Bia Adams, a London-based neuropsychologist, former professional ballet dancer, and MIT Open Learning learner, has built her career across decades of diverse, interconnected experiences and an emphasis on lifelong learning. She earned her bachelor's degree in clinical and behavioral psychology, and then worked as a psychologist and therapist for several years before taking a sabbatical in her late 20s to study at the London Contemporary Dance School and The Royal Ballet - fulfilling a long-time dream.
"In hindsight, I think what drew me most to ballet was not so much the form itself," says Adams, "but more of a subconscious desire to make sense of my body moving through space and time, my emotions and motivations - all within a discipline that is rigorous, meticulous, and routine-based. It's an endeavor to make sense of the world and myself."
After acquiring some dance-related injuries, Adams returned to psychology. She completed an online certificate program specializing in medical neuroscience via Duke University, focusing on how pathology arises out of the way the brain computes information and generates behavior.
In addition to her clinical practice, she has also worked at a data science and AI consultancy for neural network research.
In 2022, in search of new things to learn and apply to both her work and personal life, Adams discovered MIT OpenCourseWare within MIT Open Learning. She was drawn to class 8.04 (Quantum Physics I) , which specifically focuses on quantum mechanics, as she was hoping to finally gain some understanding of complex topics that she had tried to teach herself in the past with limited success. She credits the course's lectures, taught by Allan Adams (physicist and principal investigator of the MIT Future Ocean Lab), with finally making these challenging topics approachable.
"I still talk to my friends at length about exciting moments in these lectures," says Adams. "After the first class, I was hooked."
Adams's journey through MIT Open Learning's educational resources quickly led to a deeper interest in computational neuroscience. She learned how to use tools from mathematics and computer science to better understand the brain, nervous system, and behavior.
She says she gained many new insights from class 6.034 (Artificial Intelligence ), particularly in watching the late Professor Patrick Winston's lectures. She appreciated learning more about the cognitive psychology aspect of AI, including how pioneers in the field looked at how the brain processes information and aimed to build programs that could solve problems. She further enhanced her understanding of AI with the Minds and Machines course on MITx Online, part of Open Learning.
Adams is now in the process of completing Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python , taught by John Guttag; Eric Grimson, former interim vice president for Open Learning; and Ana Bell.
"I am multilingual, and I think the way my brain processes code is similar to the way computers code," says Adams. "I find learning to code similar to learning a foreign language: both exhilarating and intimidating. Learning the rules, deciphering the syntax, and building my own world through code is one of the most fascinating challenges of my life."
Adams is also pursuing a master's degree at Duke and the University College of London, focusing on the neurobiology of sleep and looking particularly at how the biochemistry of the brain can affect this critical function. As a complement to this research, she is currently exploring class 9.40 (Introduction to Neural Computation ), taught by Michale Fee and Daniel Zysman, which introduces quantitative approaches to understanding brain and cognitive functions and neurons and covers foundational quantitative tools of data analysis in neuroscience.
In addition to the courses related more directly to her field, MIT Open Learning also provided Adams an opportunity to explore other academic areas. She delved into philosophy for the first time, taking Paradox and Infinity , taught by Professor Agustín Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, and Digital Learning Lab Fellow David Balcarras, which looks at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics. She also was able to explore in more depth immunology, which had always been of great interest to her, through Professor Adam Martin's lectures on this topic in class 7.016 (Introductory Biology ).
"I am forever grateful for MIT Open Learning," says Adams, "for making knowledge accessible and fostering a network of curious minds, all striving to share, expand, and apply this knowledge for the greater good."
