Wenhao Zhang

Wenhao Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, with a secondary appointment in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. He holds the Lupe Murchison Foundation Scholar in Medical Research award. His research bridges computational neuroscience and biomedicine, focusing on neural circuits' role in information processing and developing brain-inspired algorithms. He collaborates with experimental neuroscientists, psychologists, and computer scientists to translate theoretical insights into practical applications.

Education: B.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2009), Ph.D. in Theoretical Neuroscience from the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2016). Postdoctoral training includes the University of Chicago (2020–2021), University of Pittsburgh (2018–2020), Carnegie Mellon University (2016–2017), and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2015–2016).

Research interests center on biologically plausible normative theories for information processing in neural circuits and artificial systems. Key areas include Bayesian inference, multisensory integration, neural circuit dynamics, and the development of brain-inspired machine learning algorithms. His work employs methods like nonlinear dynamics, Bayesian inference, and information theory to study how perception and decision-making emerge from neural circuits.

Recent publications emphasize theoretical frameworks for neural computation, such as motion planning circuits using Lie group theory, inhibitory interneurons' role in Bayesian sampling efficiency, and grid cells' spatial representation mechanisms. His lab also explores place cell dynamics and recurrent network models for equivariant representations.

• Scientific Award: Lupe Murchison Foundation Scholar in Medical Research

Zhang advises PhD students including Armand Rathgeb, Zimei Chen, Yi Ren, and Eryn Sale, as well as visiting scholars like Junfeng Zuo and Xinruo Yang. His lab collaborates with institutions such as UCLA, Peking University, and the University of Rochester. Funding includes travel grants for students, e.g., Eryn Sale’s 2024 Cosyne award.

He directs the Computational Neuroscience Lab (CNL) at UT Southwestern, which combines normative theories with biologically detailed models to study neural circuit principles underlying cognition. The lab actively pursues interdisciplinary research, using techniques from mathematics and computer science to inform experimental neuroscience and vice versa.