People | pinotsislab

Dimitris Pinotsis, PhD (PI)

Dimitris is a theoretical neuroscientist with a PhD in Mathematics and an MSc in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge in England where he worked with Thanasis Fokas. After graduating, he published more than fifteen papers in mathematics and physics journals and then decided to pursue a career in neuroscience, his true passion. Dimitris worked with Peter Grindrod and then spent six and a half years at University College London (UCL) working with Karl Friston in machine learning and developing mathematical methods for the analysis of brain data; then continued at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he worked with Earl Mille r on using predictive coding and deep neural networks to address fundamental questions in cognitive neuroscience. In 2018, he joined the Center for Mathematical Neuroscience and Psychology at City—University of London as an Assistant Professor (Lecturer). He is now an Associate Professor (Reader) at the same university and a Research Affiliate at the Miller Lab at MIT.

Dimitris has been honored with over ten fellowships from prestigious institutions such as the Cambridge Isaac Newton Trust, the Onassis Foundation, NATO, and the Bernstein Organization, among others. His work has also earned him numerous awards, including an OCNS Award, the Smith-Rayleigh Prize from the University of Cambridge, and a Poincare Institute Award. His research endeavors have attracted funding from a wide array of sources, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Picower Innovation Fund, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Innovate UK, the Gambling Commission, EPSRC, and the Wellcome Trust. Dimitris' research portfolio is broad, encompassing machine learning, neuroimaging big data analysis, theoretical neurobiology, and the study of nonlinear systems in mathematical physics.

Principal Investigator

Julia Rodriguez Sanchez

Julia holds a PhD in Computational Neuroscience and an MSci in Neuroscience from University College London (UCL). During her doctoral research, supervised by Prof Rick Adams, Dr Daniel Hauke and Prof Karl Friston, she investigated excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) circuit (dys)function in psychosis spectrum disorders using dynamic causal modelling (DCM) of M/EEG. In her current role, Julia is working on validating and refining computational biophysical models of EEG data allowing to infer E/I balance non-invasively. Ultimately, her research aims to inform treatment strategies and improve clinical outcomes for people with schizophrenia and other psychosis spectrum disorders.

Post Doctoral Research Associate

Namrata Nagendra

Namrata has a BSc. (Hons.) degree in Marketing & Psychology and has previously worked in a Social-Cognitive Psychology lab working on Actions, Motivated behaviours and social contagion utilising mixed methods. She spent a year working at tech-startup Scapic working with XR technologies across various industries. Her research interests include neuroeconomics, the psychophysics of decision making and the biological basis of consumer choice; which she explores through utilisation of new technologies such as VR, AR, Motion tracking and neuroimaging. In her PhD, Namrata is exploring the effects of marketing stimuli on underlying neural correlates in consumer behaviour and decisions in digital environments with a curiosity to model these effects using computational neuroscience.

PhD Student

Darshan Gohil

Darshan holds a Master's degree in Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics from the University of Birmingham and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Mubai University. He currently works on implementing computational models to enhance understanding of addiction. Darshan's primary research interests lie in computational neuroscience, with a focus on mapping the neural architecture and circuitry of the brain using Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies. His work aims to bridge the gap between complex neural data and practical applications in neuroscience.

Research Assistant

Nils Byrkjeland

Nils Julius completed his Bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology from Oslo Nye Høyskole and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience at City, University of London. With a background in programming, he is interested in how technology and the mind can intersect. He is currently working on developing machine learning models that aim to predict different states of consciousness.

Graduate Student

Andrea Vidal Lazaro

Andrea is currently pursuing a a Master’s degree in Clinical, Social and Cognitive Neuroscience at City, University of London and working in the lab for her Thesis.

Graduate Student

Senior Lab Alumni

Sean Fitzgerald, PhD

Sean is a tech start-up veteran and data scientist who holds a PhD from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His doctoral research with George Christopoulos focused on understanding decisions made for other individuals (allocentric decisions), in particular the neural mechanisms underpinning the vicarious valuation of human effort. After submitting his thesis, Sean co-founded GolfLine, Inc., a tech firm that used machine learning to evaluate golfers’ offers for tee times. He served as the Director of Data Analytics for GolfLine and developed the key intellectual property and proprietary deep-learning neural networks responsible for the real-time bid classification. Sean's aim is to synthesize best practices from his industry and academic experiences to better understand human behavior, cognition, and neural functioning. When Sean is not staring into the abyss of stack overflow tabs on his computer, he is at the nearest sand or beach volleyball court trying to deliver a perfect hand set.

Former Post Doctoral Research Associate ; Now Research Lead for London based start-up

Fintan Nagle, PhD

Fintan is a a cognitive scientist and software engineer with a background in computer science, vision science and machine learning. His doctoral work at UCL investigated temporal visual search in moving natural scenes. He has also worked on task-switching in automated driving, on visual complexity, and on knowledge networks. Fintan is interested in using machine learning to understand how the brain creates, samples from, and manipulates our environment.

Former Post Doctoral Research Associate; Now a Visiting Lecturer at City and Imperial

Melissa Reneaux, PhD

Melissa is a theoretical neuroscientist with a PhD degree in computational neuroscience from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. She has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. During herdoctoral work with Prof. Karmeshu and Dr. A. Krishnamachari, she investigated the effect of dopamine in working memory maintenance in the prefrontal cortex using mean field models. After completing her doctoral work, she went on to work in the lab of Prof. Claudia Clopath at Imperial College London as a postdoctoral scholar, where she investigated the effect of inflammation in clinical depression.

Former Post Doctoral Research Associate ; Now Assistant Professor at University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) in Dehradun, India.