I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Program in Neuroscience at Florida State University, advised by Dr. Aaron Wilber. I study how the hippocampus and parietal cortex work together to support spatial navigation and memory-guided behavior. Using large-scale electrophysiology in freely moving rodents and computational analyses, I investigate how the brain transforms map-like representations of space into body-centered actions. My research (Zheng et al., 2025) has shown that the hippocampus preferentially represents spatial memories, while the parietal cortex represents routes and upcoming actions. My current work examines how neural populations across these regions coordinate and transition between different spatial reference frames.

I am also interested in how these brain networks are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). My collaborative work (Stimmell & Alday et al., 2026) examines how sleep and hippocampal–cortical communication influence spatial learning and memory in mouse models of AD, including whether interventions such as 40 Hz stimulation can restore impaired neural interactions and behavior. In the long term, I hope to connect fundamental discoveries about navigation and memory with a better understanding of cognitive dysfunction.

My broader research experience spans human neuroscience and translational biomedical research. At Neurohackademy at the University of Washington, I gained experience with fMRI, neuroimaging, and machine learning through a group project using a human neuroimaging dataset collected under psilocybin. We studied brain-state dynamics using hidden Markov models, attractor landscapes, and features that distinguish altered from typical states of consciousness. Before beginning my doctoral training, I worked in liver-disease research at the China Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, where I tested compounds in preclinical models and conducted histological and pathological analyses.

I received my B.S. in Life Science from ShanghaiTech University, where I worked with Dr. Ji Hu and Dr. Wenzhi Sun to investigate the role of the ventral tegmental area in avoidance learning. These experiences have shaped my interest in understanding cognition across neural circuits, behavior, and disease.