From math → mind. Collective alum Alex Negrón (K. Lisa Yang Postbac Scholar ’23–’25) turned a SURFiN fellowship into a neuroscience path—modeling brain circuits, exploring AI + neural networks at MIT, and now pursuing a PhD at Princeton.
Read here⬇️
Quilee Simeon, a Yang ICoN Fellow, was recently featured in an article on MIT Spectrum, which details his research into AI, the nervous system, and the brain!
Read more about Quilee and his research here ⬇️
Congratulations to Yang Tan Collective alumna Yeji Kim on being named a Schmidt Science Fellow! 👏
Read more here ⬇️
schmidtsciencefellows.org/fellow/yeji-...
Register: www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-icon-...
‼️ IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
* Submission of poster title/abstract does not guarantee selection
* The deadline to submit posters is earlier than the last day of event registration
Submit your poster abstracts for a chance to present during the 2026 Yang ICoN Center Symposium poster session!
Interested? Indicate your interest when registering for the event and follow the instructions. Deadline to submit interest is May 1 (Friday).
Registration for the 2026 Yang ICoN Center Symposium is now live! This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register by May 13.
Register in the link below ⬇️
Article: news.mit.edu/2025/astrocy...
Paper: www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Infographic: www.instagram.com/p/DQCX8K_jZz...
Paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Article: news.mit.edu/2025/daily-m...
Paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Article: news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/02/is-social-connection-a-basic-need-like-food-water/
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This World Autism Awareness Day, we look back at some of the research and studies recently published by the scientists at the Tan-Yang Centers for Autism Research at MIT & Harvard!
Read more below ⬇️
A new paper by Hugh Herr, Guillermo Herrera-Arcos, & Hyungeun Song recently published in Nature Communications has introduced a “living” implant by repurposing existing muscle in the body; they are hopeful that their new developing technology can help those affected by organ dysfunctions.
Read ⬇️
Two major Yang Tan Collective projects recently received the MIT HEALS (MIT Health and Sciences Collaborative) MIT-Mass General Brigham Seed Program grants! heals.mit.edu/mit-mgb-seed...
See the projects and Collective faculty below ⬇️
According to new research, studying an identified gene mutation that “impairs the function of a brain circuit that is responsible for updating beliefs based on new input” may help scientists alleviate symptoms seen in people with schizophrenia.
🔗 news.mit.edu/2026/brain-c...
The South Coast Chinese Cultural Center spotlights former Yang Bionics Fellow Robin Hsieh, who is continuing his mission to help people walk again by launching a startup developing intelligent mobility technologies.
⬇️ Read more:
www.sccca.org/news/2026/03...
Amos Winter, director of the K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center, and fellow MIT educator Nikolai Zeldovich were recently named 2026 MacVicar Faculty Fellows! Congratulations 👏⚙️👨🏫
Read more: news.mit.edu/2026/macvicar-faculty-fellows-named-0312
It's reminder that joy is infectious; a simple kind gesture, or even a smile, can make someone’s day (even your own!) a little less dreary. Read the rest of the article here: thetech.com/2026/02/19/f...
MIT student Kanna Pichappan ‘26 shares a few lessons she learned "about living well after four years of college” in her column published in MIT's newspaper The Tech, with one lesson coming from a quote shared by Fan Wang, co-director of the Yang-Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics ☺️🌷
Congratulations to David Ginty, director of the Yang Brain-Body Center at Harvard, on receiving the The Brain Prize, the world’s largest prize for brain research 🧠👏
To read more about Feng Zhang and the 2026 Inductees:
invent.org/inductees/ne...
To watch the NIHF introductory video on Feng Zhang, “Searching and Solving: The Feng Zhang Story”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7_L...
Feng Zhang, co-director of the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics, was recently introduced as part of the National Inventors Hall of Fame 2026 Inductee Class 👏👏
⬇️ View links below to learn more!
Happy World Engineering Day 2026 🌟 Yang Tan Collective is proud of all the engineers within the Collective who are innovating, researching solutions, and working tirelessly to improve the world; we caught up with a few of them for a quick Q&A!
Watch the video on our LinkedIn!
“How do you measure consciousness?” Y. Eva Tan Professor of Neurotechnology @eboyden3.bsky.social goes deep on simulating brains and what it might actually mean to engineer a mind on Core Memory.
www.corememory.com/p/the-grand-...
Read the study published in @nature.com here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(First author Valerio Francioni was formerly supported by a Y. Eva Tan Fellowship from the Yang Tan Collective)
How does the brain know which neurons to adjust during learning in order to optimize behavior? MIT researchers discovered that brains can use cell-by-cell error signals to do this — surprisingly similar to how AI systems are trained via backpropagation.
yangtan.mit.edu/neurons-rece...
💬 Polina’s conversation timestamp is around 14:00-17:18 in the condensed podcast version of the show.
Yang Brain-Body Center director Polina Anikeeva joined WBUR's On Point to talk about the gut-brain connection and how signals from the digestive system can influence brain activity and mood—and potentially provide new ways to treat neurological conditions.
🌟Learn more about Fabio in the Instagram series “Fellows Fridays” feature here: www.instagram.com/p/DPoxuYIEQ_j/
Quote taken from Fabio’s Fellows Feature: "Stay curious, don't give up, and find a good mentor." Image: Ann Grayb
Some “almost at the end of the week” wisdom that’s applicable for budding scientists and as life advice (never stop being curious!!), courtesy of Fabio Catania, who was an ICoN postdoc fellow!