Alireza Modirshanechi

Biography

I am a computer science Ph.D. student at EPFL working under the supervision of Wulfram Gerstner. I work on computational models of learning and decision-making in the brain with a focus on (i) mathematical definitions of surprise and novelty, (ii) their contributions to human exploratory and adaptive behavior, and (iii) their manifestation in physiological measurements. I use Bayesian inference, reinforcement learning, and information theory to develop computational models which I test against behavioral and physiological data (EEG, MEG, fMRI, and single neuron recordings).

Prior to joining EPFL, I received my B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran. During the last two years of my study, I worked on several research projects and completed my B.Sc. thesis under the supervision of Hamid Aghajan. My projects were mainly on (i) EEG-based decoding of surprise and (ii) fMRI-based classification of visual and auditory stimuli. My thesis won the 2nd best thesis award in the annual departmental distinguished thesis competition.

You can find my random scientific notes and educational articles here in my Medium account, and more information about me on my personal website.