Meet our team

The INTERACT Animal Lab is led by Dr. Rébecca Kleinberger at Northeastern University. Our team of researchers, scientists, and technologists is uniquely experienced in developing technology for animal users. We are dedicated to using thorough academic methods to advance our understanding of animal needs and to deploying ethical, real-world applications.

Dr. Rébecca Kleinberger

Principal Investigator

Rébecca Kleinberger is an Assistant Professor of Humanics and AI at Northeastern University and an Affiliate Researcher at MIT. She obtained her PhD from the MIT Media Lab. She has over ten years of experience creating technology for animals. Her research focuses on designing more adapted animal-centered systems and leveraging technology to ethically give animals more control over their environment and their social interactions.

LAB MEMBERS

Lena Ashooh

Undergraduate student at Harvard, with Special Concentration in Animal Studies

Caroline Nalumansi

Undergraduate student at Northeastern University

Keavan 'Von' Farsad

Master’s student at Northeastern University (CS)

Somil Urmil Shah

Master’s student at Northeastern University (IS)

Patrick Chwalek

PhD Candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PAST MEMBERS

Zitong Bao

Master’s student at Northeastern University (CS)

Hao Jin

Master’s student at Northeastern University (CS)

Megan McMahon

Undergraduate student at Northeastern University

Mega Vemuri

Undergraduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cassandre Crawford

Animal Behaviorist

COLLABORATORS

Pr. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas

Lecturer/ Assistant Professor at The University of Glasgow. Head of the Glasgow ACI Lab