Graduate students excel at international conferences

Three PhD students advised by Zhongming Liu, assistant professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University, and a recent Purdue graduate formerly advised by Liu, gained recognition at international conferences in France and Singapore this month.

Jiayue Cao (left), Kun-Han Lu (top), Yizhen Zhang (right), all PhD students advised by Zhongming Liu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue, excelled at recent international conferences.

Jiayue Cao, a 3rd year PhD student in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, won two Magna Cum Laude awards from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). ISMRM is the top conference in magnetic resonance imaging or spectroscopy, and Magna Cum Laude is given to abstracts rated in the top 15% among all submissions to ISMRM. Cao’s abstracts were selected for oral presentation at the ISMRM conference in Paris, France, in June.

Kun-Han Lu, a 5th year PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, also won a Magna Cum Laude award from ISMRM and presented his work in an oral presentation at the ISMRM conference. 

Yizhen Zhang, a 4th year PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, received the Merit Abstract Award from the Organization of Human Brain Mapping (OHBM). OHBM is the premier conference in the field of brain imaging. A Merit Abstract Award includes a $2,000 monetary prize and is given to top-rated abstracts (about the top 1%) of all submissions to OHBM. Zhang presented her work in an oral presentation at the OHBM annual meeting in Singapore in June. 

Haiguang Wen, who recently received a PhD in electrical and computer engineering, also received the Merit Abstract Award from the OHBM and gave an oral presentation at the OHBM annual meeting. 

The winning presentations are listed below.

  • Cao, J.; Lu, K.-H.; Phillips, R.; Powley, TL; Liu, Z. (Oral). “Visceral stimulation triggers high-frequency BOLD responses in the rat brain,” the Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2018.
  • Cao, J.; Lu, K.-H.; Powley, TL; Liu, Z. (Oral). “Vagus nerve stimulation evokes widespread BOLD responses in the rat brain,” the Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2018.
  • Lu, K.-H.; Cao, J.; Oleson, S.; Ward, M.P.; Powley, T.L.; Liu, Z. (Oral). “Vagus nerve stimulation promotes gastric emptying in rat measured by magnetic resonance imaging,” the Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance for Medicine, 2018. 
  • Zhang, Y.; Kim, J.-H.; Wen, H.; Liu, Z. (Oral). “High Gamma Electrocorticography in Superior Temporal Gyrus Represents Words during Natural Speech,” Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) Annual Meeting, #2208, 2018.
  • Wen, H.; Shi, J.; Chen, W.; Liu, Z. (Oral). “Learning Transferable and Generalizable Neural Encoding Models for Natural Vision,” Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) Annual Meeting Abstract # 2037, 2018.