Principal Investigator

Previous Positions

• 2000-2001      Research Assistant, Laboratory of Dr. Chiang-Shan Ray Li, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan

• 2002-2006      Graduate Student, Laboratory of Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University

• 2006-2009      Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University

• 2009-2017      Tenure Track Investigator, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA

• 2017                    Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA

Honors and Special Scientific Recognition

• 1991               Research Science Institute (RSI) Summer Camp, Washington, DC

• 1992               Bronze Medal, 33rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

• 2002               HHMI Predoctoral Fellowship, Neuroscience, Honorable mention

• 2008               NARSAD 2008 Young Investigator Award

• 2009               Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award, NIMH, NIH (*Declined due to accepting the investigator position at the NIA, NIH)

• 2010               NARSAD 2010 Young Investigator Award

• 2014               European Neurasmus Scholar 

• 2014               NIH Graduate Partnerships Program Outstanding Mentor Award

• 2016               Post Baccalaureate Distinguished Mentor Award, NIA, NIH

• 2017               Promoted to Tenured Senior Investigator at NIA, NIH

• 2019               Shackleton Scholar, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan

• 2021               International Outstanding Young Scholars, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan

Past Grants and Research Support

1. PI: “The roles of basal forebrain neuronal ensembles in top-down attention.” NARSAD 2008 Young Investigator Award (2008-2009)   

2. PI: “The roles of basal forebrain neuronal ensemble in top-down attention.“ NIMH/NIH (K99/R00) (2009-2014)  ** Declined the award in order to accept a tenure track investigator position at the National Institute on Aging, NIH

3. PI: “Neural circuit mechanisms of top-down attention.” NARSAD 2010 Young Investigator Award (2011-2013)

4. PI: “Non-cholinergic basal forebrain neurons and neurocognitive aging.” NIA Intramural Research Program, NIH (2009-2017)

5. PI: “The roles of basal forebrain neuronal ensembles in top-down attention.”  NIA Intramural Research Program, NIH (2009-2017)

6. PI: “The role of basal forebrain in temporal expectation”, MOST, Taiwan (2018-2020) (terminated in 2019)

7. PI: “Reward prediction error signal in the basal forebrain”, MOST, Taiwan (2018-2021) (terminated in 2019)

8. PI: "Attention and Reward Signals in Noncholinergic Basal Forebrain Neurons", Shackleton Scholar Program, MOST, Taiwan (2019-2021)