Junior Specialist in Biophysical Head Modeling

• Mar 2021 - Present

Research Assistant

• Jul 2020 - Dec 2020

Project description: Impact of head geometry, skull conductivity and electrode configuration on transcranial direct current stmulation (tDCS) using 24 realistic head models. tDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses very low direct currents to boost the excitability of specific brain regions. In the last 20 years, tDCS has been investigated as a potential treatment for depression, epilepsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and stroke rehabilitation, to mention a few. During the project I was in charge of: • Creating realistic head models from MRI scans using headreco from the SimNIBS pipeline; • Planning and running simulations of cortical electric fields resulting from tDCS using SimNIBS with different electrode montages and skull conductivities; • Analysing the intensity, focality and direction of the electric field in the target region, producing cortical plots and quantifying the impact of the changing variables on the results using my own MATLAB code. • Researching information in academic journals and on relevant companies websites, writing concise and detailed literature reviews and reports, and presenting my work in weekly online team meetings.

Placement Student within the Cryogenics & Magnetics Group

• Jul 2018 - Jul 2019

Project description: Researching how to improve the lowest temperature achievable by a 2K Joule-Thomson cryocooler. My tasks included: • Developing consistent methods using ANSYS CFX, MATLAB and Excel to predict the performance of the cryocooler using a new piece of technology. • Comparing results from the modified cooler with the ones from a standard cooler to evaluate the benefits and costs of having this new technology implemented in the system. • Analysing experimental results from the standard cryocooler performance tests, which allowed me to further develop my skills in analysing big quantities of data and summarising key information in a written report for ESA.