Tam is a behavioral neuroscientist interested in associative learning and biological timing. He received his B.Sc. in Psychology (1st Class Honours), M.Sc. in Psychological Research Methods (Distinction), and Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham, where he investigated the role of the hippocampus in interval timing. After completing his Ph.D. in 2011, he moved to the University of Oxford and worked as a postdoctoral neuroscientist until 2023. His postdoctoral research focused primarily on the regulation of behavior by light and biological clocks (Tam et al., 2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B; Tam et al., 2017, Journal of Neuroscience; Tam et al., 2021, PNAS). He joined Duke Kunshan University in 2023 as an assistant professor of neuroscience. Some of his ongoing research aims to understand the reinforcing properties of light and its relevance to behavioral addiction (Tam et al., 2025, Journal of Behavioral Addictions). 

His other research interests can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7fEXUrIAAAAJ&hl=en