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Bettina C. Schwab Institute of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany Building N43, 1st floor, room 001. |
Together with Fanny Quandt (Neurology, UKE), I am looking for motivated MD students or interns (Bachelor/Master) of different scientific disciplines. The project is on motor skill learning in chronic stroke patients. Funding as a student assistant is possible. For details, please see our advertisement (in German).
My research interests lie in neuroscience and computational biology with a focus on the motor system and basal ganglia. I am fascinated by the physiology of the human brain, and how it controls movement dependent on various sensory inputs in such a precise and reliable way. Therefore, with a background in physics, I aim to investigate the (dys)function of this system using quantitative methods, including experimental and computational approaches: electrophysiological recordings, modulation of brain activity by both invasive and non-invasive stimulation, and neural network dynamics.
Short CV
2020 - 2021 Fellow, College for Life Sciences,
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study), GER.
since 2016 Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology,
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), GER,
group of Andreas K. Engel
supported by: German Research Foundation (DFG), SFB 936, Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg
2014 & 2016 Visiting scholar, Systems Neuroscience Institute, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA,
hosts: Jonathan E. Rubin and Robert S. Turner
supported by: Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), NDNS+ ; Systems Neuroscience Institute PITT
2012 - 2016 PhD student, Applied Analysis/ Biomedical Signals and Systems, University of Twente, NL,
supervisors: Stephan A. van Gils and Richard J. A. van Wezel
supported by: NDNS+ ; UTwente; Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation)
2011 - 2012 Diploma thesis student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, GER,
and Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI), University of Utah, UT, USA,
supervisors: Frank B. Sachse and Gunnar Seemann
supported by: Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
2009 Intern, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA
supported by: Stiftung Familie Klee
2007 - 2012 Physics undergraduate (Diploma = BSc + MSc) student, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, GER
supported by: Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
To see my full CV, please contact me.
Preprints
B. C. Schwab, P. König and A. K. Engel:
'Spike-timing-dependent plasticity can account for aftereffects of dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation'
bioRxiv, October 2020
Journal Publications
B. C. Schwab, D. Kase, A. Zimnik, R. Rosenbaum, M. G. Codianni, J. E. Rubin and R. S. Turner:
'Neural activity during a simple reaching task in macaques is counter to gating and rebound in basal ganglia-thalamic communication'
PLOS Biology, 18(10), October 2020
M. Fiene, B. C. Schwab, J. Misselhorn, C. S. Herrmann, T. R. Schneider and A. K. Engel:
'Phase-specific manipulation of neural oscillatory activity by transcranial alternating current stimulation'
Brain Stimulation, 13(5), September-October 2020
J. Misselhorn, B. C. Schwab, T. R. Schneider and A. K. Engel:
'Synchronization of sensory gamma oscillations promotes multisensory communication'
eNeuro, 6(5), September-October 2019
B. C. Schwab, J. Misselhorn and A. K. Engel:
'Modulation of large-scale cortical coupling by transcranial alternating current stimulation'
Brain Stimulation, 12(5), September-October 2019
B. C. Schwab, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Sparse pallidal connectivity shapes synchrony in a network model of the basal ganglia'
European Journal of Neuroscience, 45(8), Computational Neuroscience Special Section, April 2017
M. A. J. Lourens, B. C. Schwab, J. Nirody, H. G. E. Meijer and S. A. van Gils:
'Exploiting pallidal plasticity for stimulation in Parkinson's disease'
Journal of Neural Engineering, 12(2), April 2015
B. C. Schwab, T. Heida, Y. Zhao, S. A. van Gils and R. J. A. van Wezel:
'Pallidal gap junctions – Triggers of synchrony in Parkinson's disease?'
Movement Disorders, 29(12), October 2014
B. C. Schwab, T. Heida, Y. Zhao, E. Marani, S. A. van Gils and R. J. A. van Wezel:
'Synchrony in Parkinson’s disease: Importance of intrinsic properties of the external globus pallidus'
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Special Issue on Basal Ganglia, 7:60, October 2013
B. C. Schwab, G. Seemann, R. A. Lasher, N. S. Torres, E. M. Wülfers, M. Arp, E. D. Carruth, J. H. B. Bridge and F. B. Sachse:
'Quantitative analysis of cardiac tissue including fibroblasts using three-dimensional confocal microscopy and image reconstruction: Towards a basis for electrophysiological modeling'
IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 32(5), May 2013
Conference Contributions (selection)
B. C. Schwab, J. Misselhorn, P. König and A. K. Engel:
'Aftereffects of bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation on EEG connectivity'
7th International Conference on Non-invasive Brain Stimulation, Baden-Baden, GER/online, 2020 (Poster **)
B. C. Schwab:
'Modulation of functional connectivity by dual-site tACS'
Brainbox Initiative Conference, London, UK/online, 2020 (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, P. König and A. K. Engel:
'Estimating dual-site tACS after-effects based on spike-timing dependent plasticity'
Computational Modeling in Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) Workshop, Minneapolis (MN), USA/online, 2020 (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, J. Misselhorn and A. K. Engel:
'Noninvasive modulation of large-scale cortical coupling'
Dynamics of the brain: temporal aspects of computation, Rungstedgaard, Denmark, 2019 * (Poster)
B. C. Schwab, J. Misselhorn and A. K. Engel:
'Modulation of interhemispheric alpha-band connectivity by transcranial alternating current stimulation'
Brain Stimulation Conference, Vancouver (BC), Canada, 2019 (Poster)
B. C. Schwab, D. Kase, A. Zimnik, R. Rosenbaum, J. E. Rubin and R. S. Turner:
'Weak modulation of thalamic discharge by basal ganglia output in association with a reaching task'
Basal Ganglia Gordon Research Seminar & Conference, Ventura (CA), USA, 2018 (Poster **)
J. E. Rubin, B. C. Schwab, D. Kase, A. Zimnik and R. S. Turner:
'Basal ganglia output is not a strong determinant of thalamic discharge in the macaque motor circuit'
International Basal Ganglia Society Meeting, Merida, Mexico, 2017 (Poster)
B. C. Schwab, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Neural Dynamics in Parkinson’s disease'
NDNS+ Workshop, Enschede, Netherlands, 2015 (Poster **)
B. C. Schwab, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Synchronization of the Parkinsonian globus pallidus by neural gap junctions'
IBRO World Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2015 * (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, H. G. E. Meijer, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Gap junctions as modulators of synchrony in Parkinson's disease'
Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting (SfN), Washington DC, USA, 2014 (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, H. G. E. Meijer, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Synchronization of the Parkinsonian globus pallidus by gap junctions'
Computational Neuroscience, Québec City, Canada, 2014 * (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, H. G. E. Meijer, R. J. A. van Wezel and S. A. van Gils:
'Basal ganglia dynamics assuming pallidal gap junctions'
CNS Workshop: Dynamics of Disease States, Québec City, Canada, 2014 * (Talk)
B. C. Schwab, S. A. van Gils, Y. Zhao, T. Heida and R. J. A. van Wezel :
'Possible roles of neural gap junctions in network activity changes in Parkinson's disease'
International Basal Ganglia Society Meeting, Eilat, Israel, 2013 * (Poster)
*: Third party funding to B.C.S.
**: Poster Award
Theses
B. C. Schwab:
'Do gap junctions regulate synchrony in the parkinsonian basal ganglia?'
PhD Thesis, University of Twente, April 2016, pdf
B. C. Schwab:
'Towards a quantitative understanding of the electrophysiological role of cardiac fibroblasts'
Diploma (Master's) Thesis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, March 2012, pdf
Ongoing and new collaborations
Jonathan E. Rubin, Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Robert S. Turner, Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Andrew Sharott, Neurobiology, University of Oxford, UK
Charlotte Stagg, Neurophysiology, University of Oxford, UK
Tim Denison, Neuroengineering, University of Oxford, UK
Christian K. E. Moll, Neurophysiology, UKE
Wolfgang Hamel, Neurosurgery, UKE
Monika Pötter-Nerger, Neurology, UKE
Fanny Quandt, Neurology, UKE
Supervision
since 2017 Marina Fiene (Co-supervision of PhD, Neuroscience), UKE
since 2016 Darius Zokai (Co-supervision of MD), UKE
2015 Laura van de Weerd (Master, Applied Mathematics), University of Twente
Teaching
since 2016 Seminars in sensory and neurophysiology; Medicine (iMED: F1, F2), UKE
2014 - 2015 Advanced Techniques for Signal Analysis; Biomedical Engineering/Technical Medicine (MSc), University of Twente
2013 - 2016 Dynamic Behavior of Neural Networks; Biomedical Engineering/Technical Medicine (MSc), University of Twente
2011 - 2012 Physics laboratory course; Physics (BSc), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
I am also a mentor for ArbeiterKind.de. For questions on scholarships, study abroad, PhD/MD, and majoring in math, physics, or medicine, please contact me.
Organization of Workshops
Symposium on Science and Gender Equality, 2018, UKE (SAGE 2.0)
Speakers: Alexandra Bendixen (Chemnitz), Emily Jacobs (Santa Barbara), Meg Urry (Yale), Tessa van Leeuwen (Nijmegen), Gerlind Wallon (Heidelberg)
Workshop on Artifact Correction for tACS & M/EEG, 2016, UKE
Speakers: Christoph Herrmann (Oldenburg), Randolph Helfrich (Berkeley), Florian Pieper, Lutz Krawinkel, Bettina Schwab (Hamburg)
Symposium on Parkinson’s disease, Computational Neuroscience, and Synchrony, 2016, University of Twente (Program)
Speakers: Jonathan Rubin (Pittsburgh), Yasin Temel (Maastricht), Mireille Claessens (Twente), Andreas Engel (Hamburg)
last update: 14/01/21