About
I am a second-year PhD candidate in Linguistics at the LAnguages, Machines & Brains (LAMB) Lab, City University of Hong Kong, under the supervision of Prof. Jixing Li.
My research focuses on the interdisciplinary study of computational neurolinguistics that combines linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science to explore how the human brain and large language models process language. I am particularly interested in computational simulations of language disorders in the impaired brain.
Prior to joining the PhD program, I earned my M.A. in Language Studies from City University of Hong Kong and my B.A. in Japanese from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. I am fluent in Mandarin, English, and Japanese.
Publications
Journal Articles
Momenian, M., Ma, Z., Wu, S., Wang, C., Vaghe, M., Hale, J., Brennan, J., Meyer, L., & Li, J. (2024). Le Petit Prince Hong Kong (LPPHK): Naturalistic fMRI and EEG data from older Cantonese speakers. Scientific Data, 11, 992.
Preprints & Under Review
Li, J., Wang, Q., Wang, Y., & Wang, C. et al. (2025). Naturalistic fMRI and MEG recordings during viewing of a reality TV show. bioRxiv.
Wang, C., Fan, Z., Han, Z., Bi, Y., & Li, J. (2025). Emergent modularity in large language models: Insights from aphasia simulations. bioRxiv, 2025-02.
Conference Presentations
Wang, C., Fan, Z., Han, Z., Bi, Y., & Li, J. (2024). Functional specificity in multimodal large language models and the human brain. Poster at Society for the Neurobiology of Language Annual Meeting (SNL 2024), Brisbane, Australia, Oct 24-26, 2024. (Recipient of Trainee Scholarship Award)
Wang, C., Ma, Z., Wang, Y., & Li, J. (2025). Naturalistic fMRI and MEG recordings during viewing of a reality TV show. Poster at International Workshop on Cross-linguistic Databases and Norms (CrossLing 2025), Shanghai, China, May 31-June 1, 2025.
Ma, Z., Wang, C., & Li, J. (2023). Syntactic information drives language models' alignment with human comprehension processes. Oral presentation at Architectures and Mechanisms for Language Processing (AMLaP Asia), Hong Kong, December 1-3, 2023.
Education
PhD in Linguistics (September 2023 - Present)
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Advisor: Prof. Jixing Li
Research Focus: Computational Neurolinguistics
M.A. in Language Studies (September 2022 - October 2023)
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Advisor: Prof. Jixing Li
Computational Neuroscience Summer School (July 2023)
Neuromatch Academy, Beaverton, US
B.A. in Japanese (September 2017 - July 2021)
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Exchange Student & Intern (March - April 2019)
Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan
Research Experience
International Exchange & Research Intern
Muroran Institute of Technology, Japan
March - April 2019
Participated in cross-cultural research projects and language acquisition studies during undergraduate exchange program.
Awards & Honors
- Trainee Scholarship Award - Society for the Neurobiology of Language (SNL), 2024
- PhD Studentship - City University of Hong Kong, 2023-Present
Skills & Languages
Programming & Technical Skills
- Python, R, MATLAB - Data analysis and computational modeling
- fMRI & EEG Analysis - Neuroimaging data processing
- Machine Learning - Large language model implementation
- Statistical Analysis - Advanced statistical methods
Languages
- Mandarin Chinese - Native
- English - Fluent
- Japanese - Proficient