We are proud to welcome our new members. Read on to learn about the research expertise they contribute to our community.
Prof. Catherine Jutzeler, Group Leader
Institute for Translational Medicine, D-HEST, ETH Zurich
Catherine Jutzeler is an assistant professor at ETH Zurich. Her research aims to identify causes, risk factors, and biomarkers of neurological disease progression. At the core of her work is a series of prospective and retrospective investigations that integrate genetic, biochemical, clinical assessments, and medication history with both traditional epidemiological approaches and machine-learning algorithms. More
PD Dr. Linard Filli, Group Leader
Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, UZH
We are interested in the neural underpinnings of movement control and the neural mechanisms underlying functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Besides the corticospinal system, the phylogenetically old reticulospinal system is a key descending motor system and only sparse knowledge exists on its role in human motor control. This is one major research focus of our group. Additionally, we are interested in the neuroplastic rearrangements of both descending motor systems after SCI. More
Dr. Olivier Lambercy, Group Leader
Rehabilitation Engineering Lab, D-HEST, ETH Zürich
We are developing and clinically evaluating novel technologies to support the assessment and therapy of upper limb function in people with neurological disorders (stroke, SCI, multiple sclerosis). In particular, we are interested in using movement data (kinematic and kinetic) to derive more objective and sensitive health metrics that can help understand impairment mechanisms (in human and animal models), finely quantify functional limitations and response to therapy interventions, and develop predictive models to personalize rehabilitative treatments. More
Dr. Iliana Karipidis, Junior Group Leader
Department of Computational Linguistics, UZH
Iliana Karipidis is a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist interested in the functional and structural reorganization of the brain during development. She uses pediatric neuroimaging techniques to investigate visual and audiovisual processes that underlie reading acquisition and how these differ in specific learning disorders, such as dyslexia. She also investigates neurobiological mechanisms underlying sex differences in learning disabilities and psychiatric disorders that emerge during childhood and adolescence. More
PD Dr. Jorn Fierstra, Junior Group Leader
Department of Neurosurgery, USZ
We have developed an application of blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) MRI using precise vasoactive respiratory challenges in order to interrogate brain blood flow control in patients with cerebrovascular ischemic disease and malignant cerebral glioma. The main goal is to provide new insights in the current pathophysiological concepts of blood flow control, thereby aiming for clinical integration of this novel advanced BOLD MRI technique for improved therapy evaluation and efficacy. More