Thomas B. Christophel
Thomas (he/him) is a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist. In the past, he predominently worked at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience and the Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging. He received his PhD from HU Berlin, Psychology. Thomas leads the Distributed Cognition and Memory group. (for a full CV, press here)
“I am obsessed with the question how we retain immediatly relevant information in working memory and how it relates to human cognition. I care a lot about careful experimental design and levelheaded data analysis. Leading this group is a great joy. Another joy is the kid. Third joy is writing nordic chamber larps, some of which you can find here”
Joana Seabra
Joana (she/her) is a PhD student investigating categorization in working memory. She has a background in fine arts (University of Porto) and in neuroscience (Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin) and happily combines the two whenever possible. She is easily recognizable in the wild by the traces of oil paint on her face and hands, the humming of a brazilian song from the 80’s or a book of political theory she doesn’t fully understand under her arm.
Renata Cruz
Renata (she/her) is a PhD student investigating executive control of working memory. Her background combines neuroscience and data science (University of Lisbon), and before joining the lab she was part of the Preclinical Lab (Champalimaud Foundation) working with rodent models of Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s quite possible you turn a corner and find her reading fantasy books, watching weird movies, or catch her singing thinking no one can hear.
Issam Tafech
Issam (He/They) is a PhD student investigating attentional mechanisms and their effects on perception and memory. If you can get him to start talking about his interests, you might notice the mix of realism and idealism sown through his perspective. With a background in Computer Science, Psychology and Neuroscience, it’s hard for him not to spend hours thinking about the process of thinking. Unless of course, he’s daydreaming about fictional worlds and poetic modes of self-expression instead.
Thorben Haag
Thorben (he/him) has moved to Berlin to start his Master’s program in Computational Neuroscience after completing his Bachelor’s in Psychology at the University of Marburg. When he is not working on experiments there is a good chance you will find him playing Ultimate Frisbee. So far his chief obstacle in Berlin has been the traffic lights. But cycle beside him through a string of green lights, and you will be delighted by his delight.
Rita Bertani
Rita (she/her) is a MSc student at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. She joined DisCo to investigate how our representations of object-color affect visual working memory. Before moving to Berlin, she lived in London, where she completed a BSc in Neuroscience, and in Italy. When she is not in the lab or travelling, she loves to cycle around the city, swim in lakes, and organize small events with her flatmates.
Sofia Encheva
Sofia (she/her) is a MSc student in Cognitive Neuroscience. At the lab, she is investigating the use of freehand drawing as a tool to assess working memory. You’ll find her sneaking a book to lunch, listening to a playlist combining music genres that were never meant to be mixed, or practicing her German (to the horror of innocent bystanders).
Anna Fedorova
Anna (she/her) is a MSc student in Computational Neuroscience at BCCN specialising in human neuroimaging data. After graduating in Computer Science, she joined DisCo lab to gain hands-on experience with experimental data. Her project is dedicated to behavioural analysis with a focus on working memory for different modalities. If she’s not in the lab, she is probably traveling around Germany, meeting her friends, quietly knitting at home or watching the sunset on her favorite lake in Berlin.
Arman Zarean
Arman (he/him) is a Neuroscience and Cognition Master’s student from Utrecht University. For the coming six months, however, he is dancing at this Berliner DisCo. As part of his internship, he will work closely with PhD student Issam Tafech, investigating the neural mechanisms behind attention, working memory, and perception. During his lunch break, you might find him reading German children’s books on one day, and philosophy of science on the next, all while contemplating which jam sessions to attend this week.