Main Focus
The Cognitive Neuroscience & Neurotechnology group led by Dr. Romy Lorenz focuses on advancing our understanding of the frontoparietal brain network mechanisms that underpin high-level cognition and adaptive behaviour. For this, our group pursues an inter-disciplinary and broad research programme that allows studying this brain system at multiple levels of granularity. Our methodology involves subject-specific brain-computer (BCI) interface technology, fMRI at 3T and ultrahigh (i.e. 7T and 9.4T) magnetic field strengths (for resolving cortical layers), EEG, non-invasive brain stimulation as well as computational modelling and machine learning techniques.
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Romy Lorenz has a multi-disciplinary background in psychology (BSc at Leuphana University in 2009) and human-machine interaction (MSc at TU Berlin in 2012). She completed her doctoral training in neurotechnology at Imperial College London (PhD in 2017), for which she developed a novel brain-computer interface combining real-time fMRI and machine learning with the aim to better understand the unique functional role frontoparietal brain networks play in human cognition. For her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the MPI for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences (2018-2023), Romy focused on investigating frontoparietal network function layer-specifically using fMRI at ultrahigh-field strength. Since 2023, she is a Max Planck Research Group Leader at the MPI for Biological Cybernetics. For her work, she won funding from the German Scholar Organisation, fellowships from the Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Sciences research council as well as numerous awards including the Outstanding Contributions in AI Innovation Award.