Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr James Pang received his PhD in Neurophysics from the University of Sydney and completed his postdoctoral training at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. He is currently a joint Senior Research Fellow and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and leads the Computational and Comparative Brain Dynamics Lab at the School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health.
His research program employs a multidisciplinary approach that combines multimodal neuroimaging, biophysical computational modelling, and statistical physics to better understand the mechanisms of brain structure and function in health, disease, and across species.
Research interests
- Mapping and modelling dysfunctional brain activity in clinical disorders
- Finding universal principles of brain evolution and development
- Bridging cellular diversity and macroscale dynamics in the mammalian brain
Supervision interests
Currently recruiting for Honours and PhD candidates who are interested in combining neuroimaging and computational modelling to better understand brain structure and dynamics in psychiatric disorders, neurodevelopment, and different mammalian species (e.g., primates, rodents, marine animals).
Background in physics, engineering, or biomedical science is desirable.
Education/Academic qualification
Physics, Doctor of Philosophy, Physics-based modeling of brain hemodynamics and activity, University of Sydney
Award Date: 16 Apr 2019
Physics, Master of Science, Single Hodgkin-Huxley neuron dynamics and its implications to coupled and noisy neurons, University of the Philippines (Diliman)
Award Date: 24 Mar 2014
Applied Physics, Bachelor of Science, Applications of complex network analysis on neural systems and multilevel marketing enterprise, University of the Philippines (Diliman)
Award Date: 23 Mar 2012
External positions
Visiting Scientist, Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (trading as QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute)
Mar 2021 → …
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Queensland
Jul 2020 → …
Research area keywords
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Computational Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Networks
- Neurodevelopment
- Evolution
- Psychiatric Disorders
- Modeling And Simulation
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Are Brain-Wide Activity Patterns Governed by Simple Connectivity?
Rosa, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Shimaoka, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pang, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Fellin, T. (Partner Investigator (PI))
23/07/25 → 22/07/29
Project: Research
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A new approach to mapping and modelling brain changes in clinical disorders
Pang, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)
1/01/25 → 1/12/29
Project: Research
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NHMRC Equipment Grant - New system to manipulate neural circuit dynamics based on Digital Mirror Device (DMD) technology
Shimaoka, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Cowley, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hall, G. S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rosa, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Andrews, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Coxon, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fornito, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pang, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Tsuchiya, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Bellgrove, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/11/23 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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Loss of blood volume at the capillary level contributes to poor outcomes for preterm infants
Eiby, Y. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Wright, I. M. R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lingwood, B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pang, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wixey, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Sandow, S. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Bjorkman, S. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Miller, S. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/01/20 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Cortical traveling waves in time and space: Physics, physiology, and psychology
Cruddas, J. (Leading Author), Pang, J. C. & Fornito, A. (Leading Author), 18 Mar 2026, In: Neuron. 114, 6, p. 985-1005 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Regional heterogeneity shapes macroscopic wave dynamics of the human and non-human primate cortex
Barnes, V., Cruddas, J., Cao, T., Pope, I. Z., Xu, T., Funck, T., Palomero-Gallagher, N., Pang, J. C. & Fornito, A., 23 Jan 2026, bioRxiv, 2026 32 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Research
Open Access -
Are neuroanatomical phenotypes for psychiatric disorders robust? An assessment of the reproducibility of grey matter differences in mental illness
Cao, T., Pang, J. C., Gajwani, M., Segal, A., Holmes, A., Wiley, J. F., Chopra, S., Zhou, J. H., Chen, C. C. H., Ji, F., Harrison , B. J., Davey, C. G., Constable, T. A., Tiego, J., Hartshorn, B., Kwee, J., Bellgrove, M. A. & Fornito, A., 10 Jul 2025, medRxiv preprints, 2025 25 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Research
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A unified model of cortico-hippocampal interactions through neural field theory
Phogat, R., Behler, A., Sonkusare, S., Pang, J. C., Koussis, N., Roberts, J. A., DeKraker, J., Shine, J. M., Fornito, A., Robinson, P. A. & Breakspear, M., 12 Sept 2025, bioRxiv, 2025 20 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Research
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Cortical traveling waves in time and space: Physics, physiology, and psychology
Cruddas, J., Pang, J. C. & Fornito, A., 31 Aug 2025, PsyArXiv, 2025 23 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Research
Prizes
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David van Essen Award for Outstanding Early Career Researcher
Pang, J. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
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Program Committee
Pang, J. (Member)
2025 → …Activity: External Academic Engagement › Committees and working groups
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Gradients Workshop
Pang, J. (Invited speaker)
23 Jun 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting
Pang, J. (Invited speaker)
24 Jun 2025 → 28 Jun 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting
Pang, J. (Invited speaker)
24 Jun 2025 → 28 Jun 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Asia-Pacific Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience
Pang, J. (Invited speaker)
21 Jul 2025 → 23 Jul 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
Press/Media
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Solutions Science Podcast
15/06/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Podcasts
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Quantum Photonics at ClubHouse Podcast
11/06/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Podcasts
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Unlocking the mystery of brain function and connectivity
1/06/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature