Former Ph.D. Students

Wenxuan Jiang

Wenxuan Jiang received her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2023. Before she joined Song Lab, she received a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2015 and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2020. Wenxuan's research focused on developing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques and studying the underlying mechanisms of TMS using electrophysiology and computational modeling in rodent models.

She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA.

Christopher B.C. Girard

Chris finished his Ph.D. in 2023, working under Dr. Song to develop faster, more efficient ways to simulate electrical phenomena in neurons’ external environment. Along the way, he also dabbled extensively in modern automation and fabrication techniques, including 3d printing, IOT systems development, and embedded devices.

Currently, he is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Engineering at Chapman University in Orange, CA, passing his enthusiasm (and hopefully some knowledge as well) on to today’s aspiring engineers.

Xiwei Shé

Xiwei Shé joined the lab in 2016 as a research assistant and completed his Ph.D. and graduated under the mentorship and supervision of Dr. Song in 2022. Xiwei's research focused on neural decoding projects by using machine learning technologies. He is interested in data science and artificial intelligence, which he believes is the future of computer science, not only serving as a logistical solution to many of the world's most advance issues, but also allowing countless people to enjoy better lives.

Xiwei now is working as a post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University.

Pen-Ning Yu

Pen-Ning Yu completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Dong Song in September 2020. Pen-Ning's research interests include electrophysiology, EEG analysis, nonlinear dynamical modeling, machine learning, and seizure prediction.

He is now an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

Sahar Elyahoodayan

Sahar Elyahoodayan completed her Ph.D. thesis titled “Design and Testing of Next Generation Neural Interface Technology for Neural Prostheses” under the supervision of Dr. Dong Song in August 2020. Her work involved hardware and software development of neuromodulation systems, implantable electrode design and validation, and pre-clinical in vivo animal studies.

She is now working in the medical device industry developing next-generation implantable neuromodulation systems.

Former Master's Students

Robert Sutherland

Robert Sutherland joined the lab in the summer of 2021. He has had a wide range of experience in the medical device space including working in multiple labs, researching BCI at the Charite in Berlin, presenting at the NSF emerging researcher conference, working as an intern at the FDA, and completing an R&D engineering internship at Boston Scientific. During his master’s degree in Neural Engineering at USC, his research focused on constructing signals processing pipelines that boost performance of machine learning classifiers. In his free time, Robert likes to draw, ski, dive and travel.

Robert now works at Neuralink as a neural engineer

Former Undergraduate Students

Emily Lai

Emily Lai is a Biomedical Engineering student and Presidential Scholar at the University of Southern California. She joined the lab in January of 2023. Emily is also involved with the Regulatory Science Research Team, Society of Women Engineers Community Council, and various dance clubs on campus. She is interested in pursuing a PhD and working in biotech research.

In her free time Emily enjoys dancing, hiking, and exploring with her friends and family.

John Pace

John Pace is a Neuroscience student at the University of Southern California and is trained in computational neurology and biology that joined the lab in March of 2021. He is active in Neuroscience seminars, medical organizations on and around campus, in addition to his experience as a Health Administrative Intern at PIH Health and previous research with NASA's Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science. (SPOCS). He actively takes part in neuroscience-based bioengineering research through the Viterbi School of Engineering and is pursuing a joint bachelors with a Masters in Health Administration (M.H.A.), and an eventual Doctor of Medicine (M.D.).

In his free time, John enjoys kayaking, listening to City Pop Music, and spending time with his family and friends.

Garrett Flynn

Garrett Flynn is a progressive degree student in the Computational Neuroscience (BS) and Media Arts, Games, and Health (MA) programs. Working at the intersection of neuroscience, ethics, and interactive media, he leads several interdisciplinary projects out of the Neural Modeling and Interface Lab.

When not dreaming up new ways to incorporate end-user feedback into neurotechnology design, you can find Garrett on long bike rides in his home state of Wisconsin.

Natalie Kistler

Natalie Kistler is a Biomedical Engineering student and on the Pre-Med track in hopes of pursuing medical school after completing her undergraduate degree. Natalie is currently working on a cooperative project between the Neural Modeling and Interface Lab and Keck Medical School regarding Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and its implementation in the treatment of epilepsy.

In addition to her research, Natalie is a self-proclaimed “foodie” and is on the hunt for the best restaurant in Los Angeles.

Yilei Dong

Yilei Dong is a Neuroscience (BS) student, planning on minoring in Foundations of Data Science. She hopes to pursue a career in data science in the future. Currently, she is helping to create a literature survey on deep learning applied to neuroscience research.

In her spare time, Yilei enjoys sewing, boba, and going for weekend drives by the beach.

Summer Ngo

I am a biomedical engineering student, who is also minoring in computer programming. I am currently interested in studying any neural or tissue-related topics within biomedical engineering. I hope to gain the necessary lab experience to pursue my own independent research and eventually attend graduate school and attain a PhD degree.

In my spare time, I enjoy playing video games, sleeping in, and drinking boba!

Victoria Jimenez

Victoria Jimenez is a Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Southern California. She is involved in engineering organizations on campus as well as coding programs to integrate in her studies. She is working on her scribe certificate and EMT license, with plans to attend medical school in the future. She hopes to pursue a career combining engineering and medicine to study Alzheimer’s, as well as other diseases.

In her spare time she enjoys traveling and spending time with family.