Homepage - Catherine Chen
I'm currently on the job market! I'm primarily looking for European-based post-docs, so please reach out if you or anyone in your network is hiring!
I am a fifth year PhD Candidate at Brown University working with Carsten Eickhoff in the Health NLP Lab. Recently, I spent the summer in London working as a Summer Fellow at the Centre for the Governance of AI, where I was supervised by Jakob Mökander. Before that, I spent Spring 2025 as a visiting researcher in the IRLab at the University of Amsterdam, hosted by Maarten de Rijke and Maria Heuss.
My research centers on explainable information retrieval (XIR), particularly developing methods for interpretable and explainable search. I am also broadly interested in the interpretability of LLMs and the applications of ML/NLP/IR to the biomedical domain. Overall, my work aims to contribute to the development of more accountable and trustworthy AI systems.
Previously, I worked as a full-stack software engineer for FreeWheel in NYC to develop advertising technology solutions. I received my BA in Computer Science and French from Wellesley College, where I was also a member of the Track & Field and Swimming & Diving Teams.
In my spare time, I enjoy running, ice skating, cooking, and exploring the local food scene.