Huili Sun 🧠
Huili Sun
(she/her)

Postdoctoral Researcher

University of Pennsylvania
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, working with Dr. Dani Bassett. My research uses computational and network-based approaches to understand how the human brain develops during the earliest stages of life — from the fetal period through infancy and toddlerhood.
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Research

My research focuses on understanding how the human brain develops during the earliest stages of life — from the fetal period through infancy and toddlerhood. I combine tools from network control theory, connectomics, and machine learning to investigate the emergence and maturation of brain network architecture.

Network Controllability in the Developing Brain

I use control-theoretic frameworks to characterize how structural brain networks in neonates and fetuses can drive transitions between neural states. This work has revealed how controllability properties of white-matter networks at birth predict later social and language outcomes.

Brain Age and Normative Modeling

I develop computational models to predict brain age from neonatal connectomes and identify deviations from normative developmental trajectories. These deviations relate to maternal factors and predict later cognitive performance.

Fetal-Maternal Brain Interactions

My recent work explores how fetal network controllability co-develops with synaptic density and synchronizes with maternal brain controllability during pregnancy, bridging prenatal neurobiology with postnatal developmental outcomes.

Publications
Saloni Mehta*, Huili Sun, Nicola Micali, Daniel Holden, Krista Fowles, Samantha Rossano, Jiazhen Zhang, Chao Ma, Paul Han, Wonil Lee, Alvaro Duque, Pasko Rakic, Stephanie M Groman, Richard E Carson, Dustin Scheinost, Takuya Toyonaga (2026). High-resolution in utero SV2A PET imaging of the nonhuman primate brain using the NeuroEXPLORER. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.
Huili Sun, Takuya Toyonaga, Saloni Mehta, Chris Camp, Samantha Rossano, Marisa Spann, Richard Carson, Dustin Scheinost (2025). Fetal network controllability co-develops with synaptic density and synchronizes with maternal network controllability during pregnancy. Under Review in PNAS.
bioRxiv
Huili Sun, Angelina Vernetti, Marisa Spann, Katarzyna Chawarska, Laura Ment, Dustin Scheinost (2025). White-matter controllability at birth predicts social engagement and language outcomes in toddlerhood. Under Revision in Translational Psychiatry.
bioRxiv
Brendan D. Adkinson, Matthew Rosenblatt, Huili Sun, Javid Dadashkarimi, Link Tejavibulya, Corey Horien, Margaret L. Westwater, Raimundo X. Rodriguez, Stephanie Noble, Dustin Scheinost (2025). Feature selection leads to divergent neurobiological interpretations of brain-based machine learning biomarkers. Nature Human Behaviour (Accepted).
Huili Sun, Saloni Mehta, Milana Khaitova, Bin Cheng, Xuejun Hao, Marisa Spann, Dustin Scheinost (2024). Brain age prediction and deviations from normative trajectories in the neonatal connectome. Nature Communications.
Huili Sun, Javid Dadashkarimi, Matthew Rosenblatt, Raimundo X. Rodriguez, Dustin Scheinost (2024). Edge-centric controllability of the human brain structural network. Imaging Neuroscience.
Matthew Rosenblatt, Link Tejavibulya, Huili Sun, Chris C. Camp, Milana Khaitova, Brendan D. Adkinson, Rongtao Jiang, Margaret L. Westwater, Stephanie Noble, Dustin Scheinost (2024). Power and reproducibility in the external validation of brain-phenotype predictions. Nature Human Behaviour.
Jean Ye, Huili Sun, Siyuan Gao, Javid Dadashkarimi, Matthew Rosenblatt, Raimundo X. Rodriguez, Saloni Mehta, Rongtao Jiang, Stephanie Noble, Margaret L. Westwater, Dustin Scheinost (2023). Altered Brain Dynamics Across Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia During Rest and Task-switching Revealed by Overlapping Brain States. Biological Psychiatry.
Rongtao Jiang, Stephanie Noble, Jing Sui, Kwangsun Yoo, Matthew Rosenblatt, Corey Horien, Shile Qi, Qinghao Liang, Huili Sun, Vince D Calhoun, Dustin Scheinost (2023). Associations of physical frailty with health outcomes and brain structure in 483,033 middle-aged and older adults: a population-based study from the UK Biobank. The Lancet Digital Health.
Javid Dadashkarimi, Amin Karbasi, Qinghao Liang, Matthew Rosenblatt, Stephanie Noble, Maya Foster, Raimundo Rodriguez, Brendan Adkinson, Jean Ye, Huili Sun, Chris Camp, Michael Farruggia, Link Tejavibulya, Wei Dai, Rongtao Jiang, Angeliki Pollatou, Dustin Scheinost (2023). Cross Atlas Remapping via Optimal Transport (CAROT): Creating connectomes for different atlases when raw data is not available. Medical Image Analysis.
Huili Sun, Rongtao Jiang, Wei Dai, Alexander J. Dufford, Stephanie Noble, Shi Gu, Marisa Spann, Dustin Scheinost (2023). Network controllability of structural connectomes in the neonatal brain. Nature Communications.
Dustin Scheinost, Angeliki Pollatou, Alexander J. Dufford, Rongtao Jiang, Michael C. Farruggia, Matthew Rosenblatt, Hannah Peterson, Raimundo X. Rodriguez, Javid Dadashkarimi, Qinghao Liang, Wei Dai, Maya L. Foster, Chris C. Camp, Link Tejavibulya, Brendan D. Adkinson, Huili Sun, Jean Ye, Qi Cheng, Marisa N. Spann, Max Rolison, Stephanie Noble, Margaret L. Westwater (2022). Machine Learning and Prediction in Fetal, Infant, and Toddler Neuroimaging: A Review and Primer. Biological Psychiatry.
Awards & Honors
  • 2026 — Rising Stars in Computational and Data Sciences, Santa Fe Institute
  • 2025 — Wharton Summer Fellowship, Nathaniel Wharton Fund
  • 2024 — Google PhD Fellowship (Finalist)
  • 2024 — ISDP Travel Award
  • 2023 — FIT’NG Young Investigator Award
  • 2023 — Flux Student Travel Award
  • 2023 — Yale WFF Seed Grant
  • 2020 — Outstanding Graduates, Department of Education, Sichuan, China
  • 2018 — National Scholarship, Ministry of Education, China