Computational cognitive modelling | Model-based cognitive neuroscience | Data science
Education
University of Western Australia, 2015–2018
- PhD in computational cognitive modelling
- Applied mathematics major sequence
University of Melbourne, 2014
- Bachelor of Science (Honors) in psychology
Monash University, 2010–2013
- Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
Employment
University of Amsterdam, 2019–Present
- Post-doctoral researcher – Integrative Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit (IMCN), Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Guest lecturer – Masters in Methods and Statistics, Amsterdam Brain and Cognition
University of Western Australia, 2015–2018
- Coordinating tutor – PSYC4418: Advanced Quantitative Methods in Psychology
- Tutor – PSYC3302: Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Coordinating tutor – PSYC4418: Psychological Research and Data
- Coordinating tutor – PSYC3309: Industrial and Organisational Psychology
- Coordinating tutor – PSYC2209: Industrial and Organisational Psychology
- Tutor – PSYC3301: Psychological Research Methods
- Tutor – PSYC3302: Psychological Testing and Assessment
Research Assistant, 2017
- Human Factors Lab, University of Western Australia
- Responsible for developing on-screen geometry for Air-Traffic Control simulations, collaborating on experimental design, programming ATC simulator software
Research Assistant, 2015
- CARE-LAB, University of Western Australia
- Responsible for participant recruitment, data collection, operation of eye-tracking equipment and software
Research Assistant, 2013–2015
- Monash University Accident Research Centre
- Responsible for database management, data cleaning, statistical analysis, data collection, piloting psychophysiological measures, scientific report writing, installation of data recording devices in study vehicles
Research Intern, 2013–2014
- Applied Cognition Lab, Aerospace Division, Defence Science and Technology Organisation
- Responsible for participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis
Journal articles
- Boag, R. J., Miletić, S., & Forstmann, B. U. (under review). Reinforcement learning and decision-making models: A new integrative framework and its applications. Frontiers in Neuroscience.
- Miletić, S., Boag, R. J., Trutti, A. C., Forstmann, B. U., & Heathcote, A. (2020). A new model of decision processing in instrumental learning tasks. bioRxiv.
- Trutti, A. C., Verschooren, S., Forstmann, B. U., & Boag, R. J. (2020). Understanding subprocesses of working memory through the lens of model-based cognitive neuroscience. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 38, 57-65.
- Boag, R. J. (2020). Commentary: Dopamine-dependent loss aversion during effort-based decision-making. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14.
- Miletić, S., Boag, R. J., & Forstmann, B. U. (2020). Mutual benefits: combining reinforcement learning with sequential sampling models. Neuropsychologia, 136, 107261.
- Wilson, M. D., Boag, R. J., & Strickland, L. (2019). All models are wrong, some are useful, but are they reproducible? Commentary on Lee et al.(2019). Computational Brain & Behavior, 2(3-4), 239-241.
- Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Loft, S., & Heathcote, A. (2019). Strategic attention and decision control support prospective memory in a complex dual-task environment. Cognition, 191, 103974.
- Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Heathcote, A., Neal, A., & Loft, S. (2019). Cognitive control and capacity for prospective memory in complex dynamic environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(12), 2181.
- Sewell, D. K., Jach, H. K., Boag, R. J., & Van Heer, C. A. (2019). Combining error-driven models of associative learning with evidence accumulation models of decision-making. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 26(3), 868-893.
- Koppel, S., Kuo, J., Berecki-Gisolf, J., Boag, R. J., Hue, Y. X., & Charlton, J. L. (2015). Examining physiological responses across different driving maneuvers during an on-road driving task: a pilot study comparing older and younger drivers. Traffic Injury Prevention, 16(3), 225-233.
Book chapters
- Boag, R. J., Miletić, S., Trutti, A. C., & Forstmann, B. U. (2021). Toward a model-based cognitive neuroscience of working memory subprocesses. Introduction to Model-based Cognitive Neuroscience, 2nd edition.
Conference papers & talks
- Strickland, L., Bowden, V., Boag, R. J., Heathcote, A. & Loft, S. (2020). Modelling how humans use decision aids in simulated air traffic control. Australasian Mathematical Psychology Conference, Sydney, Australia.
- Boag, R. J., & Miletić, S. (2019). Accumulate-to-threshold models of decision making for human and animal research. Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Boag, R. J., Miletić, S., Mathiopoulou, V., & Forstmann, B. U. (2019). Speed and accuracy in learning: A combined Q-learning diffusion decision model analysis. Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany.
- Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Heathcote, A., & Loft, S. (2018). Modelling cognitive control mechanisms in simulated air traffic control. Australasian Mathematical Psychology Conference, Perth, Australia.
- Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Heathcote, A., & Loft, S. (2018). Modelling prospective memory and decision making in simulated air traffic control. 5th International Conference on Prospective Memory, Melbourne, Australia.
- Boag, R. J., Strickland, L., Neal, A., Heathcote, A., & Loft, S. (2017). Adaptive decision making in simulated air traffic control. Australasian Mathematical Psychology Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
- Vuckovic, A., Boag, R. J., & Martin, R. (2014). Using cognitive models in applied settings: a sequential sampling model of the unmanned aerial vehicle operator. Australasian Mathematical Psychology Conference, Canberra, Australia.
Doctoral dissertation
- Boag, R. J. (2019). A computational theory of cognitive control and attentional capacity in complex multiple-task environments. University of Western Australia.
Honors & awards
Commendation for Teaching Excellence, 2018
- University of Western Australia
- Awarded for achieving the highest student feedback score while coordinating tutor for the unit PSYC4418: Advanced Quantitative Methods in Psychology
APS Prize in Psychology, 2014
- Australian Psychological Society
- Awarded to the student attaining the highest overall mark in the fourth-year psychology program
Research & technical skills
- I have extensive experience with all stages of the data analysis and modelling workflow, including: data cleaning and visualization; model building, fitting, selection, and posterior inference; and using simulations for model validation, parameter recovery, and model exploration. I am currently developing a joint neuro-cognitive modelling pipeline for simulating and fitting cognitive and neurophysiological models to multiple data sources (e.g., EEG + fMRI + behaviour) simultaneously within a fully Bayesian framework. I also have extensive experience analyzing data using conventional and hierarchical Bayesian statistical models (GLM/GLMMs).
- I have extensive experience with the R programming language. I use Git for version control and GitHub as an open record of my modelling and analysis code. I have experience using research computing servers to model large datasets in parallel.
- I have extensive experience writing scientific research reports for publication in high-impact journals, and an aptitude for public speaking, as demonstrated by my many conference talks and substantial teaching experience.
- I have extensive experience designing and running scientific experiments and collecting data.
- I have also developed management skills in my role as a post-doc at the University of Amsterdam, in which I have coordinated teams from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Australia to produce high-quality research and scientific publications. I also organized several conferences and modelling workshops, and have experience coordinating lab meeting guest speakers.
Referees
Professor Andrew Heathcote