRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.13.659490. (Under Review) [link]
Rust, N.C., Yang, Y., Hacker, C.M. & Stuphorn, V. (2025). The representation of mood in primate anterior insular cortex. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2025.04.22.650010. (Under Review) [link]
Hacker, C.M. & Rust, N.C. (2022). Ritalin as a causal perturbation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Research Spotlight. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.04.002. [link][PDF]
Hacker, C.M., Biederman, I., Zhu, T., Nelken, M. & Meschke, E.X. (2022). The sizable difficulty in matching unfamiliar faces differing only moderately in orientation in depth is a function of image dissimilarity. Vision Research. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2021.09.005. [link] [PDF]
Hacker, C.M., Meschke, E.X. & Biederman, I. (2019). A Face in a (Temporal) Crowd. Vision Research, doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2018.02.007. [link] [PDF]
Hacker, C.M. & Biederman, I. (2019). The proficiency for distinguishing faces is independent of the proficiency for remembering them. PsyArXiv, doi: 10.31234/osf.io/9bwct. [link] [PDF]
Hacker, C.M. & Biederman, I. (2019). The invariance of recognition to the stretching of faces is not explained by familiarity or warping to an average face. PsyArXiv, doi: 10.31234/osf.io/e5hgx. [link] [PDF]
Biederman, I., Shilowich, B.E., Herald, S.B., Margalit, E., Maarek, R., Meschke, E.X. & Hacker, C.M. (2018). The Cognitive Neuroscience of Person Identification. Neuropsychologia, 116, 205-214. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.01.036. [link] [PDF]
Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S., Foster, B.L. & Rust, N.C. (2025). Field potentials sensitively and efficiently capture visual memory representations in inferotemporal cortex. Talk presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. November. Co-chaired the nanosymposium session, "Neuronal dynamics underlying memory".
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2024). Identifying the neural correlates of contextual influences on image memorability. Invited talk at the Workshop on Synergizing the Human Brain and Artificial Neural Networks, virtual.
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2023) Identifying the neural correlates of contextual influences on image memorability. Talk presented at the annual Neuroscience/Vision/Auditory Training Grant Retreat, Philadelphia, PA. May.
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2022) Worse remembering of a dog when viewed in a sequence of dogs is dominated by changes in memory mechanisms as opposed to sensory adaptation. Talk presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S., Foster, B.L., Rust, N.C. (2025). A systematic comparison of the visual memory representations in spikes and LFPs. Poster presented at the meeting of the Simian Collective. Durham, NC. August.
Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S., Foster, B.L., Rust, N.C. (2025). Would the same inferences about visual memory have been made with LFPs as compared to spikes? Poster presented at the 8th Annual Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. August.
Hacker, C.M., Bohn, S.E., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2024) A systematic comparison of the visual memory information in spikes, high gamma, and LFPs in inferotemporal cortex. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL. October.
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2023) A role for cortical pattern separation in enhancing visual memory. Poster presented at 150th Scheie Eye Anniversary Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. May.
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2023) A role for cortical pattern separation in enhancing visual memory. Poster presented at COSYNE, Montreal, Québec, Canada. March.
Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2022) Evidence that the extrinsic effects on memorability are computed in inferotemporal cortex and inherited by the hippocampus. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. November.
Hacker, C.M. & Biederman, I. (2019). The capacity for face perception is independent of the capacity for face memory. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May
Hacker, C.M., Meschke, E.X., Biederman, I. (2018). Recognition of Stretched Faces. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Meschke, E.X.*, Hacker, C.M.*, Juarez, J.J., Maarek, R.S., & Biederman, I. (2017). Detecting Unspecified Familiar Faces. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Bohn, S., Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2025). Resolving a paradox about how vision is transformed into recognition memory. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. November.
Bohn, S., Hacker, C.M., Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2022). Disambiguating familiarity from visual modulation: A role for the hippocampus in recognition memory. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. November.
Jannuzi, B.G.L., Hacker, C.M., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L. & Rust, N.C. (2022). Neural analogs of memory sharpening behavior emerge earlier in inferotemporal cortex than the hippocampus. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Jannuzi, B.G.L., Meyer, T., Hay, M.L., Hacker, C.M. & Rust, N.C. (2021). The remarkable visual specificity of visual recognition memory behavior is shaped by representational sharpening, reflected in inferotemporal cortex. Poster presented at the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. November.
Biederman, I., Zhu, T., Nelken, M., Meschke, E.X. & Hacker, C.M. (2019). The cost of matching depth-rotated faces: A simple, additive function of image similarity. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Meschke, E.X., Hacker, C.M., Biederman, I. (2018). How Many Faces Can We Recognize? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Zhu, T., Nelken, M., Hacker, C.M., Meschke, E.X., Biederman, I. (2018). Matching Depth-Rotated Faces at Varying Degrees of Physical Similarity. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Biederman, I., Margalit, E., Maarek, R.S., Meschke, E.X., Shilowich, B.S., Hacker, C. M., Juarez, J.J., Seamans, T. J., & Herald, S.B. (2017). What is the Nature of the Perceptual Deficit in Congenital Prosopagnosia? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society, St. Petersburg Beach, Fl. May.
Jameson-Hurvich Travel Award, Recipient
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Honorable Mention
USC Discovery Scholar, Distinction recipient, Prize finalist
Graduation distinction awarded to students who excel in the classroom while demonstrating the ability to create exceptional new scholarship.
USC Neuroscience Outstanding Student of the Year Award, Recipient
Award given to USC’s best neuroscience student with senior standing.
Brian Phillip Rakusin Neuroscience Scholarship Award, Recipient
$10,000 Scholarship awarded each year to the most outstanding sophomore or junior demonstrating exceptional achievements and aspirations in the field of Neuroscience.
USC Provost's Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Six-time Recipient
Fellowship awarded to select undergraduates demonstrating excellent academic standing and engaged in research, total value of $7,000 over five semesters.
Computer Vision and Imaging Module, University of Birmingham
Invited Guest Lecturer
Invited to give a virtual 45-minute lecture on the relationship between neuroscience and computer science for senior undergraduates.
Computational Neuroscience: Vision, Cold Spring Harbor
Teaching Assistant
Course Organizers: Jonathan Pillow, Emily Cooper, John Serences
From a group of 24 students I was one of two selected to return as a TA the following year. In this two-week course I discussed course material and projects one-on-one with students, coordinated lecture materials with lecturers, and gave a lecture about my research.
Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Recitation Leader
Taught a weekly "computational tutorial" reviewing mathematical concepts for undergraduate and graduate students with a neuroscience background.
CORE II: The Electrical Language of Cells, University of Pennsylvania
Recitation Leader
Taught weekly recitations for first year graduate students to supplement lectures on electrical and chemical signaling in excitable cells.
Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Teaching assistant
Presented a lecture about object recognition, held office hours, and assisted in grading for an introductory undergraduate course.
Writer (2021-2026), Co-Editor (2022-2026)
Student-curated blog with posts about neuroscientific research written for the public. I have written 27 posts and edited over 125.
Member (2019-2026), Co-Director (2022-2023)
Coalition of neuroscience graduate students organizing outreach and professional development events. As co-director I oversaw the eight-member executive board and allocation of $36,500 budget.
Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain News Site
Writer
Contributed journalistic news pieces written for a broad neuroscience audience about internal brain states and the International Brain Laboratory.
CNI +/-
Organizer
Seminar for students and post docs of the Computational Neuroscience Initiative to informally present and get feedback about ongoing research.
Programming Languages: Matlab (advanced), Python (intermediate), HTML/CSS (intermediate), C++ (basic), R (basic)
Languages: French (advanced), Spanish (intermediate), Italian (basic)