Xiaoxue Fu

Xiaoxue (Jessie) Fu is an Assistant Professor in Cognitive & Neural Science at the Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, affiliated with the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. She directs the ASCENT Lab and collaborates with the Institute for Mind and Brain and the Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment (CAN) Research Center. Her research focuses on the neurocognitive mechanisms of attention in socioemotional development, particularly in at-risk populations.

Education: PhD in Developmental Psychology (Pennsylvania State University, 2018); MSc in Psychological Research (University of Oxford, 2010); BSc in Experimental Psychology (University of Bristol, 2009). Postdoctoral training at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (Nationwide Children’s Hospital) and USC.

Research interests include attention development, socioemotional maladjustment risk mechanisms, and parent-child interaction dynamics. Methodologies include eye-tracking, fNIRS, and fMRI. Key grants include a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant (2023) and NIH-funded projects on attention mechanisms and maternal depression impacts.

Publications emphasize attention biases, neural correlates of socioemotional development, and fNIRS methodological innovations. Awards include ISDP Postdoc Travel Award (2019) and multiple SRCD Travel Awards (2015–2017).

Teaching includes Survey of Developmental Psychology (2022) and extensive graduate mentoring. Professional training includes the Propel Research Mentorship Program (2023) and Faculty Success Program (2023).