Dr. Mikio Aoi

Biography

Mikio Aoi is an Assistant Professor at the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute at UC San Diego. His research focuses on computational neuroscience, particularly the study of how populations of neurons coordinate their activity to perform computations. He is interested in understanding the dynamics of neural computations and their impact on behavior, developing principled approaches to data analysis in close collaboration with experimentalists. Dr. Aoi began his academic journey by earning a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from California State University, Long Beach, followed by a PhD in Mathematical Biology from North Carolina State University, where he investigated the dynamics of cerebrovascular function in stroke patients. During his postdoctoral associate position in the Department of Mathematics at Boston University, he developed statistical methods for characterizing rhythmic synchrony in neuronal populations. He then moved to Princeton University, where he continued his postdoctoral training with Jonathan Pillow, focusing on scalable methods for analyzing high dimensional datasets of neuronal activity in animals engaged in perceptual decision-making tasks. Originally from Southern California, Dr. Aoi is excited to return to the area to join the distinguished faculty and students at UCSD.

Research Interests