Sangyu Xu 徐桑榆
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Sangyu Xu
Sangyu Xu 徐桑榆

Computational Behaviour Scientist

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I’m a computational behavior scientist modeling complex behavior and physiology systems. I specialize in neuromodulation, longitudinal behavior and physiology tracking, learning mechanisms, estimation statistics, large-dimensional data analysis and visualization, reproducible analysis workflows, and I think about AI agent workflows and evaluation. My work asks how we infer hidden states from noisy, high-dimensional evidence. Hunger, satiety, impulsivity, attention, social influence, and model capability are not directly visible.

I am currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Adam Claridge-Chang Lab. Previously I was a PhD student at the Tonegawa Lab at MIT.

Recent

  • Aug 2026DABEST 2.0 paper published in Nature Methods.
  • Jul 2026Ethomics paper posted to bioRxiv.
  • Apr 2026LSSmScarlet3 paper posted to bioRxiv.
  • Mar 2026Octopamine-driven feeding paper posted to bioRxiv.
  • Jan 2026DABEST 2.0 paper posted to bioRxiv.

Hot Off the Press · Nature Methods 2026

Getting Over ANOVA

DABEST delta-delta estimation graphic

See the effect, not just the P value.

Modern biology produces complex experiments: many groups, repeated measurements, factorial designs, binary outcomes. Much of it still gets reduced to one question — is it significant? DABEST 2.0 plots the raw data, the effect size, and the uncertainty around that effect together, so the analysis matches the question the experiment was designed to ask.

Nature MethodsRead essayDemo
Clustering ethomics phenovectors

Neuroscience · Methods

What Is a Hungry Fly?

When one metric lies, the whole behavioral profile tells the truth.

Read essaybioRxiv
Whorlmap grid visualization

Visualization · Uncertainty

Whorlmap: An Uncertainty-aware Heatmap

An uncertainty-aware heatmap cell that keeps the distribution visible.

Read essayProject
Lanting state graph for an LLM writing loop

AI Workflows · Evaluation

Four Agents, No Ground Truth

Designing an inspectable graph for scientific judgment, critique, and repair.

Read essayRepo
Pregnancy state space from Apple Watch data

Quantified Self · Measurement

Pregnancy according to My Apple Watch

Health is multidimensional; recovery is not a single number.

Read essay
 

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