Ci-Jun Gao Ph.D.

Ci-Jun Gao is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University of Michigan. She completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Macau in 2025, with doctoral training across the Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where her research combined EEG, fMRI, and machine learning approaches to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of music and language processing. Ci-Jun is also a trained pipa (Chinese lute) performer, certified at the Performer Level by the Central Conservatory of Music, and she has a longstanding interest in how music-based approaches might inform the treatment of communication disorders. Her postdoctoral research uses individualized functional brain mapping to study the neural bases of stuttering and identify individualized treatment targets alongside work on rhythm-based interventions that aim to improve speech fluency.