Favourite Thing:

The dialogues with nature or its symbolic representations. Seeing it in action, considering our place in it, and the storm of endorphines you get when you understand why things worked out the way they did.

Me and my work

I analyze brain scans to detect structural changes over time or between groups, with a focus on schizophrenia and evolution: What is the relation between the size and folding of a brain?

My Typical Day

I strip digital brains of their skulls, inflate and compare them.

What I'd do with the money

I would use it to stimulate research blogging on neglected topics.

My Interview

• How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

  What would science

  Who is your favourite singer or band?

  I prefer music which does not require electricity to be performed. A good example is the throat-singing of the group AltaiKai.

  What is the most fun thing you've done?

  One of the most exciting moments was performing traditional Central Asian music with my band in the heart of Central Asia – on the Registan Square in Samarqand, Usbekistan. You can get an idea about that from this trailer, with video graphics imitating the style of Uzbek TV.

  If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

  (1) A life that is balanced between work, family, hobbies, health and environmental footprint, (2) a long-term research grant with no strings attached, (3) more occasions to actually use foreign languages.

  What did you want to be after you left school?

  A researcher in biophysics or a physician in a developing country.

  Were you ever in trouble at school?

  A number of teachers and class mates certainly thought so on occasion.

  What's the best thing you've done as a scientist?

  Non-invasively recorded 3D images of fossils, embryonic development and supercooled insect larvae, by means of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

  Tell us a joke.

  Schrödinger’s cat walks into a bar … and doesn’t.