Dr. Xiao-Fei Yang is the Scientific Director of USC CANDLE and an Associate Research Professor at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and USC Rossier School of Education.

Dr. Yang is a social-affective and developmental neuroscientist, with extensive experience working with youth and in school settings. Her research examines the psychological and neurobiological processes underlying complex social emotions and meaning-making, which are integral to the learning experience. She studies how these processes develop within sociocultural contexts, with a particular focus on adolescence. She specializes in neuroimaging and psychophysiology and utilizes a mixed-method approach relating qualitative analyses of natural behavior to measures of brain functioning and body regulation.

Her work contributes to the scientific foundation needed to enhance the experiences of students and teachers and to inform the transformation of schools and education policy toward a healthier and more equitable society.