Vera Vasas - postdoctoral researcher and modelling mind of the lab

I am a post-doctoral level computational biologist, specializing in neural network models. I am using newly hatched chicks as a model for studying cognition without experience. My research interests lie in the minimal neural requirements of cognition and memory.

A surprisingly large number of high-level human mental processes – e.g. the ability to learn about one’s environment, spatial awareness or the use of concepts – have precursors or analogues across the animal kingdom. The goal of my project is to understand the algorithms that govern the ability to learn about one's environment, spacial awareness and other high-level human mental processes. Crucially, animals are not born 'tabula rasa', but with a fully operational brain that imposes important constraints on interpreting their life experiences. I am currently working on understanding how such innate predispositions and biases facilitate fast and robust learning.

Email: v.vasas@qmul.ac.uk