Introducing Camille Proulx and Emily Schafer as Neuro X Institute’s most recent Postdoctoral Fellows.
The Neuro X Institute is thrilled to welcome Camille Proulx and Emily Schafer as this year’s recipients of the Neuro X Postdoctoral Fellowship. Both researchers bring unique expertise to the fields of neurotechnology and translational neuroscience, advancing projects that address significant challenges in clinical applications and neurological disease understanding. Camille and Emily joined their host labs this fall, beginning cross-disciplinary collaborations across various EPFL labs at Campus Biotech.
Advancing Stroke Rehabilitation through Innovative Brain Stimulation
Camille Proulx, from the University of Montreal in Quebec, has joined the Hummel, Mathis, and Micera labs to focus on how non-invasive deep brain stimulation (nDeep-S) could improve motor function in stroke survivors.
“Thanks to the Neuro X Institute, I can definitely say that I am in my Alps Era — Chasing dreams doing research, surrounded by mountains, pure air, and kind hearts,” says Camille about her experience at the institute.
Her project, using transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS), is pioneering in targeting the striatum—a deep brain structure crucial for motor recovery. By employing tTIS and integrating EPFL’s smart kitchen at Campus Biotech, Camille’s interdisciplinary research assesses the stimulation’s effects on stroke patients’ daily-life activities, marking a transformative step towards enhancing rehabilitation outcomes for stroke-related motor deficits.
Exploring Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Dual Chemical and Electrical Sensing
Emily Schafer, a recent PhD graduate from Northwestern University and science communicator, has joined the CHEMINA and the LSBI labs. She is developing a novel bioelectronic platform combining aptamer-based neurochemical sensing with electrophysiology.
“I feel extremely grateful to have received support from Neuro X to do such cutting-edge research. The unique collaborations this project has already begun to build will certainly lead to exciting new tools for understanding the brain,” shared Emily.
Her project aims to enable real-time monitoring of neuronal activities and neurotransmitter levels, focusing initially on epilepsy. Emily’s platform integrates chemical biosensors into soft electronics, aiming to deepen our understanding of signaling dysfunctions and potential therapeutic responses in neuropsychiatric conditions.
A Milestone for Neuro X
Supported by the Neuro X Institute and its founding Schools of Engineering, Life Sciences, and Computer and Communication Sciences, the Neuro X Postdoctoral Fellowship Program continues to support young researchers poised to shape the future of neurotechnology and neuroscience.