Current Position:
Associate Professor in Residence of Neurological Surgery and Physiology
Institution:
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Discipline:
Neuroscience
Recognized for: Developing methods of awake neural recordings in humans and his contributions to our understanding of language processing
Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Human brain mapping, speech and language mechanisms, computational neurophysiology
Biography:
MD, University of California, San Francisco
BA, Amherst College
Dr. Chang specializes in functional neurosurgery, with particular expertise in the treatment of refractory seizures, cranial nerve disorders, and brain tumors. His research focuses on the discovery of higher-order neurological function in humans, such as language processing. Dr. Chang’s laboratory has demonstrated the detailed functional organization of the human speech cortex. He is developing advanced, human-based neural interface technologies with LLNL and UC Berkeley.
Dr. Chang is Co-Director of the Center for Neural Engineering & Prostheses at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. He is principal investigator of the DARPA SUBNETS project to develop advanced therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions. He is recipient of the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, NIH Pathways to Independence Award, Klingenstein Fellowship, McKnight Foundation Award, and Young Investigator Award from the American Epilepsy Society. Dr. Chang is a New York Stem Cell Foundation- Robertson Investigator.
“Language is a unique and defining behavior of our species. Our goal is to understand the brain machinery that gives rise to our ability to speak and to comprehend speech. That is, we are trying to understand the neural codes that translate our thoughts into spoken words.”
Key Publications:
Other Honors:
| 2003 | Alpha Omega Alpha |
| 2008 | Wilder Penfield Fellowship, Congress of Neurological Surgeons |
| 2009 | NIH Pathway to Independence Award |
| 2010 | Henry Newman Award, San Francisco Neurological Society |
| 2011 | Klingenstein Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences |
| 2011 | Young Investigator Award, Grass Foundation-American Epilepsy Society |
| 2011-16 | NIH New Director's Innovation Award |
| 2013 | McKnight Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award |
| 2014 | New York Stem Cell Foundation- Robertson Investigator |
In the Media:
UCSF Neuroscientist Named 2015 Blavatnik Laureate in Life Sciences. UCSF News Center. June 30, 2015.
Researchers watch as our brains turn sounds into words. NPR. Jan 30, 2014
Brain-Machine Interface Could Give Voice to the Voiceless. Discover. April 20, 2014
UCSF study shows how the brain sorts sounds to make language. San Francisco Chronicle. Jan 31, 2014