I’m a neurobiologist studying higher cognitive abilities such as perception and attention in the primate brain. I’m also passionate about our shared natural history: how evolution and ecology shaped our monkey brains.
Postdoctoral Researcher — Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
What neural mechanisms are responsible for shaping the unceasing, fluctuating stream of conscious experiences throughout our lives? In a recently initiated scientific project at the Vision & Cognition group, we aim to reveal which brain nodes are responsible for conscious perception. We are using a combination of electrical stimulation through multi-channel electrodes and neuroimaging to map the contribution of many different brain regions.
Together with: Pieter Roelfsema (PhD), Jake Westerberg (PhD) & Chris Klink (PhD)
When I’m not in the lab, I occasionally give guest lectures at the University of Amsterdam, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and at Utrecht University. I’m part of the institute’s Inclusion Team and love to participate in science communication activities. For example by proving answers to brain-related questions from the general public through the BrainHelpDesk and my involvement in the Dutch Brainbee, a competition for highschool students. I currently also enjoy playing in a gay soccer team, taking my race bike for a spin through the Dutch countryside and am trying to keep my French up to par through evening courses at the Alliance Française.
[Previous] Ph.D. Researcher— KU Leuven, Belgium
Our external (social) environment is constantly changing. In order to thrive within such an environment, our brains and corresponding behaviour need to reflect and respond to these dynamics. At the Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology, I discovered that electrical stimulation of two brainstem nuclei (which respectively contain the potent neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline) drives brain plasticity by increasing perceptual abilities of rhesus monkeys, and by changing their overall brain activity.
Together with: Wim Vanduffel (PhD), John Arsenault (PhD) & Muhammad Zubair (PhD)
Alongside my research activities, I followed evening classes in experimental philosophy, ethics and philosophy of mind at the Institute of Philosophy. As part of my Bachelor’s thesis, I investigated how characteristics of fictional animals shape people’s ethical decisions about their treatment.