Ricky Zhao

Ricky is a first-year PhD student in Psychology in the Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CAB) area, co-advised by Dr. Iris Vilares and Dr. Cheryl Olman. His research focuses on understanding abnormalities in visual perception and cognition in psychiatric disorders using computational modeling and multiple neuroscience methods, including fMRI and EEG.

He received his B.S. in Applied Psychology from Renmin University of China (RUC), where he worked with Dr. Jie Li to investigate resilience following trauma and the pathological mechanisms underlying Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). He later earned his M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. During his master’s training, he worked with Dr. Holly Prigerson at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he further investigated the mechanisms underlying PGD from the perspective of network theory of psychopathology. He also worked with Dr. Guillermo Horga at Columbia University on the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying psychosis, which sparked his interest in computational psychiatry and shaped his current research at the intersection of perception, cognition, neuroscience, and mental health.

Outside of research, Ricky enjoys music (bayan, guitar, and singing) and sports (table tennis and badminton). Feel free to reach out via email if you’d like to chat about research, life, or simply connect. He is always happy to meet new people!