Yingying Fan
Rice University
yf21@rice.edu
Bio
Yingying Fan received her B.E. degree in Information Science and Engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 2017, and her M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2019. Since September 2019, she started pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Taiyun Chi at Rice University, Houston, TX. Her research interests include integrated bio-sensors, bio-actuators, and biology-electronics hybrid systems for healthcare applications. She was the recipient of 2024 Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Pre-Doctoral Grant, 2024 Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS) Rising Star, 2022 SSCS Predoctoral Achievement Award, 2021 Cadence Women in Technology Scholarship, and 2021 Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S) Graduate Fellowship Award for Medical Applications.
Areas of Research
- Circuit Design
Interfacing the Brain: multimodal neural stimulation and high-channel-count neural recording
The brain’s complexity governs our interactions with the world, and unraveling its mysteries could transform the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders, which pose a significant health challenge. Specialized tools, particularly neural interfaces, are crucial in this pursuit. These interfaces act as communication pathways between the brain and external devices. My research addresses two critical areas: high-channel-count neural recording and minimally invasive neural stimulation. In the realm of neural recording, current technologies face challenges in scalability, limiting the number of neurons that can be recorded simultaneously. This limitation hinders our ability to fully understand the brain’s complex communication networks. My work focuses on developing advanced recording systems capable of capturing the activity of a larger number of neurons concurrently. On the stimulation side, traditional electrical methods raise concerns about long-term safety due to the electrode-tissue interface. While non-invasive techniques such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) offer an alternative, they suffer from limitations in precision and hardware bulkiness. My research aims to develop minimally invasive stimulation techniques that mitigate these issues, offering safer and more precise methods to modulate brain activity. By addressing these two critical challenges, my work strives to push the boundaries of neural interfacing, bringing us closer to a deeper understanding of brain function and its potential therapeutic applications.