The human brain is the most powerful computational machine in existence. It produces movements, language, thoughts, creativity and consciousness. Examining the brain using computational methods is one way BrainsCAN researchers are attempting to crack the brain’s code.

On August 1, the newest member of BrainsCAN’s Computational Core, Yalda Mohsenzadeh began at Western. Mohsenzadeh joined the Computational Core in addition to Western’s Brain and Mind Institute, and the Department of Computer Science as an Assistant Professor.

Mohsenzadeh’s research will focus on investigating human vision and memory using a combination of neuroimaging (fMRI and MEG/EEG), behavior, computational modeling and machine learning. The first five years of her appointment are funded by BrainsCAN, followed by support from the Faculty of Science.

Mohsenzadeh is joining a team of elite researchers in the Computational Core. She is preceded by Lyle Muller who began as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics in early 2019. Muller, whose lab is also supported by BrainsCAN, develops computational tools and mathematical models to solve problems in sensory processing and memory.

Prior to joining BrainsCAN’s Computational Core, Mohsenzadeh was a Postdoctoral Associate in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Vision Research at York University, her PhD in Electrical Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology, and her MSc at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran.

Mohsenzadeh is looking for students to join her Cognitive Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence Lab in fall 2019. For more information, visit https://mohsenzadehlab.com/home.