I studied Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, and Artificial Intelligence. I have an interdisciplinary background in mathematics, computer science, logic, linguistics, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and analytic philosophy. I specialized in experimental neuroscience and received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience on the topic of neural signal dynamics in different brain states from Hannover Medical School, Germany.
I am working on the topic of brain plasticity after hearing loss, focusing on two questions: What happens to your brain when you become deaf? And how does your brain develop when you are born deaf? These questions are pivotal for understanding hearing restoration with cochlear implants. When a cochlear implant reintroduces auditory input to a brain adapted to deafness, this brain must relearn how to process sound. The adaptations the brain underwent during the period of deafness could either aid or impede its ability to effectively integrate this newly restored sensory information. Investigating how the deaf brain reorganizes itself, and how it subsequently responds to cochlear implantation, is crucial for optimizing auditory rehabilitation outcomes.
On a technical side, I am also interested in changes of sensory processing during anesthesia, or different brain states in general, which also can help to define what consciousness NOT is. I apply multichannel microelectrode arrays, cortical surface, and EEG recordings, in combination with different types of brain signals and different signal processing techniques to study these questions.
Currently, I work towards the tuning of neural prostheses with a combination of machine learning and a lexicon of auditory neural representations. In addition, I currently study cognitive executive function in hearing and deaf subjects with human EEG. I am currently running an auditory neuroscience lab within the Institute for Audioneurotechnology with Prof. Andrej Kral at the Hannover Medical School, Germany.