# Ongoing and future research directions

We have many exciting research directions underway, and here we highlight a few current and upcoming projects.

## Brain functional organization in special populations

The University of South Carolina is home to the [McCausland Center for Brain Imaging](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/centers_and_institutes/mccausland_center/) and several large-scale neuroimaging datasets, including the [Aphasia Recovery Cohort](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-03819-7) and the [Aging Brain Cohort](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666956021000064).
We currently have access to one MRI scanner, with [two additional scanners](https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/facilities/current_projects/brain_health_center/index.php) on the way, including a 7T Siemens MAGNETOM Terra.X MRI scanner.
Leveraging these resources, we collaborate with our colleagues to study brain functional organization in people with aphasia/stroke, misophonia, and autism spectrum disorder.

## Shared neural representations across individuals

With better alignment comes greater statistical power.
Collaborating with our colleagues at the [Institute for Mind and Brain](https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/centers_and_institutes/institute_for_mind_and_brain/), we use [hyperalignment](hyperalignment.md) to study neural representations that are shared across individuals, such as those of abstract concepts and emotional prosody.
In particular, we study shared neural representations encoded in idiosyncratic spatial patterns, which are difficult to examine using traditional anatomical alignment methods.

## Functional and structural brain templates

In the [HyperBrain](hyperbrain) project, we are working with the [Haxby Lab](https://sites.dartmouth.edu/haxbylab/) at Dartmouth College to build high-quality functional templates for hyperalignment and other functional alignment methods.

We are exploring the possibility of leveraging [SUGAR](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.media.2024.103122), a deep-learning-based framework for cortical surface registration, to further improve the quality of the [onavg](onavg) cortical surface template.


## Shared and species-specific neural responses

In the [Monkey Kingdom](monkey_kingdom) project, we are examining the brain response components that are shared between humans and monkeys when they watch the same movie, as well as those that are specific to each species.

```{admonition} Get involved!
:class: attention
We are recruiting **Ph.D. students for Fall 2026**!
If your research interests overlap with the topics mentioned above, or our [research interests and directions](/research/index.md) in general, please consider [joining our lab](/join.md)!
```

## References

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