Dr. Huifang Wang | Neuroscience | Best Researcher Award

Huifang Elizabeth Wang is a leading research engineer at INSERM U1106, Aix-Marseille University, France, specializing in computational neuroscience. Her career bridges robotics, brain modeling, and clinical neuroscience, with a primary focus on personalized brain simulations for neurological and psychiatric conditions, notably epilepsy. With over a decade of postdoctoral research across top French and Italian institutes, she has contributed to projects integrating physics-based modeling, large-scale neural dynamics, and effective connectivity. Her academic journey started in robotics and control theory in China and evolved into advanced brain modeling in Europe. She collaborates with renowned neuroscientists like Dr. Viktor Jirsa and has authored numerous high-impact publications in Science Translational Medicine, The Lancet Neurology, and NeuroImage. As PI and co-leader in several EU and national projects, she aims to bridge basic brain science with clinical translation. Wang’s work is pivotal in creating virtual brain twins to personalize epilepsy surgery and psychiatric interventions.

Profile

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🎓 Education

Huifang Elizabeth Wang obtained her Ph.D. in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems from Beijing University of Technology in 2008, focusing on optimization algorithms for robotic motion under Prof. Chen Yangzhou. She earned her M.S. from the same institution in 2003, researching advanced traffic control strategies. Her undergraduate degree (B.S.) in Electronic Engineering was awarded by Shandong Institute of Light Industry in 2000. Complementing her engineering foundation, she undertook a research visit at LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse in 2007, developing time-optimal trajectories for car-like robots. Currently, she is finalizing her HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) at Aix-Marseille University (Nov 2024) under the supervision of Dr. Viktor Jirsa, with a thesis on “Virtual Brain Twins.” Her education spans multiple disciplines and institutions, combining engineering, neuroscience, and clinical modeling. This interdisciplinary background underpins her leadership in personalized neural modeling and translational neuroscience research.

🧪 Experience

Wang is a Research Engineer at INSERM U1106, Aix-Marseille University (2017–present), leading work on virtual brain twins for clinical use in epilepsy and psychiatry. Prior, she was a Postdoc at the Institut du Cerveau (ICM), Paris (2016–2017), studying human neuron behavior with Pr. Vincent Navarro. At École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (2016), she helped develop a physiological SEEG atlas. From 2012–2016, she worked at INSERM U1106 on brain connectivity under Drs. Bernard and Jirsa. Earlier, she researched robotic control and planning at the University of Pisa (2008–2010) in Prof. Antonio Bicchi’s group. Her expertise spans brain modeling, robotics, and neuroscience, with leadership in multi-institutional EU-funded projects. She has served as PI and co-leader in several major efforts like the Human Brain Project and EPINOV. Her interdisciplinary experience uniquely equips her to bridge theory, technology, and medicine in brain modeling applications.

🏅 Awards and Honors

Huifang Elizabeth Wang has earned prestigious research roles and leadership positions in major European and national initiatives. She is PI for the AMIDEX-funded HR-VEP project and WP4 leader in the Horizon RIA Virtual Brain Twin initiative (2024–2027). Her projects have been supported by the Human Brain Project, France 2030, and Horizon Europe. She served as co-task leader in HBP’s epilepsy-focused work packages and trial coordinator in EPINOV RHU, a national clinical modeling trial. Her work on brain modeling has been published in high-impact journals, underscoring her scientific excellence. She has collaborated with pioneers like Karl Friston and Viktor Jirsa, advancing the fields of functional connectivity and computational neuroscience. Additionally, she has been granted funding by institutions such as Fondation Recherche Médicale and Ligue Française contre l’Épilepsie, recognizing her contributions to translational neuroscience and computational modeling in clinical applications.

🔬 Research Focus

Wang’s research centers on developing personalized virtual brain models to understand and treat brain disorders such as epilepsy and psychiatric conditions. She specializes in large-scale neural modeling using neural mass and field models, enabling individual-specific simulations—a concept known as “virtual brain twins.” Her work integrates multimodal neuroimaging data (e.g., SEEG, MRI) with computational frameworks to predict surgical outcomes and guide interventions. As part of projects like VEP Atlas, EPINOV, and EBRAINS, she builds anatomical-functional atlases for clinical use. She also advances Bayesian techniques for parameter estimation in brain modeling. Her research bridges basic neuroscience with translational applications, using virtual brains to delineate epileptogenic zones and simulate drug-resistant epilepsy spread. In psychiatric disorders, her focus includes simulating and analyzing network dysfunction to support precision psychiatry. By blending machine learning, dynamical systems, and neuroinformatics, Wang’s work pioneers a new frontier in personalized medicine using brain simulations.

✅ Conclusion