Xiaoqin Wang awarded a 2025 Pioneer Award in Basic Science

Xiaoqin Wang, professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, was awarded a 2025 Pioneer Award in Basic Science from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology.

This award recognizes a body of work established in the awardee’s own lab that represents a significant advance in hearing, vestibular, or related science. Wang was awarded for his pioneering work to establish the marmoset model system to elucidate the neural and behavioral basis of hearing and vocal communication.

Wang’s research aims to understand the brain mechanisms responsible for the perception and production of communication sounds, such as speech and vocalizations, including how representations of sound in the cerebral cortex emerge through development and learning. His lab integrates models with innovative computational techniques to investigate fundamental neural coding mechanisms in the auditory cortex. Using wireless neural recording methods, Wang’s team discovered vocal feedback processing mechanisms in the auditory cortex and uncovered the role of the non-human primate frontal cortex in voluntary vocal control.

In addition to his scientific contributions, Wang has trained many young scientists who are now making significant contributions in the field. He has previously been honored with the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).