Rate My Professor Ying Hui-Chou

Ying-hui Chou is an Associate Professor in the Cognition & Neural Systems area of the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona. She holds joint appointments as Associate Professor in Cognitive Science Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, and BIO5 Institute. As Director of the Brain Imaging and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Laboratory, Chou earned her Sc.D. in Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences. Prior to joining the University of Arizona in 2016, she was at Duke University Medical Center from 2013 to 2015. She teaches courses including Brain Rehabilitation, Intro to Brain Connectivity, Methods in Neuroscience, Mind and Brain, and Cognitive Neuroscience, and supervises graduate and undergraduate research.

Chou's research centers on the cognitive and clinical neuroscience of aging and mild cognitive impairment, integrating brain imaging and TMS to develop image-guided therapeutic protocols for memory enhancement. She investigates TMS-derived and image-based biomarkers for early diagnosis and prediction of therapeutic outcomes in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Her work extends to cortical excitability, hippocampal plasticity, explore-exploit decisions in older adults, and applications in neuropsychiatric disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and chemo brain. Chou received a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2020 to develop personalized noninvasive treatments for mild cognitive impairment targeting hippocampal plasticity. Other honors include Scialog Fellow, BIO5 Institute Team Scholars Program Award, Fu-Jen University Excellence in Teaching Award, E.K. Zavoisky Stipend Award, Educational Stipend Award, and Carolyn Kohn Memorial Scholarship. Key publications include "Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Motor Symptoms in Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis" (JAMA Neurology, 2015), "A systematic review and meta-analysis of rTMS effects on cognitive enhancement in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease" (Neurobiology of Aging, 2020), "Diffusion MRI–guided theta burst stimulation enhances memory and functional connectivity along the inferior longitudinal fasciculus in mild cognitive impairment" (PNAS, 2022), and "Cortical excitability and plasticity in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis" (Ageing Research Reviews, 2022). She has presented extensively on TMS applications at conferences and workshops.