Oh Y, Ann Y, Lee J-J, Ito T, Froudist-Walsh S, Paquola C, Milham M, Spreng RN, Margulies D, Bernhardt B, Woo C-W†, Hong S-J† (†co-corresponding)
State-dependent signal flow hierarchy in the human cerebral cortex
Curriculum Vitae
Download PDF ↓Postdoctoral researcher, Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (IBS), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea.
Research interests
Hierarchical organization of the brain · Neuromodulation for adaptive processing · Biophysical whole-brain modeling · Neuroanatomy across species · Artificial intelligence and cybernetics
Education
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering — Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), South Korea
Thesis: Directed Signal-Flow Hierarchy and the Generative Architecture of Human Cortical Function. Supervisor: Seok-Jun Hong. Degree awarded August 2026.
M.Sc., Neuroscience — University of Bonn, Germany
Thesis: Neural mechanisms of the perception of aliveness across stimulus classes and visual characteristics. Supervisor: Johannes Schultz.
B.Sc., Biology — Chungnam National University, South Korea
Studies interrupted by compulsory military service, 2013–2015 (Republic of Korea Marine Corps).
Research experience
Postdoctoral researcher — Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science / SKKU
Combine Lab (PI Seok-Jun Hong).
Doctoral researcher — Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science / SKKU
Combine Lab (PI Seok-Jun Hong). Directed connectivity hierarchy of the human cortex; differentiable whole-brain modeling; cross-species validation.
Research intern — Sungkyunkwan University
Built a platform for inferring effective connectivity from fMRI.
Master's researcher — Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn
PI Johannes Schultz.
Research intern — Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)
Publications
Lee S*, Oh Y*, An H, Yoon H, Friston KJ, Hong S-J†, Woo C-W† (*co-first, †co-corresponding)
Life-inspired interoceptive artificial intelligence for autonomous and adaptive agents
Han M-J*, Oh Y*, Ann Y, Kang S, Baeg E, Hong S-J, Sohn H†, Kim S-G† (*co-first, †co-corresponding)
Whole-brain effective connectivity of the sensorimotor system using 7T fMRI with electrical microstimulation in non-human primates
Conference presentations
Bridging anatomical and effective hierarchies via neural mass modeling
Intrinsic effective connectivity as the generative backbone of functional specialization
Intrinsic effective connectivity as the basis of functional specialization
State-dependent functional hierarchy revealed by integrated effective connectivity
State-dependent functional hierarchy revealed by integrated effective connectivity
Ensemble learning for whole brain mapping of directed functional connectivity
Ensemble learning for whole brain mapping of directed functional connectivity
Supervision and mentoring
M.Sc. student, Sungkyunkwan University
Day-to-day supervision: directed his initial implementation of the macaque biophysical-modelling pilot; training in literature review, neuroimaging analysis and computational modelling.
Awards & honors
Doctoral graduate representative, Sungkyunkwan University commencement (representing the PhD graduates of science and engineering)
Merit Abstract Award, Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)
MSc Neurosciences Program Scholarship, University of Bonn
Doosan Yonkang Foundation Scholarship (undergraduate)
Professional memberships
Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2022–present).
Technical skills
- Biophysical modelling: dynamic mean-field models, neural mass models, Hopf (Stuart–Landau) oscillator models
- Machine learning: differentiable whole-brain biophysical models, recurrent neural network training, task-optimised network models, partially observable Markov decision processes, variational inference, reinforcement learning
- Network modelling: dynamic causal modelling, Granger causality and vector autoregression, probabilistic graphical models, Bayesian network analysis, functional connectivity analysis
- Neuroimaging: fMRIPrep and HCP minimal preprocessing pipelines, Connectome Workbench, fMRI denoising pipelines, statistical analysis (SurfStat, task GLM analysis, HRF deconvolution)
- Programming: Python (JAX, NumPy/SciPy), MATLAB