Xi C
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of Texas at Dallas

Expertise

psychology, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, data analysis, memory, aging, successful aging, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegenerative disease, neuroimaging, brain health, cognitive training, brain plasticity, neuroanatomy, critical thinking

Bio

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). I am a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist with expertise in advanced brain imaging and cognitive psychology. My research uses multi-modal neuroimaging methods and explores brain and behavioral changes in healthy and pathological aging. When I'm not working and thinking about the brains, I love playing with my dogs. I also enjoy hiking and traveling, and taking beautiful pictures along the way.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Memory aging and Alzheimer's disease

Older people usually experience memory decline, and memory loss is also one of the most common symptoms in Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. In this project, we will review the literature and summarize the findings on how memory changes with age in normal older people and people developing Alzheimer's disease.

How do scientists study brain? The use of neuroimaging in human research

The development of neuroimaging has helped researchers to better understand the structure and the function of the brain. Particularly, the use of advanced neuroimaging methods allows researchers to track brain changes as people developing certain diseases. In this project, we will review papers using different neuroimaging tools and how they helped advance our knowledge of Alzheimer's disease.

Coding skills

R, Bash, MatLab

Languages I know

Mandarin, native

Teaching experience

I have mentored two high school students (one junior student and one senior student) for the Experience in Research program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for a summer, where the students studied "metamemory" and how people perceive their memory differently across age, sex, and ethnicity groups. They delivered a final report presentation and won "the best presentation" award at the completion of the program. I have also been working as a content creator and a facilitator for the K-12 program at LBNL and developed projects for students to learn more about neuroscience and cognitive psychology. I am currently a mentor of two students in our lab -- an undergraduate student and a graduate student. I teach them neuroimaging methods and statistical modeling, and work with them on two different projects investigating brain changes in normal and pathological aging in older people.

Credentials

Work experience

University of California Berkeley (2020 - Current)

Postdoc

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2020 - Current)

Postdoc

Education

Beijing Normal University

BS Bachelor of Science (2012)

Psychology

University of Texas at Dallas

MS Master of Science (2014)

Applied Cognition and Neuroscience