Zirui completed a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MSc in Neuroscience at University College London (UCL). For their Master's thesis in Dr Ann Duan’s lab at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, Zirui investigated the role of the mouse superior colliculus in value-guided foraging decisions in both solo and social contexts. Zirui subsequently joined Prof John O'Keefe’s lab, studying social memory encoding in the limbic system. Driven by a passion for understanding how neurons and networks give rise to cognition, Zirui now aims to explore the neural basis of strategies in goal-directed navigation, combining behavioural modelling with electrophysiological recordings and targeted neural manipulation.