Hi, and welcome to my website.

I am Kris, currently a postdoctoral researcher working with Ken Miller at the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University. Previously, I completed my PhD in the lab of Julijana Gjorgjieva at the Technical University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Germany.

I use mathematical and computational approaches to understand how brain function emerges from the interplay among cell type diversity, circuit structure, network dynamics, and synaptic plasticity.

Selected topics I have worked on include:

• Investigating how recurrent cortical circuits with diverse cell types implement context-dependent processing using data-driven approaches.
• Studying how short-term synaptic plasticity shapes network dynamics and computations in recurrent circuits (Wu and Zenke, 2021 eLife; Waitzmann*, Wu*, Gjorgjieva, 2024 PNAS).
• Studying how homeostatic mechanisms enable neural circuits to maintain stable and robust function under sensory perturbations (Wu et al., 2020 PNAS).

With advances in neuroscience technologies, I am increasingly interested in using data-driven approaches and AI tools to study how interactions across brain regions give rise to perception, cognition, and behavior.

I am always happy to discuss science. Please feel free to reach out anytime.

News

Publications

• Veneto, F.*, Kepçe, A.*, Wu, Y. K.^#, and Gjorgjieva, J.^# (2025). Cell-type-specific synaptic scaling mechanisms differentially contribute to associative learning. bioRxiv.
• Couderc, Y., Dhani Reddy, T., Vardiero, G., Garg, A., Ricci, D., d’Almeida, M., Nicolas, C., Habchi, T., Wu, Y. K., Gjorgjieva, J., Li, Y., Valjent, E., and Beyeler, A. (2024). Dopamine transmission in the anterior insula shapes the neural coding of anxiety. bioRxiv.
• Waitzmann, F.*, Wu, Y. K.*^#, and Gjorgjieva, J.^# (2024). Top-Down Modulation in Canonical Cortical Circuits with Short-Term Plasticity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2311040121.
• Wu, Y. K. and Gjorgjieva, J. (2023). Inhibition Stabilization and Paradoxical Effects in Recurrent Neural Networks with Short-Term Plasticity. Physical Review Research, 5, 033023.
• Wu, Y. K.*, Miehl, C.*, and Gjorgjieva, J. (2022). Regulation of Circuit Organization and Function Through Inhibitory Synaptic Plasticity. Trends in Neurosciences, 45: 884-898.
• Wu, Y. K., and Zenke, F. (2021). Nonlinear Transient Amplification in Recurrent Neural Networks with Short-Term Plasticity. eLife, 10, e71263.
• Wu, Y. K., Hengen, K. B., Turrigiano, G. G., and Gjorgjieva, J. (2020). Homeostatic Mechanisms Regulate Distinct Aspects of Cortical Circuit Dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(39), 24514-24525.
• Pacheco, A. T., Tilden, E. I., Grutzner, S. M., Lane, B. J., Wu, Y., Hengen, K. B., Gjorgjieva, J., and Turrigiano, G. G. (2019). Rapid and Active Stabilization of Visual Cortical Firing Rates across Light–Dark Transitions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(36), 18068- 18077.

*equal contribution, ^#co-corresponding authors.