Catie Chang

Principal Investigator

Catie is the Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in the Radiological Sciences Lab, following undergraduate studies at MIT. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Advanced MRI Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH Intramural Research. 



Roza Bayrak

Research Assistant Professor

I received my M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University. My current research centers around one of the key gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms of brain function: inter-individual variability. The overarching goal of my thesis is to find generalizable mappings between observed data and biomarkers of human cognition and behavior, by leveraging state-of-the-art deep learning methods.

Shiyu Wang

Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering

I received my B.Sc. in Chemistry from Beijing Normal University and my M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University. Currently, my research focuses on physiologically-induced fMRI signals and their relationship with age. I have two cats Bean (an orange tabby) and Pinto (the one in the picture, a calico).


Haatef Pourmotabbed

Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering

My research interests include the application of functional neuroimaging data to the investigation of brain connectivity networks and neural dynamics in neurological disorders such as epilepsy. I received my MS in Biomedical Engineering from the Joint Graduate Program of the University of Memphis and University of Tennessee Health Science Center.


Kimberly Rogge-Obando

Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience

My research interests are in fMRI analysis, with a focus on correlating measures of brain dynamics to behavioral changes and clinical symptoms. I like to sing, play board games with friends, and go to the zoo in my free time!

Yamin Li 

Ph.D. Student, Computer Science

I received my B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University and my M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. My research interests focus on translations between EEG and fMRI as well as brain decoding through deep learning. In my free time, I enjoy playing the guitar and watching anime!


Anna Machado

Ph.D. Student, Biomedical Engineering

Joint with Wallace Multisensory Lab

I received my M.A. in Cognitive Science from Edinburgh University and my MRes in Neuroscience from Newcastle University. My research interests include multisensory development and functional neuroimaging. I like to dance and weightlift in my free time! 

Chang Li

Ph.D. Student, Computer Science

I received my B.Sc. in Computer Science and Technology from the School of EECS, at Peking University. My research interests include machine learning and modeling fMRI data. In my free time, I play the piano and the violin.

Mason Harding

Staff Research Assistant

I'm a post-bacc from UNC Chapel Hill where I studied Neuroscience and Statistics & Analytics. I am interested in multimodal source decomposition methods and probabilistic models of functional connectivity in the human brain. 

Alex Douma

Staff Research Assistant

After receiving my B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Miami in 2022, I spent two years at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, researching anatomical and functional brain differences among various pediatric populations. My research interests continue to focus on studying cognitive variability in neurodevelopmental disorders using fMRI methods. I am currently applying to medical schools with a vision of specializing in child & adolescent psychiatry. In my downtime, I enjoy gaming and spending quality time with my partner!

Runxuan Yu

M.S. Research Assistant, Computer Science

I received a B.Sc. in Financial Engineering and an M.Sc. in Quantitative Economics. Currently, I am a master's student majoring in Computer Science at Vanderbilt University. My research focuses on medical image processing, with a special emphasis on applying deep learning techniques to functional neuroimaging. In my free time, I enjoy hiking and exploring various crafts, particularly wood whittling.

Kate Wang

Undergraduate RA, Computer Science 

I am a senior at Vanderbilt University majoring in Computer Science and a VISE Fellow (2022, 2023). My research interests include understanding the effects of vigilance disturbances on the aging brain as potential markers of cognitive impairment. My current research focuses on investigating vigilance-linked fMRI signals in relation to age-related cognitive changes.

Rithwik Guntaka

Undergraduate RA, Neuroscience

Hello! I am a junior majoring in Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University. I hope to learn about the application of fMRI analysis methods to understand patterns of the brain. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking and reading.

Richard Song

Undergraduate RA, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, & Neuroscience

I'm a senior at Vanderbilt studying Computer Science, Applied Math, and Neuroscience. My primary research interests include understanding the brain mechanisms behind aging and learning, and in the future I hope to work on neurotechnologies that improve on these areas. My current research in the Neurdy Lab concerns understanding how physiological influences on fMRI BOLD signals change with age.

Terra Lee

Undergraduate RA, Child Development and Neuroscience 

I am a current junior at Vanderbilt studying Child Development and Neuroscience and a recent VISE Fellow (2024)! One of my research interests is in investigating large-scale network interactions and global components of fMRI signals in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression. My current research surrounds the brain-network basis of anxiety in autistic children. In my free time, I enjoy doodling and watching A24 films!

Ziyuan (Roger) Xu

Undergraduate RA, Computer Science, Mathematics, & Psychology

I am a senior at Vanderbilt majoring in computer science, mathematics, and psychology. I am interested in machine learning and understanding the human brain with fMRI and computational methods. My current research explores levels of alertness and cognitive capacity in the human brain during attention tasks. In my spare time, I enjoy playing the guitar and tennis.

Ella Provancher

Undergraduate RA, Biomedical Engineering

I am a junior at Vanderbilt University, majoring in biomedical engineering on the pre-medical track. My research focuses on applying signal processing methods to understand how different neural and physiological signals affect fMRI data, with a particular interest in how these signals relate to clinical outcomes. Currently, I am investigating how neural activity related to vigilance in Alzheimer’s Disease is linked to brain structure and cognitive decline. In my free time, I love to bake and read.

Siddharth Shah

Undergraduate RA, 

Computer Science  & Applied Mathematics

Siddharth is an enthusiastic undergraduate researcher working towards completing a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. Research interests include signal processing of fMRI scans and physiological metrics to quantitatively derive vigilance measures and applying deep learning techniques towards signal reconstruction.


Current Vanderbilt Collaborators

Neurological Surgery

Dario Englot

VUIIS: Victoria Morgan, Baxter Rogers, Zhaohua Ding, Kurt Schilling

CS: Yuankai Huo, Soheil Kolouri, Tyler Derr, Daniel Moyer, Yu Huang, Xenofon Koutsoukos

ECE: Bennett Landman, Mitch Wilkes, Benoit Dawant, Sharon Weiss​​

Psychiatry: Heather Ward

BME: Mikail Rubinov

Biostatistics: Hakmook Kang​

VMACSarah Goodale, Angela Jefferson

Psychology: Antonia Kaczkurkin, Alex Maier, Sohee Park

Neurology: Shawniqua Williams Roberson

Peabody College: Jorge A. Salas, Katherine Aboud, Sasha Key, Laurie Cutting

Alumni  

see also our alumni photos page!

Shengchao Zhang (Ph.D. student) - next: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Computational Neuromodulation Lab, Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Sarah E. Goodale (Ph.D. student, NIH F99/K00 and NSF Graduate Research Fellow) - next: Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center 

Benjamin P. Gold (Postdoctoral Scholar, NIBIB T32 Fellow) - next: Research Analyst, AnLar

Caroline G. Martin (Staff Research Assistant) - next: Research Coordinator, Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center, VU Medical Center

Achyuth Vivek (high school intern) - next: undergraduate student, UC Berkeley

Ruoqi (Rachel) Yang (undergraduate research) - next: M.S. program in Computer Science, UC San Diego

Jesse Ann Cai (high school intern, 2021-2022) - next: undergraduate student, Princeton University

Marco Esteban (high school intern, 2021-2022) - next: undergraduate student, UC Irvine

Bohan Jiang (undergraduate research, 2020-2022) - next: Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering, Vanderbilt University

Jorge A. Salas (Postdoctoral Scholar, 2019-2022) - next: Research Analyst, Peabody College

Sean Tuttle (undergraduate research, 2022) - next: Software Development Engineer, Amazon

Stanley Vinet (summer undergraduate research, 2022)

Madhavi L. Mani (undergraduate research, F2022) 

Jiawei Zhu (undergraduate research, S2022)

Leo Lambert (undergraduate research, S2022) 

Jackson Rusch (undergraduate research, F2021)

Difan Yang (undergraduate research, summer 2021) 

Jason P. Mitrovich (undergraduate research, 2021) - next: Ph.D. program in Mathematics, University of Notre Dame

Elijah Sheridan (undergraduate research, 2022)  - next: Ph.D. program in Physics, Cornell University

Nafis Ahmed (undergraduate research, 2019-2022) - next: Program Manager, Microsoft

Emilia Lew (undergraduate research, 2020-2021) - next: M.S. program in Psychology, Concordia University

Eric Feng (summer undergraduate research, 2020)

Hangling Liu (summer undergraduate research, 2020)

Karuna Gujar (MS thesis research project) - next: Data Scientist, Deloitte

Garrett Scott (High school intern, School for Science & Math at Vanderbilt, 2020) 

Liam Spoletini (undergraduate research, 2020-21) - next: M.S. program in Data Science, American University 

Gabriel Ting (undergraduate research, 2020) - next: Software Engineer, Apple

Chong Zhao  (undergraduate research, 2019-2020) - next: Neuroscience Ph.D. program, University of Chicago

Connor Capitolo (undergraduate research, 2019-2020) - next: M.S. program in Data Science, Harvard University

Catherine Nayeon Kim (undergraduate research, 2020) - next: Amazon Robotics

Karel Lopez (visiting Ph.D. student, Pablo de Olavide University, 2019) 

Derek Doss (rotation student, 2019) - next: MSTP student, Englot Lab

Ray Zhou  (undergraduate research, 2019)  - next: Research Engineer, Radiance Technologies

Stefany Rodrigues (summer undergraduate research, 2019) 

Deepthi Varikuti (M.S. thesis co-mentor, Otto Von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany) - next: PhD Student,  Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich

Jingyuan E. Chen (undergraduate research, Stanford University)