Qingyang Li

Qingyang is currently a research assistant at the Rakesh Lab and a PhD student at East China Normal University. She received her MSc in Mental Health Studies from King’s College London in 2024 and completed her dissertation under the supervision of Dr. Rakesh. Following graduation, she has continued to work as a research assistant with Dr. Rakesh. Using large-scale longitudinal data from the ABCD Study, her research examines how environmental and behavioral factors influence children’s brain development, mental health, and academic performance. In the study examining greenspace exposure, higher childhood exposure was associated with differences in total and regional cortical thickness and surface area, subcortical volumes, and the developmental trajectories of these brain structures. These brain structural differences showed significant indirect effects linking greenspace exposure with mental health problems and academic performance.