"Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds."
Alexander Graham Bell
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Yuxuan Fei
STUDENT ASSISTANT
https://github.com/StructuralNeurobiologyLab
I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Biosciences from the University of Science and Technology of China. Currently, I am pursuing a master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). My academic interests lie in computational neuroscience, and I am actively working on a theoretical songbird learning model in the Kornfeld Lab. In my free time, I enjoy singing with the Universitäts Choir München.
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Caitlin Gillespie
LABORATORY MANAGER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinshona/https://bsky.app/profile/neurocait.bsky.social
I studied neuroscience throughout my bachelor’s (University of Dundee, Langston group) and my masters (University of Edinburgh, Morris group) with a focus on systems memory consolidation. In the Kornfeld group I lead organisation, setting up our new lab at the LMB in Cambridge, creating this website, and assist with experimental work. My free time is spent playing video games, cycling, or drawing.
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Jonas Hemesath
DOCTORAL STUDENT
I received my Bachelor's degree in Molecular Medicine from Georg-August University in Göttingen and completed my Bachelor's thesis during a research stay at Trinity College in Dublin. During my Master's, I continued studying Neuroscience at Georg-August University in Göttingen. Currently, I am working on new sample preparation approaches for large connectomics datasets. In addition, I am a big movie fan and watch everything from old-time classics to extremely silly trash movies.
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Dr. Jörgen kornfeld
GROUP LEADER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joergen-kornfeld-05319915b/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2547-8700https://www.ariadne.ai/twitter
I received a B.Sc. in Molecular Cell Biology from the University of Heidelberg, followed by an M.Sc. in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from ETH Zurich. After obtaining my Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg, where I worked with Winfried Denk at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, I completed a postdoctoral position with Michale Fee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2021, I established my research group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. And in 2024, I made the move to the birthplace of connectomics; the MRC LMB in Cambridge.
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Anna Jansson
RESEARCH SUPPORT OFFICER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-jansson-665a501a9/ https://github.com/ajansson001 https://bsky.app/profile/anna-neuro.bsky.social https://x.com/anna_m_neuro
I received my Master's in Basic and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, completing my research project in the Schafer Lab at the MRC LMB, exploring monoamine G-protein coupled receptors in Octopus vulgaris. Before that I received my Bachelor's in Neurobiology and Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with thesis work in the Jackson lab exploring parvalbumin interneurons in mouse cortex. My current project focuses on rebuilding and optimizing a custom, automated EM sample preparation system. In my free time I enjoy doing lots of fiber arts, including knitting and spinning yarn.
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Andrei Mancu
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
I hold a Master's degree in Computer Science from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. I am currently focused on developing error detection methods in cell segmentation and oversees the SyConn pipeline for EM analysis and the cell analysis website, SyConn-Web. On top of that, I am interested in AI applications for medicine in the industry, having an active start-up in the field.
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Dr. Nelson Medina
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
I earned my PhD at the University of Chicago, where I studied how neuronal excitability shapes learned song in zebra finches. I’m driven by a fundamental curiosity to understand how neural circuits underlie learning, memory, and the generation of complex behaviors.
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Franz Rieger
DOCTORAL STUDENT
https://www.linkedin.com/in/riegerfr/https://github.com/riegerfrhttps://bsky.app/profile/riegerfr.bsky.socialhttps://x.com/rieger_fr
I got my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Informatics with a focus on machine learning from the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Now I am a doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence and TUM, advancing machine learning for connectomics. We use artificial neural networks to analyze biological ones, for example with our synthetic Neuron Instance Segmentation Benchmark, generated with novel 3D diffusion models.
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Alexandra Rother
DOCTORAL STUDENT
Alexandra Rother | LinkedIn https://bsky.app/profile/alexandrarother.bsky.social
After a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biotechnology from the Technical University of Munich, I did my masters degree at Imperial College London in Translational Neuroscience. In my PhD, I focus on analysing the connectivity within area X, a basal ganglia nucleus in songbirds related to song learning.
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Zuzana Urbanová
MASTERS STUDENT
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuzana-urbanova/ https://github.com/ZuzkaU
I completed my Bachelor's degree in Informatics at Charles University in Prague. Currently, I'm studying Master's in Informatics at the Technical University of Munich. I'm working on improving neuron segmentation by using topological losses.
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Sebastian Willenberg
DOCTORAL STUDENT
linkedin https://github.com/swillenberghttps://bsky.app/profile/swillenberg.bsky.socialhttps://x.com/_Willenberg
I am working on bridging physics and neuroscience through data-driven modeling approaches. With a Master's in Physics from Ludwig Maximilian University and a Bachelor's from Heidelberg University, I have developed a strong foundation ranging from quantitative approaches to complex systems. My research explores network behavior across neuronal systems, going from connectivity to activity. The main goal thereby is to unravel the neural mechanisms underlying the engram associated with zebra finch birdsong.
A L U M N I
Our alumni embark on diverse and exciting journeys beyond our lab.
Some go on to pursue successful careers in academia, leading groundbreaking research and inspiring the next generation of scientists. Others transition into industry, applying their expertise to develop cutting-edge technologies and solutions that address pressing global challenges. Some even venture into entrepreneurship, launching start-ups that harness scientific advances for real-world impact.
See below our alumni, their former role in our lab, and what they’re doing now.