Dr Xinyu Liang

Dr Xinyu Liang is a Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge, where he collaborates with Professor Emmanuel A. Stamatakis. He obtained his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Beijing Normal University in 2021, focusing on the lateralized organizational patterns of cortical functional networks in the human brain and their potential contributions to human intelligence, using the multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In late 2021, he joined the Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence at Fudan University as a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Deniz Vatansever’s lab. Since then, he has contributed to several major research projects, including the China Brain Project and a China Postdoctoral Science Foundation project.

Dr Liang’s current research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying visual aesthetic experience, addressing one of the most complex and compelling aspects of human cognition. His work integrates 7T functional MRI, computational modelling, and advanced analytical approaches to elucidate the neurocognitive processes that shape aesthetic perception and evaluation. His ongoing project aims to have a significant contribution to the emerging field of neuroaesthetics, offering novel insights into how the brain represents and appraises beauty in ecologically valid contexts, including everyday life.

At Clare Hall, Xinyu is accompanied by his wife, Dr. Yunman Xia, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Charité University and Fudan University. Her research focuses on human brain development, the environmental risk factors that influence it, and potential interventions informed by computational brain modeling.