Hello! My name is Alexandra Syunkova, but many may know me as Sasha. I am a research technician in the Kitzes Lab at the University of Pittsburgh. 

My desire to study the connections of our natural world using computational tools landed me in the field of bioacoustics, which brings together my interest in programming, passion for animal ecology and behavior, and musical inclination. Using OpenSoundscape, I'm able to train and apply machine learning classifiers and other analyses to audio that our lab has collected at various locations in the Americas, allowing me to gain information about our species and sounds of interest.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science, Biology, and Computer Science from the University of Miami, where I also worked in marine behavioral and ecoacoustic research for a year prior to moving to Pittsburgh. While I am enjoying my current position, I am interested in eventually advancing to a research-centered graduate program.