Catie Chang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, computer science, and biomedical engineering, has been named the inaugural Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellow in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering in recognition of her highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research.
Chang develops engineering and computational approaches for investigating the human brain. Her work draws upon advanced neuroimaging techniques, together with signal processing and machine learning, to uncover information about brain function from dynamic measurements of brain activity. Her lab also carries out novel applications of these techniques to neuroscience and clinical research fields, aiming to contribute new knowledge about disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s Disease.
One direction in Chang’s Neuroimaging and Brain Dynamics Lab (“Neurdy Lab”) involves combining multiple, complementary imaging and electrophysiological recordings to investigate natural changes in brain states, such as alertness, and how these states are altered in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Her studies also leverage large datasets to understand how the temporal characteristics of brain activity underpin human behavior and cognition. Chang also is a faculty affiliate in the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering.
Chang received an IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Early Career Achievement Award in 2019 and was an invited keynote speaker at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting. Her recent funding includes an NIH Mentored Career Development Award in Biomedical Big Data Science and an NIH BRAIN Initiative grant.
She has published 78 manuscripts and given over 65 invited talks. In addition to her Ph.D. and postdoctoral trainees, she has mentored more than 30 undergraduate research students and five high school students. Chang earned a S.B. in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford University. She joined the Vanderbilt engineering faculty in 2018.
The Sally and Dave Hopkins Faculty Fellowship was established in 2020 to support a faculty member who conducts research in collaboration with the Vanderbilt University Medical Center or within the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering or the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Sally Hopkins, BE’78, earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She is a member of the School of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni and serves on the school’s Board of Visitors.
Contact: Brenda Ellis, 615 343-6314
brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu