Education
2016 - 2021 Princeton University
Ph.D., Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Graduate Certificate, Computational Science & Engineering
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Dissertation: "Networks, Collective Behavior, and Information in Social Systems—From Ant Colonies to Social Media"
2016 - 2018 Princeton University
M.A., Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
2010 - 2014 Yale University
B.S., Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Distinction in the Major
2006 - 2010 Eagle Rock Jr./Sr. High School
(LAUSD, Los Angeles, CA)
Valedictorian
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Professional Experience
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2023 - Present Stripe
Los Angeles, CA
Senior Data Scientist
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Using data, machine learning, and AI to keep the internet's economy safe. I embed with Stripe's Security Analytics & Detection team.
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2021 - 2023 Phylum
Los Angeles, CA
Senior Data Scientist
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As a member of the research team, I use machine learning and statistics to support Phylum's mission to detect risk and stop malware in the open-source software ecosystem. Promoted from Data Scientist in June 2022.
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2017 - 2018 Office of Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker
South Brunswick, NJ
Policy Intern
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I conducted policy research and wrote briefings in support of the Assemblyman's role as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Science, Innovation, & Technology.
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2014 - 2016 IDA Science & Technology Policy Institute
Washington, DC
Data & Policy Analyst (Science Policy Fellow)
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I conducted data analysis and quantitative policy analysis for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and other science-conducting Federal Agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Institutes of Health.
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Programming Languages
Python
R
SQL
C
C++
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Level
Awards & Honors
2019 - Graduate Student Policy Award, Ecological Society of America
2016 - National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship
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Peer-Reviewed Publications
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Tokita CK, Aslett K, Godel W, Sanderson Z, Nagler J, Tucker JA, Bonneau RA. (In Review). Measuring and mitigating misinformation at the scale of the social media ecosystem.
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Downie AE, et al. [including Tokita CK] (2023) Spatiotemporal-social association predicts immunological similarity in rewilded mice. Science Advances.
doi:10.1126/sciadv.adh8310 [PDF]
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Bak-Coleman JB, Tokita CK, Morris DH, Rubenstein DI, Couzin ID. (2022). Collective wisdom in polarized groups. Collective Intelligence.
doi:10.1177/26339137221104788 [PDF]
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Tokita CK, Guess AG, Tarnita CE. (2021. Polarized information ecosystems can reorganize social networks via information cascades. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.2102147118
[PDF] [Press Release]
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Yuko U*, Kawakatsu M*, Tokita CK, Saragosti J, Chandra V, Tarnita CE*, Kronauer DJC*. (2021). Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects. PLOS Biology.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001269
[PDF]
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Tokita CK, Tarnita CE. (2020). Social influence and biased interactions can drive emergent behavioural specialization and modular social networks across systems. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. doi:10.1098/rsif.2019.0564
[PDF] [Press Release]
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Yuko U, Saragosti J, Tokita CK, Tarnita CE, Kronauer DJC. (2018). Fitness benefits and emergent division of labor at the onset of group-living. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0422-6 [PDF] [Press Release]
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Henry LP*, Tokita CK* , Misra M, Forrow AB, Rubenstein DI. (2018). Mutualistic Acacia ants exhibit reduced aggression and more frequent off-tree movement near termite mounds. Biotropica. doi:10.1111/btp.12572 [PDF]
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Tokita CK, Doane WEJ, Zuckerman BL. (2016). Reframing participation in post-secondary STEM education with a representation metric. Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society. doi:10.1177/0270467616645222 [PDF]
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Tokita CK, Oliver JC, Monteiro A. (2013). A survey of eyespot sexual dimorphism across nymphalid butteries. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1155/2013/926702 [PDF]
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Government Reports​
Clavin CT, Petropoulos ZE, Gupta N, Tokita CK. (2017). Case studies of community resilience and disaster recovery from the 2013 Boulder County floods. National Institute Standards and Technology, United States Department of Commerce. doi:10.6028/NIST.GCR.16-011
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Tinkle SS, Mary JC, Snavely JE, Pomeroy-Carter CA, Tokita CK. (2016). An outcome evaluation of the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award Program for fiscal years 2007-2009. IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute. Prepared for the National Institutes of Health.
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Tinkle SS, Mary JC, Snavely JE, Pomeroy-Carter CA, Tokita CK. (2016). An evaluation of the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award Program Finalists for fiscal years 2007-2009. IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute. Prepared for the National Institutes of Health.