The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences is delighted to announce that Prof. Bolton Chau has been awarded a fellowship under the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) for 2026/27. The scheme offers support for Prof. Chau’s continued innovations and breakthroughs in cognitive neuroscience.
The RGC received 35 nominations for the RFS. Among PolyU’s six nominations, Prof. Chau was shortlisted for interview and ultimately received this prestigious fellowship. This marks a significant milestone, as he is the first academic staff member in the Department to receive this award.
Prof. Chau’s project is titled “How distractors bias choices: Investigating mechanisms through computational modelling, neuroimaging, neurochemistry and neurostimulation.” The project seeks to investigate how human decisions are influenced by distracting information through the use of advanced cognitive neuroscience techniques. By combining computational modelling, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the research will examine the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying decision-making biases. The findings are expected to have important practical implications for strengthening evidence-based policy-making, promoting unbiased decision-making, and supporting the development of treatments for psychiatric disorders.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. Chau on this remarkable accomplishment. His achievement is a source of great pride for the Department, and we wish him every success in the exciting research journey ahead.
