I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Psychology (Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience) at University of Michigan, working with Dr. David Brang. Broadly speaking, my interest lies in language, music, and other auditory-related topics. Currently, I use ECoG data to study how speech comprehension and production are influenced in tumor patients.

Before coming to Ann Arbor, I obtained a Master's degree in Psychology at New York University, under the supervision of Dr. David Poeppel. My thesis research focuses on the role of basic acoustic features in the perception of complex auditory signals. Combining computational modeling, behavioral experiments, and neuroimaging techniques, I investigate the mechanism and development of people's ability in decoding and extracting information from auditory inputs.

Before NYU, I was an undergraduate student in Spanish Philology with a double major in Psychology at Peking University, China. My undergraduate research was mentored by Dr. Yan Bao, focusing on the interaction between multisensory cognition and temporal perception. Seeking to learn neuroimaging techniques, I visited Dr. Biyu He's lab at NYU in the summer of my junior year, where I learned about the electroencephalogram (EEG).

I also spent a post-bac year in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at UCSD, where I worked with Dr. Sarah Creel. I investigated how tone language experience influences pitch production in typically-developed adults, and also gained experience in working with children on phoneme acquisition.

Outside the lab, I enjoy reading, cooking, and exploring bubble tea shops. I grew up playing accordion, but I'm now starting on the violin.

Li, Y., Chang, A., & Poeppel, D. (2022, Oct. 6-8). The Spectro-temporal Information Distinguishes between Speech and Music. [Poster presentation]. 14th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language, Philadelphia, PA.

Li, Y., Chang, A., & Poeppel, D. (2022, Apr. 29). The Role of Spectro-temporal Information in Speech and Music. [Poster presentation]. 26th Annual NYU Psychology Masters’ Research Conference, New York, NY.

Li, Y., & Creel, S.C. (2021, Jul. 28-31). Tone Language Enhances Consistency in Pitch Production Across Domain. [Slide presentation]. 16th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Sheffield, United Kingdom.