Wen-hao Zhang

Dr. Wen-hao Zhang is an Assistant Professor at the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics and a member of the O'Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center since 2021. He directs the Computational Neuroscience Lab (CNL), focusing on bridging neural circuits and cognition via normative theories and biologically plausible models.

• Education: PhD in Theoretical Neuroscience (2016, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences), BE in Biomedical Engineering (2009, Shanghai Jiao Tong University).
• Career: Postdoctoral roles at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, and University of Chicago.

Research Interests: The lab investigates neural information processing using techniques like nonlinear dynamics, Bayesian inference, and Lie group theory. Their work spans

• Causal inference and decision-making in neural circuits
• Grid cell mechanisms and spatial navigation
• Brain-inspired machine learning algorithms

Collaborations: Partnerships with experimental neuroscientists such as Todd Roberts (UTSW) and theorists like Tai Sing Lee (CMU) ensure theoretical models align with empirical data. The lab has published in top venues like ICLR and NeurIPS, focusing on multisensory integration and neural coding.

Lab Members: Current PhD students include Eryn Sale, Zimei Chen, Yi Ren, and Armand Rathgeb. Former visiting students like Xinruo Yang (University of Pittsburgh) and Xiangyu Ma (HKUST) have contributed to interdisciplinary projects.