Spring Seminar: Catie Chang, Ph.D.
Catie Chang, Research Fellow
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH
Date: Thursday, March 16, 2017
Time: 12:15 p.m. lunch, lecture begins at 12:20 p.m.
Location: Stevenson Center 5326
Title:
Uncovering new dimensions of human brain function from fMRI data
Abstract: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful technique in human neuroscience. The richness and complexity of fMRI data present exciting challenges at the interface between computation and neuroscience, and they require innovative data analysis methods together with a deeper understanding of the neural and physiological basis of fMRI signals. Catie Change will discuss her studies revealing features of brain function embedded in the dynamics of intrinsic brain networks. She will also discuss how, by integrating fMRI with electrophysiological, behavioral, and heart rate data, she has uncovered components of fMRI dynamics related to vigilance and autonomic activity and developed a data-driven approach for detecting vigilance fluctuations in fMRI scans. These studies highlight ways in which previously unexplored dimensions of systems-level brain activity may be extracted from fMRI signals and open new directions for neuroimaging biomarkers in health and disease
Speaker Bio: Catie Chang is a research fellow in the intramural division of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH. She received her Ph.D. in 2011 from Stanford University in the Department of Electrical Engineering, following undergraduate studies in computer science and electrical engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on data analysis and experimental methods for studying human brain function with fMRI and EEG, and she collaborates closely with investigators in psychology, medicine, and neuroscience.