We are excited to share that Mark Dai, an undergraduate student in the Neural Engineering program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Class of 2028) with a minor in Computer Science, has been accepted as a Mayo Clinic Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) and is one of seven students selected for the 2026 cohort.
Mark currently works as an undergraduate research assistant at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, where he has been involved in neural engineering–based research with Mahmood Rajabtabar Darvish, a PhD student in Illinois-Carle Joint Neural Engineering and Rehabilitation Laboratory (JNERL). His work focuses on machine learning and computational modeling of brain function to better understand ambiguous emotional perception and the neural mechanisms that support complex human behavior.
Fascinated by how complex behavior can arise from simple neuronal activity, Mark is broadly interested in the intersection of biological and artificial intelligence. He is grateful for the opportunity to build a strong computational skillset through Dr. Yuan Yang’s Neural Circuits and Systems course and looks forward to bringing these experiences to his SURF training at Mayo Clinic.
Please join us in congratulating Mark on this wonderful achievement, and we wish him a productive and rewarding summer at Mayo Clinic!