Mimi Kao

Mimi Kao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Tufts University and a member of the Neuroscience Program at the Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco, and specializes in the neural basis of vocal communication.

Her research investigates how experience shapes behavior, focusing on neural mechanisms of vocal learning in songbirds as a model for understanding motor skill acquisition and modification. Current projects examine auditory feedback processing in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits, neural correlates of song plasticity, and comparative aspects of juvenile versus adult learning.

Professor Kao's research employs behavioral, neurophysiological, and computational approaches to study feedback-driven vocal modification. Recent publications demonstrate work on auditory-motor integration, rhythm perception, and neural circuit manipulation techniques.

She teaches courses in neurobiology and physiology and mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers. Her laboratory develops novel methods for chronic neural recording and manipulation during vocal behavior.