About me

Hello! I am Kaining Zhang.

I am an independent postdoc at Quantitative life Sciences (QLS) department at International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). My research interests center on biological models of memory and learning, and their links to other cognitive processes, including attention and decision-making.

Previously, I worked as a postdoc with Gaia Tavoni at Washington University in St. Louis, where I studied memory systems using tools from statistical physics, such as Hopfield networks.

Before that, I completed my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering still at Washington University, where I worked in Ilya Monosov Lab, and was also advised by Ethan Bromberg-Martin. During my Ph.D., I conducted experiments and collected electrophysiology data to study how the brain processes novelty, surprise, and uncertainty.

I received my bachelor’s degree in Physics from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

Outside of research, I enjoy climbing, skiing/snowboarding, and stand-up comedy.