Alexander Fung
Research Assistant @ UChicago Neurobiology
Hi, I’m Alex 👋 I am a research assistant in Ramon Nogueira’s lab at UChicago, where I bridge machine learning and geometric approaches to neural data analysis.
My interests lie at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, and systems neuroscience. Broadly, I seek to uncover the structure of neural representations that support behavior, developing mechanistically interpretable frameworks to address questions like:
- How can we extract meaningful structure from noisy, high-dimensional neural population data?
- What types of inputs and connectivities might give rise to the stretched, curved, and shifted geometries observed in neural circuits?
Before coming to UChicago, I was a research assistant with Ev Fedorenko at MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences studying language and reasoning in brains and large language models [bioRxiv] [CCN2024]. I first fell in love with research as an undergrad at UC Berkeley studying EECS and Molecular & Cellular Biology, where I worked on the protein folding problem with Yun S. Song [bioRxiv] [PSB2022]. My research journey thus far has only been possible because of the wonderful mentorship I’ve received.