Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Shari Liu

@shariliu.bsky.social

1.9K followers 360 following 92 posts

Asst Prof at Johns Hopkins. Dog person. A woman who is up to something. www.liulaboratory.org

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Shari Liu @shariliu.bsky.social · May 2

The first big talk I have given since starting my lab in 2023! 🧠 👶 💻📊Thank you @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social for the invitation and recording. Feedback welcome!

Kempner Institute at Harvard University @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social · Apr 29

New in the Kempner Institute Seminar Series: @shariliu.bsky.social of Johns Hopkins University presents her research elucidating the computations that enable brains to make sense of living agents and inanimate objects.

youtu.be/xojTiQC9uIc
#psychology #neuroscience #devpsych

Integration Between Social and Physical Intelligence in the Human Mind and Brain with Shari Liu

YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University

youtu.be

1 3 20

Reposted by Shari Liu

Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Sep 5

Interested in applying to graduate programs or research positions in psychology? Want more information and feedback on your submission materials? Then Harvard’s Prospective Ph.D. & RA Event in Psychology (PPREP) Is for you!! psychology.fas.harvard.edu/pprep
More info in the link!! Please retweet!

PPREP Program | Department of Psychology

psychology.fas.harvard.edu

35 26

Reposted by Shari Liu

Heejung Jung @jungheejung.bsky.social · Sep 4

New Open dataset alert:
🧠 Introducing "Spacetop" – a massive multimodal fMRI dataset that bridges naturalistic and experimental neuroscience!

N = 101 x 6 hours each = 606 functional iso-hours combining movies, pain, faces, theory-of-mind and other cognitive tasks!

🧵below

3 58 120

Reposted by Shari Liu

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · Sep 3

JUST IN: Harvard won summary judgment against the Trump administration with the court finding that the admin violated Harvard's 1st amend. rights. The court has vacated the funding freeze orders and termination letters and issued a permanent injunction.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

[cite_start]A screenshot of the first page of a court document from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts[cite: 3]. [cite_start]The document is titled "MEMORANDUM AND ORDER" [cite: 43] [cite_start]and was filed on September 3, 2025[cite: 1].

The document lists two related civil actions:
* [cite_start]**Civil Action No. 25-cv-11048-ADB**: President and Fellows of Harvard College, et al., Plaintiffs, v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al., Defendants[cite: 4, 5, 14, 17, 21].
* [cite_start]**Civil Action No. 25-cv-10910-ADB**: American Association of University Professors - Harvard Chapter, et al., Plaintiffs, v. United States Department of Justice, et al., Defendants[cite: 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 36].

[cite_start]The order is from Judge Burroughs, D.J.[cite: 44]. [cite_start]The text begins by identifying the plaintiffs in the consolidated cases[cite: 45].

A screenshot of pages 81 and 82 from a court order, detailing the judge's rulings and the relief granted.

**Rulings:**
* **For Harvard's case:** The court grants Harvard's motion for summary judgment on several counts, including violations of the First Amendment and Title VI. It grants in part Harvard's motion regarding the "Freeze Orders" and grants in part the defendants' motion regarding the "Termination Letters," citing a lack of jurisdiction.
* **For the Organizational Plaintiffs' case:** The court grants the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on their First Amendment claims and denies the defendants' cross-motion on several counts. The ruling on the "Freeze Orders" and "Termination Letters" mirrors the one in Harvard's case.

**Ordered Relief:**
1. The court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders as arbitrary and capricious.
2. The court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters as violations of the First Amendment.
3. The court vacates and sets aside the Termination Letters as violations of Title VI.
4. The court permanently enjoins the defendants from implementing the Freeze Orders, Termination Letters, and their unconstitutional conditions.

47 1.1K 4.2K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Aug 28

CDC scientists receive a heroes welcome after walking out today.

140 2.2K 9.2K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · Aug 28

Good. I have questions and the American people deserve answers.

RFK Jr. will testify before Senate panel next week

The Finance Committee hearing was in the works before Wednesday’s CDC shakeup.

www.politico.com

630 1.4K 7.2K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Mark D. Levine @marklevinenyc.bsky.social · Aug 28

Tonight one of the CDC’s top public health leaders, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, has resigned from his post.

Below is his full resignation letter.

You should read every word.

This is a truly scary moment for public health in America.
1/2

10 150 310

Reposted by Shari Liu

Kristina Šekrst @epiphenomenal.bsky.social · Aug 23

A simple tweak to make The Duelist (2016) a better movie.

#descartes #dualism #philosophy #philbluesky #cogsci #badjoke

1 8

Reposted by Shari Liu

Chris Krupenye @chriskrupenye.bsky.social · Aug 20

When an animals' groupmates go out of sight, do they also go out of mind?

In a new paper in Proc B @royalsocietypublishing.org, Luz Carvajal and I show that a bonobo (Kanzi) can keep mental tabs on the whereabouts of multiple hidden social partners

royalsocietypublishing.org/eprint/4GI7G...

Mental representation of the locations and identities of multiple hidden agents or objects by a bonobo | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Humans are adept at navigating the social world in part because we flexibly map the locations and identities of agents around us. While field studies suggest primates can track individual conspecifics...

royalsocietypublishing.org

7 27 90

Reposted by Shari Liu

Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, PhD @lluaces.bsky.social · Aug 20

ATTN: Robert Wood Johnson has money to support “canceled” research on racial-indigenous health equity

www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research

The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment by supporting timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding.

www.rwjf.org

1 150 200

Reposted by Shari Liu

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · Aug 19

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu:

“Silence in the face of oppression is not an option. The U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today. So here it is…Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures.”

510 7.3K 26K

Reposted by Shari Liu

tal boger @talboger.bsky.social · Aug 19

On the left is a rabbit. On the right is an elephant. But guess what: They’re the *same image*, rotated 90°!

In @currentbiology.bsky.social, @chazfirestone.bsky.social & I show how these images—known as “visual anagrams”—can help solve a longstanding problem in cognitive science. bit.ly/45BVnCZ

19 110 350

Reposted by Shari Liu

Abdul-Rahim Deeb @ardeeb.bsky.social · Jul 29

If you're heading to @cogscisociety.bsky.social, come to our symposium “Perception as a Foundation for Common‑Sense Theories of the World”

📅 August 1 • 9 AM
📍 Salon 2

With
@thiskevinsmith.bsky.social
@shariliu.bsky.social
@judithfan.bsky.social
@ardeeb.bsky.social
— See you there! #CogSci2025

1 7 16

Reposted by Shari Liu

Mike Frank @mcxfrank.bsky.social · Jul 23

Looking forward to #cogsci2025 next week - here's a list of presentations from my lab!

Presentation list for language and cognition lab at CogSci 2025.

2 7 47

Reposted by Shari Liu

Tobias Gerstenberg @tobigerstenberg.bsky.social · Jul 25

The Causality in Cognition Lab is pumped for #cogsci2025 💪

8 57

Reposted by Shari Liu

Ashley Thomas @ashleyjthomas.bsky.social · Jul 19

Come see my lab at the Cognitive Science Society Conference #cogsci2025

Poster that feature talks from the Thomas Lab at the Cognitive Science Society. The Thomas Lab
at CogSci 2025

July 31st
Brandon woo
Social Engagement Leads Infants to Represent People as Individuals
Oral Talk Session: Development of Social Cognition 1
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Salon 6

Denise Lopez Flores
Preliminary Evidence that Infants and Children Use Accents to Inform
Relational Expectations
Poster Session 1: (PL1-L-118)
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Location: Salon 8

Friday August 1st
Emma Yu
Children Expect Emotional Consolation to Occur in Close Relationships
Oral Talk Session: Development of
Social Cognition 2
Time: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Nob Hill B

Min Feldman
Do children use action frequency to infer social closeness?
Poster Session 2: (P2-F-55)
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Salon 8

Christina Steele
Navigating Family Ties: Young Children's Cognitive Representations of the Family Network
Oral Talk Session: Learning and
Development 3
Time: 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Location: Nob Hill D

Hannah Hok Kim
Written in Stone: Lay intuitions about the emergence and impact of formal rules
Poster Session 2: (P2-H-77)
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Salon 8

Saturday August 2

Lizette Pizza
Do People Value Plants Over Non-Living Entities? Moral Considerations in Adults and Young Children
Poster Session 3: (P3-P-158)
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Location: Salon 8

Megan Richardson
Children's Expectations of Emotional Intimacy in Close Relationships
Poster Session 3: (P3-R-165)
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Location: Salon 8

Mack Briscoe
When to speak up: How children reason about group dynamics
Poster Session 3: (P3-B-18)
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Location: Salon 8

7 32

Reposted by Shari Liu

Lindsey Powell @lindseypowell.bsky.social · Jul 28

The SoCal Lab is headed to #cogsci2025 this week! Here's where you can find us:

A list of the SoCal Lab's presentations at CogSci.

In brief:
Lindsey Powell is giving talks in Workshop 1 on July 30 at 9:30 am and in Symposium 1 on July 31.

Tori Hennessy is giving a talk in the Development of Social Cognition 1 session on July 31.

Bill Pepe is giving a talk in the Development of Social Cognition session on August 1.

Coxi Jiang is giving a talk in the Emotion session on August 1.

Rodney Tompkins is presenting a poster in Session 2 on August 1.

1 8 36

Shari Liu @shariliu.bsky.social · Jul 28

Who's excited for #CogSci2025? 💭

Schedule for the LIU LAB at CogSci 2025 conference, featuring a variety of workshops and presentations.

Wednesday, July 30

Workshop 1: "Putting it together: Interactions between domains of cognition" at 8:30 AM, presented by Shari Liu and Joseph Outa.

Thursday, July 31

P1-C-24: "Surprise isn’t symmetrical: Adults’ looking suggests non-perceptual considerations during dishabituation" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Qiong Cao, Anjie Cao, Gal Raz, Josh Tenenbaum, and Shari Liu.

Friday, August 1

Lecture in Symposium 4: "Perceiving and reasoning jointly about the social and physical world" at 9:40 AM, presented by Shari Liu.
P2-O-146: "Adults hold two parallel causal frameworks for reasoning about people’s minds, actions, and bodies" from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, presented by Joseph Outa and Shari Liu.

Saturday, August 2

P3-B-15: "Who drew this? Children appreciate visual style differently than adults" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Tal Boger, Chaz Firestone, and Shari Liu.
P3-K-95: "Pushing people: the neural basis of social interaction perception" from 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM, presented by Minjae Kim, Miriam Hauptman, and Shari Liu.
Talks 49: "Learning and Development 5" from 3:21 PM to 3:45 PM, presenting findings on individual differences in habituation and dishabituation, by Anjie Cao, Qiong Cao, Michael Frank, and Shari Liu.

The schedule includes a call to attendees to "Come and say hi!" at the event.

3 28

Shari Liu @shariliu.bsky.social · Jun 25

Lucy! Congratulations 🎈🎉🎊

Reposted by Shari Liu

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Jun 22

EXCLUSIVE — The Onion has a full-page ad in today’s NYT featuring part of an editorial calling out congressional fecklessness towards Trump. They also sent a copy of their latest issue to every lawmaker.

My report, with an excerpt from the full editorial: www.thehandbasket.co/p/exclusive-...

The Onion NYT ad. The headline of the editorial says “CONGRESS, NOW MORE THAN EVER OUR NATION NEEDS YOUR COWARDICE”

130 4.5K 16K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Sydney Levine @sydneylevine.bsky.social · Jun 6

🔆 I'm hiring! 🔆

There are two open positions:

1. Summer research position (best for master's or graduate student); focus on computational social cognition.
2. Postdoc (currently interviewing!); focus on computational social cognition and AI safety.

sites.google.com/corp/site/sy...

Sydney Levine - Open Positions

Summer Research Position I am seeking a part-time or full-time researcher for the summer (starting asap) to bring a project to completion. The project asks the question: do people around the world u...

sites.google.com

1 24 33

Reposted by Shari Liu

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · Jun 16

BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.

100 3.6K 14K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · Jun 13

when you want to join the fun but can't quite get down with the nomenclature (ht @davelevitan.bsky.social)

Flyer for a "No Tyrants" protest in London, UK

75 440 2.7K

Reposted by Shari Liu

Frida Ghitis @fridaghitis.bsky.social · Jun 13

The neighborhood is getting ready for tomorrow

98 3.5K 21K

Reposted by Shari Liu

NIH Vigils @nihvigils.bsky.social · Jun 12

NIH APPLICANTS:

Your application will be WITHDRAWN BEFORE REVIEW if you have an international collaboration and do not include a Foreign Justification.

Normally this could be provided after review as JIT but NOT ANYMORE.

You have been warned.

3 54 71

Reposted by Shari Liu

Britton Sauerbrei @brittonsauerbrei.bsky.social · Jun 13

Is it true you use only 10 bits / s of your brain?
@andpru.bsky.social and I provide a motor systems perspective on a proposed speed limit for human information processing. Out today in
@natneuro.nature.com:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

sky.social

8 33 100