Our Team
Describe your team here.
Yuhan is a fifth year PhD student in the lab for Neural Engineering and Control. His research interests are focused on how the β-amyloid protein, a key pathological feature in Alzheimer’s disease, influences properties of neural computation. His previous research at Tsinghua University focused on a potential intracranial drug delivery method via skull marrow-dura channels.
He is a summer 2026 intern at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, MA.
Education:M.S. Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2023
B.E. Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 2022
B.S. Pharmaceutical Science, Tsinghua University, 2022Yordan is a senior at Columbia College majoring in biology and minoring in computer science. His research is focused on understanding neural epigenetic responses following LC modulation by analyzing differential gene expression in scRNAseq data. He is broadly interested in neurobiology and genetics.
Tim is currently a third year PhD candidate in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. His research surveys the landscape of neuromodulation using in vivo neural recordings, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and behavioral analysis in transgenic mouse models.
Prior to starting as a PhD student, Tim characterized novel autism-associated mutations to voltage-gated ion channels in Bill Catterall's lab at the University of Washington. He also helped develop RNA therapeutics for neurodegeneration at Envisagenics, an AI-assisted drug target discovery startup.
Education:
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University
B.S. Biology, University of Washington
B.A. Philosophy, University of Washington
Sophie is a third-year MS/PhD candidate in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. Her research focuses on neuromodulation for chronic pain treatment, with an emphasis on identifying neural biomarkers of pain, optimizing closed-loop stimulation paradigms, and exploring non-invasive neuromodulation techniques such as transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) and ultrasound neuromodulation. She is also currently involved in a project at the intersection of neuroengineering and human-AI teaming, investigating how neuromodulation can enhance cognitive function and collaboration with AI systems. Prior to joining the lab, she earned a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, where her research included bioelectronics and neural interfaces.
Education:
B.S.E. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University, 2023Rishi is a first year M.S. candidate in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. Rishi’s research interests lie on the intersection of AI and healthcare with work expanding from machine learning to creating production level agentic platforms. He has worked across healthcare companies integrating real time EMG data into AR smart glasses for intraoperative nerve monitoring, implementing GPT-based ECG analysis workflows, and developing arrhythmia classification models. He is currently designing and building an AI-driven security platform that uses LLM agents to scan infrastructure and validate findings against threat intelligence.
Education:
B.S. Bioengineering (minor in Computer Science), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2026Qi Wang directs the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control to develop new technologies for restoring and enhancing brain functions through brain-machine interfaces (BMI). He has been working on cracking neural codes underlying our perception and cognition, and has been developing new strategies for selectively activating neural circuitry. He is particularly interested in how sensory information is processed in the brain that leads to the formation of perception and optimal decision making, and how this process is modulated by behavioral states such as attention and arousal. He utilizes experimental and computational approaches to tackle these questions, including single-unit electrophysiology, optogenetic manipulation, calcium imaging, patterned microstimulation and finite element modeling.
Dr. Wang received a PhD in Robotics from Harbin Institute of Technology in 1998, and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from McGill University in 2006, respectively. He finished his postdoc training in neuroscience at Harvard University from 2006 to 2008. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER award in 2019, the Sackler Convergence Award in 2015, the IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement in 2014, the NARSAD Young Investigator award in 2014, and the Best Paper Award at 14th IEEE Haptics Symposium in 2006.
Having obtained a B.S. in electrical engineering, Marc is now pursuing a M.S. degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in biomedical engineering. He is keen to deeply explore and familiarize himself with the fundamentals of electromagnetism and signal processing theory and marry his engineering background with a lifelong practice in neuroscience. Marc envisions the development of sophisticated, comprehensive brain-computer interfaces and neural co-processors that can restore a wide variety of sensory modalities and cognitive faculties to the impaired and greatly improve the quality of life for all. To that end, he is currently focused on employing neuroimaging tools and state-of-the-art brain recording devices to investigate the nuances of neuromodulation to alleviate or improve neurological ailments or capacities.
Education:
M.S. Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2023
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, 2022
Lina is a sophomore at Columbia Engineering majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She is broadly interested in biomedical research, with a particular focus on using neural engineering approaches to understand the role of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic signaling in Alzheimer’s disease and investigate the potential of LC stimulation as an approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Lily is a junior at Columbia Engineering majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Neuroscience. Since joining the lab in 2024, her research interest has centered on understanding how noradrenaline shapes neural network dynamics during information processing as well as the neural-immune relationship in Alzheimer’s disease. She’s deeply fascinated by the mechanisms that drive neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s, and is dedicated to uncovering novel insights into neuro-immune interactions.
Guancheng is a master’s student in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University and a member
of the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. His current research interests center on the
neural mechanisms underlying stress-related behaviors and individual differences in susceptibility
and resilience to stress. He is particularly interested in applying molecular, cellular, and systems-
neuroscience approaches to investigate these questions in animal models.
Before joining Columbia, Guancheng studied Neurobiology at the University of California, San
Diego. His previous experience includes exploring the molecular biology of memory and memory-
related disorders through a research program conducted under Professor Samuel Kunes, as well as
laboratory work involving recombinant DNA techniques and CRISPR-based gene editing in yeast.
Education:
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, expected 2027
B.S. Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego, 2026Ekin is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. Her research investigates how transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) influences human performance across a broad spectrum of tasks—from basic sensory perception to complex cognitive processes like decision-making in human-AI collaboration. She combines experimental and computational approaches to understand how neuromodulation can shape behavior and cognition.
Ekin earned her Ph.D. in Cognition and Perception from New York University, where she studied the neural mechanisms of spatial vision and attention. Her doctoral work integrated behavioral psychophysics, functional MRI, eye-tracking, and computational modeling, with an emphasis on cross-species and developmental comparisons.Education
Ph.D. in Cognition and Perception (Experimental Psychology), New York University, 2025
M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 2020
B.A. in Psychology, Bogazici University, 2018Camey is a Master of Science student in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, concentrating in Neural Engineering. She joined the lab in Fall 2025 and is currently working under Dr. Craig Kelley. Her previous research experience prior to joining Columbia Engineering includes work in the Pinto Lab at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she studied how specific neural circuits support decision-making behavior.
Education:
B.S. Neuroscience & Behavior, University of Notre Dame 2022Caitlyn is a visiting medical student from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. Her research focuses on how brain injury and neural circuit dysfunction alter cortical activity, with current work examining how selective versus non-selective activation of locus coeruleus neurons differentially shapes cortical states using optogenetics and simultaneous EEG recordings in mice.
Previously, Caitlyn studied traumatic brain injury across cellular, histopathological, and circuit-level models. At the University of Pennsylvania Department of Neurosurgery, she investigated the effects of cortical impact injury on transplanted human cortical organoids in rats. At Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, she studied chronic neuropathology and extracellular matrix remodeling associated with post-traumatic epilepsy in swine.
B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, University of Missouri, 2022Al is a Master's student in the Laboratory for Neural Engineering and Control. His research interests lie in the advancement of BCI technology through neural coding analysis.
Prior to joining Columbia, Al was an undergraduate researcher at Purdue's HEAL Lab, where he worked on multi-modal mental workload models.