معرفی
Justin Gardner is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, with extensive affiliations including Member of Bio-X, Faculty Affiliate of the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Member of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, and Member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. He serves as co-Director of the Neurosciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program since 2021 and participates in the Symbolic Systems Program.
Education:
- PhD in Bioengineering from University of California, Berkeley and UCSF (2002)
- BS in Computer Science from Yale University (1993)
Dr. Gardner's research investigates how neural activity in the human cortex creates visual perception using functional magnetic resonance imaging, computational modeling, and psychophysical measurements. His work spans cognitive neuroscience, visual perception, attention mechanisms, and neural representation. Key research areas include how attention modulates sensory representations, how objects are encoded in visual cortex, and how perceptual decisions emerge from neural activity. His laboratory, the Gardner Research Unit (GRU), maintains an active research program that bridges neuroscience with computational approaches to understanding visual processing.
Analysis of Dr. Gardner's recent publications reveals a strong trajectory from basic neural mechanisms of visual perception toward more complex questions about neural representation across species and computational systems. His work increasingly connects vision science with artificial intelligence, examining texture-like representations in visual cortex, efficient coding principles in mouse visual system, and the methodological relationship between vision science and fMRI. A notable theme across his research is understanding how gain modulation serves as a fundamental mechanism for attention, with implications for both biological and artificial visual systems.
Advising:
- Doctoral Dissertation Reader for Minseung Choi and Javier Weddington
- Doctoral Dissertation Advisor for Austin Kuo and Joshua Ryu
- Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor for Alex Durango
- Doctoral Program advisor for Hyunwoo Gu and Josh Wilson
Dr. Gardner leads the Gardner Research Unit (GRU) laboratory, which fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between neuroscience, psychology, computer science, and engineering. The lab maintains active research programs investigating texture representations in visual cortex, attention mechanisms, and cross-species comparisons of visual processing systems, with particular emphasis on understanding how computational principles govern neural representation in both biological and artificial systems.
