About Me
Hi I am Alex Ye. Currently, I’m a PhD student working at NatCogLab in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at University of Rochester.
I am deeply fascinated by the intersection of Psychology, Neuroscience, Vision Science and Linguistics. My primary research focus is on leveraging neuroscience methodologies to explore the brain’s language processing mechanisms. This encompasses language learning in quasi-natural settings (e.g. Virtual Reality), as well as social and spatial information processing. I also employ computational models to analyze multimodal data gathered from natural or quasi-natural environments, aiming to emulate real-life language processing in the brain. Now I’m moving towards more general perception. I study how people perceive and sengment events in daily life.
In my leisure time I enjoy cooking, hiking, swimming and K-pop.
Education
2024-Now University of Rochester, PhD, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Supervisor: Dr. Coraline Rinn Iordan
2021-2022 Chinese University of Hong Kong, MA, Psychology.
Thesis: “A Meta-Analysis on the N1 Print Tuning Effect in Early and Late N1 Time Window”
Supervisor: Dr. Urs Maurer
2019-2020 The Chinese University of Hong Kong, MA, Linguistics.
2015-2019 Beijing Sport University, BA, English.
Thesis: “A Corpus-based Study on Gender Awareness in Sports News: Taking China Daily and The Guardian as Examples”
Supervisor: Dr. Nancy Yumei Song
Experience
Research Associate, BLC Lab, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
2023-present
PI: Dr. Andrew Ping Li
Description: In my role, I actively engage in a variety of responsibilities:
- I lead a project combining Virtural Reality (VR) and EEG, where we use this neuroimaging method to investigate the temperal dynamics of language learning process in the immersion of a virtual world.
- I work on a project focusing on the use of multimodal data analytics in naturalistic language learning.
- I collaborate with my colleagues on a project aimed at exploring the processing of abstract concepts during social interaction.
- I proactively manage the lab and its projects using the Trello workspace. As the administrator, I monitor project progress, foster a supportive environment by sharing valuable resources such as tutorials and lectures, and facilitate a Q & A platform for all lab members.
Research Assistant, BLC Lab, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
2022-2023
PI: Dr. Andrew Ping Li
Description: I investigated the brain’s acquisition of new words in Virtual Reality (VR) through EEG and VR equipment. The majority of my analyses are performed using the EEGLAB and FieldTrip pipeline, with VR settings collaboratively designed with my team. In addition to traditional EEG signal analyses, we incorporated computational models for more comprehensive data interpretation.
NeuroMatch Academy - Computational Neuroscience Summer Course
2022.07-2022.08
Description: I acquired proficiency in constructing computational models of biological brain structures using machine learning and deep learning techniques. Additionally, I gained expertise in analyzing fMRI data using Python. For more information, please refer to the NMA project under the Projects section on my personal website.
Research Assistant, Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
2021.01-2021.08
PI: Dr. Caicai Zhang
Description: In the project “The neural encoding of productive phonological alternation in speech production: Evidence from Mandarin Tone 3 sandhi”, I took the initiative to engage in experiments 2 and 3. I applied event-related experimental paradigms in conducting EEG experiments, and utilized BESA for data preprocessing. I also incorporated the FieldTrip toolbox to perform cluster-based permutation tests. Although the results were not significant and only experiment 1 was published (which I did not participate in), I found the experience invaluable in honing my skills in data collection and analysis.
Research Assistant, Linguistics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2020.09-2021.01
PI: Dr. Shuxiang You
Description: Literature review and information collection.
Research Skills
Neuroimaging Experiment/Analysis (EEG/fMRI)
Data Analysis (Python/R/Matlab)
Virtual Reality (C#/Unity)
Machine/Deep Learning (Sklearn/PyTorch)
Website Building (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
Speech Analysis (Praat/Audacity/CLAN)
Adobe Creative Toolkit (Photoshop/Premiere/After Effect)