Senior Research Fellow — Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Computational behaviour scientist. I build measurement tools for internal states: automated tracking, effect-size estimation, and high-dimensional behavioral benchmarking. I also work with electrophysiology time-series — spike sorting, LFP analysis, and signal conditioning. Currently: epitranscriptomics of native RNA states, ethomics of hunger circuits, constructing LLM loops to produce scientific reasoning and writing. In my spare time I do art and music, and
plot my own data for fun on Observable.
xusangyu@gmail.com ·
Google Scholar ·
GitHub
Lu Z*, Anns J*, Mai Y*, Zhang R, Lian K, Lee NM, Hashir S, Wang L, Li Y, Castillo-Gonzalez AR, Ho J, Choi H,
Xu S*†, Claridge-Chang A†.
Getting over ANOVA: estimation graphics for multi-group comparisons. Nature Methods 2026. (Co-corresponding.)
Ott S,
Xu S, Lee N, Hong I, Anns J, Suresh DD, Zhang Z, Zhang X, Harion R, Ye W, Chandramouli V, Jesuthasan S, Saheki Y, Claridge-Chang A.
Kalium channelrhodopsins
effectively inhibit neurons. Nature Communications 2024; 15:3480.
Experience
Senior Research Fellow — Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore
2026–present
Computational ethomics pipelines for internal state inference and epitranscriptomics workflows for native RNA modification mapping. Developing agentic LLM evaluation systems for scientific reasoning — grounded analytical outputs feed adversarial multi-agent critique and structured manuscript assessment pipelines.
Senior Research Fellow / Research Fellow — IMCB, A*STAR Singapore
2017–2026
Wrote and won a SGD 300,000 National Medical Research Council Young Individual Research Grant as sole investigator; ran it for four years (2021–2025) with one research assistant, whom I trained in genetics, assay development, automatic behavior tracking and pose estimation, machine learning, and native RNA sequencing.
Co-developed DABEST 2.0, an estimation statistics framework for visualising effect sizes and uncertainty; predecessor has 2,000+ citations. Built DESTRA, a ground-truth-referenced benchmarking approach for high-dimensional behavioural states, showing that perturbations can shift individual metrics without recapitulating the full target state — presented as an invited talk at APDNC3 / RIKEN 2024.
Developed automated behavioural classification pipelines for large-scale ethological data; contributed to novel optogenetic silencing tools (Nature Communications 2024) and long-Stokes-shift fluorescent markers for two-photon imaging (microPublication Biology 2026).
Postdoctoral Associate — Tonegawa Lab, MIT
2016–2017
Designed the first olfactory-cued rodent intertemporal choice task, translating a paradigm from human preference evaluation to allow precise neural recording at the decision point. Built a psychometric model predicting choice probability as a function of delay; dorsal raphe serotonergic activation increased patience while silencing drove impulsivity. in vivo optrode electrophysiology of dorsal raphe neurons. (Current Biology 2017, co-corresponding). Also contributed to studies of noradrenergic attentional circuits (PNAS 2020) and basolateral amygdala valence encoding (Nature Neuroscience 2016).
Education
PhD Systems Neuroscience — MIT
2016
Supervisor: Susumu Tonegawa.
Dissertation: Control of intertemporal choice by dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons.
BS Biology (Minor: Music) — UC San Diego
2007
Supervisor: Charles Zuker. Undergraduate Dissertation: A Novel Trans-Synaptic Neuronal Tracing Strategy.
Technical Skills
Python
R
Git
nbdev
Quarto
pandas
NumPy
SciPy
PyTorch
matplotlib
LLM-as-Judge
DSPy
LangGraph
Claude API
agentic evals
adversarial red-teaming
prompt engineering
bootstrap CI
effect size estimation
uncertainty quantification
causal inference
A/B testing
experimental design
Oxford Nanopore
direct RNA-seq
epitranscriptomics
DeepLabCut
SLEAP
SQL
Grants
NMRC Open Fund – Young Individual Research Grant (OF-YIRG), sole investigator — Neural Correlates of Social Influence on Feeding Behaviour (OFYIRG20nov-0051). SGD 300,000, 2021–2025.
Recognition
Outstanding Short Talk Award — Neuroscience Singapore 2025
Young Individual Research Grant (SGD $300,000) — National Medical Research Council, Singapore, 2021–2025
Walle Nauta Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching — MIT, 2011
National Science Scholarship — A*STAR, Singapore, 2004–2013
Honourable Mention — Singapore Physics Olympiad, 2002
Presentations
Multi-Modal Transcriptomic Mapping Of Neural States (Outstanding Short Talk)
Neuroscience Singapore 2025, 2025
A Feeding Ethome in Drosophila Reveals Trh Neurons Regulate Satiety (invited talk)
APDNC3, RIKEN, Wako City, Saitama, Japan, 2024
Differential regulation of feeding and locomotion by 5-HT neurons in Drosophila melanogaster
Cell Symposia Neurometabolism, 2019
Control of Intertemporal Choice by Dorsal Raphe Serotonergic Neurons (invited talk)
Advances and Convergences in 5-HT Research, CoSyNe, Lisbon, Portugal, 2019
Espresso: A Novel Feeding Assay for Drosophila (poster)
Neurofly, Krakow, 2018
The Role of Serotonin Projections in VTA in Temporal Discounting of Reward (invited poster)
Motivational Circuits in Natural and Learned Behaviors Meeting, HHMI Janelia Research Campus, 2015
Teaching
Modern Data Analysis for Biomedical Research (Teaching Assistant, recurring)
Duke-NUS, 2021–2023
GMS6812 Modern Data Analysis for Biomedical Research — Feb 2022, Feb 2023
Evidence Session: Modern Data Analysis for Biomedical Research — Oct 2021, Oct 2022
Graduate and undergraduate courses (Teaching Assistant)
MIT, 2009–2011
Walle Nauta Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, MIT, 2011
9.013 Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience II (Graduate) — Spring 2011
9.301 Neural Plasticity in Learning and Memory (Graduate) — Spring 2010
9.150 Biochemistry and Pharmacology of Synaptic Transmission (Undergraduate) — Fall 2009
YSC4229 Molecular Neuroscience – Genes, Brains, and Behaviour (Guest Lecturer)
Yale-NUS, March 2021, March 2023
Mentoring
Hazimah Yusoff (Research Assistant, NMRC YIRG, 2022–2025) — genetics, assay development, automated behaviour tracking and pose estimation, machine learning, native RNA sequencing → National University Health System (NUHS)
John Lovett (summer attachment student, Jul–Aug 2012) — expression of protein in mouse brain
Sinem Kadıoğlu (postgraduate attachment student, Jun–Oct 2018) — development of novel neurogenetics tools → Scientist, Genome Institute of Singapore, A*STAR
Farhana Haque Anisha (undergraduate student, May–Aug 2018) — development of novel fly feeding assay → Analyst, Costello Medical
Zoe Ang (polytechnic intern, Jul 2018–Jan 2019) — development of novel fly feeding assay
Jade Oh (summer intern, Jun–Aug 2019) — development of novel neurogenetics tools → Clarendon Scholar, Oxford
Beatrix Tang (undergraduate intern, Jun–Nov 2021) — development of novel neurogenetics molecular tools → medical student, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Service
Journal reviewing — Scientific Reports
Outreach and public engagement
Drawing Neurons, art–science collaboration (scientist collaborator) — exhibited at the Neuroscience Singapore Symposium and The Substation, Singapore, 2019
Brain Festival and Brain Awareness Week (exhibitor) — live demonstration of Drosophila culture under light microscopes, Science Centre Singapore, 2018
Media Coverage
Duke-NUS researchers develop light-controlled ‘switch’ for brain cells to better study the brain. The Straits Times (July 15, 2024).
Two Distinct Ways the Brain Stays Focused and Curbs Impulses. Psychology Today (November 6, 2020).
A delicate balance between positive and negative emotion. MIT Press (October 17, 2016).
Arts
Painter — 22nd UOB Painting of the Year Exhibition, Singapore, 2003
Ceramicist — The Art of the Cup, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2014
Gold Medal — 17th International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music, Prague, 2007