Helena (Yuhan) Liu

Your Photo

I am a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, mentored by Dr. Jonathan Pillow. I completed my PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington, advised by Dr. Eric Shea-Brown. I have also held visiting research roles at Mila – AI Institute (with Dr. Guillaume Lajoie), MIT (with Drs. Robert Yang and Chris Cueva), and the Allen Institute (with Drs. Uygar Sümbül, Stefan Mihalas, and Stephen Smith).

I study learning in brains and machines, bridging AI/ML theory and neuroscience. My work develops theory-driven and data-driven machine learning methods to uncover how the brain learns. More broadly, I aim to advance both AI/ML and neuroscience by identifying general principles of efficient and robust learning with long-term impact on AI and health.

Research areas: NeuroAI, AI4Science, computational neuroscience, deep learning theory, decision-making, learning dynamics
Teaching interests: Machine learning (including deep learning and neural networks), data science, computational neuroscience, NeuroAI, applied mathematics (numerical linear algebra, probability, differential equations), scientific computing, and lower-division service courses.

I was named a 2024 Rising Star in EECS (area: AI for Healthcare and Life Sciences) and a 2024 Rising Star in Computational and Data Sciences. I have published as the first author in NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, PNAS, and IEEE, and my work has been supported by fellowships such as the NSERC PGS-D, FRQNT B2X, Pearson, and NSF AccelNet IN-BIC. I have also taught and mentored extensively, earning a departmental teaching award.

✦ On the faculty job market for 2025–2026. Pursuing opportunities with a strong commitment to both research and teaching.

News

Sep 2025First-authored paper accepted to NeurIPS 2025
Sep 2025Selected as a 2025 Rising Star in Data Science
Aug 2025Selected as a 2025 Rising Star in Engineering in Health
Jun 2025Oral at SAND Workshop 2025
May 2025First-authored paper accepted to ICML 2025
Mar 2025Undergraduate mentees' co-first-authored paper featured at AAAI AI2ASE
Dec 2024Invited talk at Princeton CSML
Oct 2024Attended EECS Rising Stars workshop at MIT
Aug 2024Began postdoc at Princeton
Jun 2024Undergraduate mentee presented first-authored work at NIH BRAIN Initiative Conference
Jun 2024Received departmental teaching award at UW Applied Math
Jun 2024Successfully defended PhD
May 2024Attended Rising Stars in Computational and Data Sciences workshop at UT Austin
Apr 2024Awarded FRQNT Postdoctoral Fellowship (ranked 1st in category)
Mar 2024Received a final course evaluation score of 4.9/5 in AMATH 342 (as instructor of record)
Mar 2024Co-organized COSYNE Workshop: "The Geometry & Dynamics of Learning"
Feb 2024Awarded NSERC PDF (declined offer)
Jan 2024First-authored paper accepted to ICLR 2024