Direct Track Student Spotlights

Carmel Ash, Deouell’s Lab

My name is Carmel. I joined ELSC in 2014 after earning a bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and I am a mother of two. When I am not running experiments, analyzing data or reading literature, I mainly travel, hike and play with my family!

My research is titled “Looking without Seeing”:  I study visual perception using co-registration of EEG and eye-tracking systems to identify the neural correlates of aware versus unaware processing, and examine the interaction between gaze control, spatial attention and visual awareness under free viewing conditions.

Adi Doron, Goshen’s Lab

My name is Adi Doron. I joined ELSC in 2015 after completing my bachelor’s studies in cognitive science and psychology at the Hebrew University. Following the courses in ELSC, I realized that I am very interested in the biological underpinnings of behavior.

Nowadays I am a Ph.D. student in the Goshen lab. In the lab we study astrocytes, which are star-shaped cells found in the brain that were traditionally thought to serve solely supportive roles, and therefore were mostly ignored. Nevertheless, recent studies have revealed many surprising roles for these cells in modulating neuronal activity and even behavior. In my research, I study the real-time activity of astrocytes during spatial tasks, using 2-photon calcium imaging of the hippocampus of mice running in a virtual environment.

Arthur Berrou, Nelken’s Lab

I started an M.D.-Ph.D. training program in France in 2015 and joined ELSC in 2017 to complete a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience. I enjoy Jerusalem and its stones, its light, its voices and its music, from Gregorian chants to Hasidic techno.

I study network mechanisms of frequency selectivity in the primary auditory cortex of rodents, under the supervision of Prof. Israel Nelken and Dr. David Hansel, using both numerical and analytical tools. Specifically, I compare experimental data from Nelken’s lab with simulations run on a large-scale spiking neural network comprising various populations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons.

I-An Tan, Grodzinsky’s Lab

I’m a Ph.D. student at ELSC at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Prof. Yosef Grodzinsky’s Neurolinguistics Lab. I have long been fascinated by the intricacies and richness of natural languages. After graduating from National Taiwan University in Engineering and Finance, I proceeded to earn an M.A. in formal linguistics from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.

My current work focuses on how the human brain processes negation and negative expressions – an area of perennial interest in philosophy, linguistics, logic and cognitive neuroscience. I am also involved in a computational project, which aims to help stroke victims by developing a self-operated language testing and rehabilitation device. In my free time, I enjoy swimming and playing the Chinese zither.

“Working memory”