Rate My Professor Hyesang Chang

Hyesang Chang holds a Ph.D. in Psychology (Cognition) from the University of Chicago, awarded in 2017, along with an M.A. in Social Sciences (Psychology) from the same institution in 2011 and a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience from Grinnell College in 2009. She served as a Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University from 2017 to 2024 in the Stanford Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, working under the mentorship of Vinod Menon. Her academic appointments also include graduate student researcher roles at the University of Chicago’s Human Performance Lab from 2010 to 2017.

Chang’s research centers on cognitive, affective, and motivational factors influencing human performance, with a particular emphasis on neurocognitive mechanisms of mathematical learning and development in children. Key publications include “Latent neurocognitive mechanisms underlying quantity discrimination in children with and without mathematical learning disabilities” (Journal of Neuroscience, 2026), “Causal dynamics of memory circuits in mathematical development from childhood to adulthood” (Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2025), and “Distinct neural representational changes following cross-format number tutoring in children with mathematical difficulties” (npj Science of Learning, 2025), among numerous others addressing topics such as number sense training, brain plasticity, math anxiety, and memory circuits in learning. She has received awards including the Stanford Maternal & Child Health Research Institute Postdoctoral Support Award, the Chicago Center for Teaching Fellowship, and the Undergraduate Psychology Program Preceptorship at the University of Chicago. Chang has taught courses including Cognitive Psychology, General Psychology, and Advanced Research Methods in Psychology, and has delivered invited talks on individual differences in math learning and math anxiety.