I am an assistant professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Psychology. I direct the QLAB – Language Acquisition and Brain Laboratory.
I completed post-doctoral training at McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with John D. E. Gabrieli. I received my PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, co-supervised by Susan M. Garnsey and Cynthia L. Fisher. I obtained my MD in Basic Medicine from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University. I was an assistant professor between 2017 and 2021 at the University of Delaware before joining the faculty of Northeastern University.
My research goal is to understand the neurobiological organization of language in the human brain, how that organization changes from childhood through adulthood, how it is disrupted in major neurodevelopmental disorders of language (autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, language impairment, and schizophrenia), and how knowledge of that organization may enhance language learning and language intervention. I use a variety of behavioral (eye-tracking) and neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, MEG, EEG, and DTI) to study the relationship between language learning, cognitive skills, and brain development in both children and adults. More about my research…
