The Team

Lab director

Yu Junhong— Assistant Professor of Psychology

PhD, The University of Hong Kong
Research interests: My research makes use of multimodal neuroimaging to study neuropsychology and cognitive aging in general. In particular, I am interested neurocognitive disorders, superior cognitive aging, neural predictors of cognitive decline and cognitive enhancement interventions

Research Staff

Charly Billaud — Research Fellow

PhD (Neurosciences), Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Research interests: Translational research involving neuropsychology and neuroimaging, including structural/functional MRI, DTI, and MEG. I have a particular interest in both aging and paediatric clinical populations with neurological disorders and developing markers of cognition and behaviour. My work involves structural and functional network analyses and graph theory.

Dexter Chew — Research Assistant

BA (Psychology), University at Buffalo
Research interests: My research interests are in topics such as Mental Health of Elderly Patients, Elder Abuse with Long-Lasting Psychological consequences as well as Psychosocial Development of Criminals. I became interested in the mental health aspects of the elderly stemming from 2 years of working in the non-profit sector as well as being an active member of the grassroots level in Singapore. This has helped establish the different views and interests in the elderly being overlooked or becoming a marginalized group of individuals in society. Further interests in criminal psychosocial developments stemmed from an interest in reading serial killer bibliographies and documentaries that have led to a fascination of how the minds of hardened criminals are like.

Graduate students

Savannah Siew — PhD student

B.Soc.Sci (Psychology), National University of Singapore
Research interests: Neuropsychology, mindfulness, clinical psychology

Janice Koi — PhD student

B.A. Hons (Psychology), Nanyang Technological University
Research Interests: I am interested in using multimodal neuroimaging techniques to study the neurocognitive mechanisms of healthy aging.

See Qi Rui — PhD student

B.Sc. (Hons) in Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University
Research Interests: I am interested in investigating the neurocognitive role of sleep and mental health in healthy aging and neurodegenerative disorders.

Undergraduate students

Xavier Lim — FYP/URECA student

Research Interests: My research interests lie in the intersection of translational clinical neuroscience and MRI methods. Specifically, I apply network analyses and normative modelling to investigate brain-based predictors of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. In another line of research, I am also interested in how arts-based interventions can improve the living experiences of people living with dementia.

Yong Jia Hui — FYP student

Research Interests: I am interested in understanding the mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative diseases, and the brain differences between healthy individuals and patients with neurological or psychiatric conditions. On top of that, I am passionate about researching lifestyle factors (eg. dietary habits, sleep) and developing interventions that can improve brain health.

Sarah Aleisha — FYP student

Research Interests: I’m interested in understanding how social factors shape developmental outcomes in behaviour and cognition, and in applying neuroscience methods in understanding these effects across the lifespan. I am also interested in understanding how neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD, may influence cognitive outcomes in adulthood and later life.

Shona Chong — FYP student

Research Interests: My interests lie in neuropsychology, with a focus on understanding the factors that contribute to the development and progression of cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders through the use of neuroimaging techniques.

Jayden Ting — FYP student

Research Interests: My interest lies in the clinical psychology and neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders – specifically how brain function and cognitive processes interact. I would love to bridge the gap between neuroscience and clinical practice to improve mental health outcomes in diverse populations.

Nicolette Marie Monterio — URECA student

Research Interests: I would be keen to generally explore the topic of youths diagnosed with anxiety.

Sherrer See — URECA student

Research Interests: I am interested in the study of substance use disorders, how substance use of psychoactive drugs affects brain structure, function and cognitive trajectories. I am also interested in the mechanisms behind how substance use could affect neurodegenerative processes, and how neuroimaging could be utilized to better provide rehabilitative services.

Rachel Ng — URECA student

Research Interests: My interest lies in the neuropsychology of disadvantaged communities – specifically how past experiences and socio-economic factors shape cognitive function and behavior. By gaining a more nuanced perspective of the impacts of inequality in both Singapore and the world. I hope to contribute to practical interventions to uplift these individuals and communities.

Charissa Gan — URECA student

Research Interests: Charissa is broadly interested in the neurocognitive effects of early-life trauma and socioeconomic adversity, particularly in conflict-affected and low-resource contexts. She wishes to explore how trauma and chronic stress influence neurodevelopment, with a specific focus on brain regions such as the amygdala and their role in fear and emotional regulation. She is passionate about trauma-informed care, global mental health, and understanding how life adversity impacts the brain from a population neuroscience perspective.

Previous Students

FYP

  • Candace Tan (2024-2025)
  • Ellsie Lee (2024-2025)
  • Lee Zheng Long (2024-2025) — Admitted to PhD @ Max Planck School of Cognition
  • Kayla Tan (2024-2025)
  • Lisa Wong (2023-2024)
  • Tan Fu Miao (2023-2024) — Admitted to MPhil @ Cambridge | Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal, and Best Datablitz Presentation at AS4SAN 2024 conference
  • Angel Lee (2023-2024)
  • Genevieve Ling (2022-2023)
  • Cleon Chang (2022-2023)
  • Yuvaraj Arumugam (2022-2023)
  • Loh Raye Fion (2021-2022)

URECA

  • Lucius Hong (2024-2025)
  • Nicolas Lok (2024-2025)
  • Emilienne Ho (2024-2025)
  • Bryan Yeo (2024-2025)
  • Kng Jia Hao (2023-2024) — Admitted to MSc @ The University of Manchester
  • Wang Jieqi (2023-2024)
  • Alastair Khoo (2023-2024)
  • Xavier Lim (2023-2024)
  • Lee Zheng Long (2022-2023)
  • Gisele Cheong (2022-2023)
  • Celine Chan (2021-2022)
  • Dan Yuet Ruh (2021-2022) — Admitted to MD @ Duke-NUS