About me

I'm a computational cognitive neuroscientist interested in how the brain functions as a proactive organ. Specifically, I investigate how the three building blocks of biological intelligence: perception, action, and cognition flexibly interact to inform precise and adaptive behavior. I'm privileged to work on human intracranial electrophysiology under the supervision of Lucia Melloni and Taufik Valiante. I'm fortunate to be among the inaugural cohort of joint PhD students at the Max Planck - University of Toronto Centre (MPUTC) for Neural Science and Technology.

I received my BS in Neural Science from New York University's campus in Shanghai where I got my first experiences with human electrophysiology and neuroimaging in the lab of Xing Tian.

Affiliated labs

Affiliated institutions

Resume

Education

  1. Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering (Neuroscience & Neuromodulation)
    University of Toronto & Max Planck Society

    2022 — Present

    GPA = 4.00/4.00
    Inaugural cohort of the joint PhD program at the Max Planck - University of Toronto Centre for Neural Science and Technology
    Supervisors: Lucia Melloni, Taufik Valiante, José Zariffa

  2. B.S. in Neural Science
    New York University, Shanghai

    2018 — 2022

    GPA = 3.83/4.00 (cum laude)
    With Minors in Mathematics and Philosophy
    NYU Training Program in Computational Neuroscience
    Supervisor: Xing Tian

  3. Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines

    2020

    Attendee, BMM Summer Course

Experience

  1. PhD Researcher

    2024 — Present

    Neural Circuits, Consciousness, and Cognition Research Group (PI: Lucia Melloni)
    Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics

  2. Adjunct Research Associate

    2022 — Present

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    2019 — 2021

    Speech, Language, and Neuroscience Group (PI: Xing Tian)
    NYU-ECNU Institute for Brain and Cognitive Science

  3. Summer Research Intern

    2019

    Rubinstein Lab (PI: Moran Rubinstein)
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

Blog

Contact

In Toronto:
qian.chu@mail.utoronto.ca
Neuron to Brain Laboratory
Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Netowrk
60 Leonard Ave
Toronto, ON M5T 0S8
Canada

In Frankfurt:
qian.chu@ae.mpg.de
Neural Circuits, Consciousness, and Cognition Research Group
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
Grüneburgweg 14
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

In Shanghai:
qian.chu@nyu.edu
Speech Language and Neuroscience Group
NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai
3663 North Zhongshan Road
Shanghai 200062
Shanghai