Brainwide representation of navigation
Enny H van Beest, Bex Terry, George Booth, Kenneth D Harris, Matteo Carandini (2026). "Brainwide representation of navigation." bioRxiv.
CV
Education
- PhD in Neuroscience - Free University Amsterdam, 2015-2020 (defended 2023)
- MSc in Research Master Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 2013-2015
- BSc in Psychobiology, University of Amsterdam, 2010-2013
Work experience
- 2024-: Senior Research Fellow
- Institute of Ophthalmology - University College London
- Topic: Spatial navigation in a sensory world.
- Advisors: Matteo Carandini and Kenneth Harris
- 2020-2024: Research Fellow
- Institute of Ophthalmology - University College London
- Topic: Tracking neurons across chronic recordings.
- Supervisors: Matteo Carandini and Kenneth Harris
- 2015-2020: PhD candidate
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - Amsterdam
- Thesis: Keep your eyes on the prize: Corticocortical and corticostriatal interactions in visually-driven goal-directed behavior.
- Supervisors: Pieter Roelfsema, Ingo Willuhn, and Matthew Self
- 2014-2015: Research Intern
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience - Berlin
- Topic: Predicting cognitive decline in (presymptomatic) Alheimer’s Disease.
- Supervisors: Kerstin Ritter and John-Dylan Haynes
- 2014: Research Intern
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - Amsterdam
- Topic: Contextual modulation in the visual system of the awake mouse.
- Supervisors: Alexander Heimel and Matthew Self
- 2013: Research Intern
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences - University of Amsterdam
- Topic: Anesthetic and awake-state modulation in mouse visual cortex.
- Supervisors: Jorrit Montijn and Cyriel Pennartz
Awards and prizes
- 2027: Distinguished speaker for MIT brain and cognitive sciences ‘Rising Star’ series
- 2025: UCL Institute of Ophthalmology Research Excellence Award - Winner
- 2024: UCL open science award: open-source software - Honourable mention
- 2024: Shortlisted for UCL Inclusion Award: Award for EDI Excellence
- 2023: GEMM grant for the generation of a novel genetically altered mouse line - MRC Harwell
- 2022: NIN Brain award for Methodological Excellence for “Kirchberger, Mukherjee, Schnabel, van Beest, et al., 2021”.
- 2020: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship
Publications
DeepUnitMatch: tracking neurons across days in electrophysiology using Deep Neural Networks
Suyash Agarwal, Wentao Qiu, Kenneth D Harris, Enny H van Beest, Célian Bimbard (2026). "DeepUnitMatch: tracking neurons across days in electrophysiology using Deep Neural Networks." bioRxiv.
An adaptable, reusable, and light implant for chronic Neuropixels probes
Célian Bimbard, Flóra Takács, Joana A Catarino, Julie MJ Fabre, Sukriti Gupta, Stephen C Lenzi, Maxwell D Melin, Nathanael O'Neill, Ivana Orsolic, Magdalena Robacha, James S Street, José M Gomes Teixeira, Simon Townsend, Enny H van Beest, Arthur M Zhang, Anne K Churchland, Chunyu A Duan, Kenneth D Harris, Dimitri Michael Kullmann, Gabriele Lignani, Zachary F Mainen, Troy W Margrie, Nathalie L Rochefort, Andrew Wikenheiser, Matteo Carandini, Philip Coen (2025). "An adaptable, reusable, and light implant for chronic Neuropixels probes." eLife.
Tracking neurons across days with high-density probes
Enny H van Beest, Célian Bimbard, Julie MJ Fabre, Sam W Dodgson, Flóra Takács, Philip Coen, Anna Lebedeva, Kenneth D Harris, Matteo Carandini (2025). "Tracking neurons across days with high-density probes." Nature Methods.
The direct and indirect pathways of the basal ganglia antagonistically influence cortical activity and perceptual decisions
Enny H van Beest, Mohammed AO Abdelwahab, J Leonie Cazemier, Chrysiida Baltira, M Cassandra Maes, Brandon D Peri, Matthew W Self, Ingo Willuhn, Pieter R Roelfsema (2024). "The direct and indirect pathways of the basal ganglia antagonistically influence cortical activity and perceptual decisions." iScience.
Unraveling the mechanisms of deep-brain stimulation of the internal capsule in a mouse model
Bastijn JG van den Boom, Alfredo Elhazaz-Fernandez, Peter A Rasmussen, Enny H van Beest, Aishwarya Parthasarathy, Damiaan Denys, Ingo Willuhn (2023). "Unraveling the mechanisms of deep-brain stimulation of the internal capsule in a mouse model." Nature communications.
The essential role of recurrent processing for figure-ground perception in mice
Lisa Kirchberger, Sreedeep Mukherjee, Ulf H Schnabel, Enny H van Beest, Areg Barsegyan, Christiaan N Levelt, J Alexander Heimel, Jeannette AM Lorteije, Chris van der Togt, Matthew W Self, Pieter R Roelfsema (2021). "The essential role of recurrent processing for figure-ground perception in mice." Science advances.
Mouse visual cortex contains a region of enhanced spatial resolution
Enny H van Beest, Sreedeep Mukherjee, Lisa Kirchberger, Ulf H Schnabel, Chris van der Togt, Rob RM Teeuwen, Areg Barsegyan, Arne F Meyer, Jasper Poort, Pieter R Roelfsema, Matthew W Self (2021). "Mouse visual cortex contains a region of enhanced spatial resolution." Nature communications.
Activity in lateral visual areas contributes to surround suppression in awake mouse V1
Joris Vangeneugden, Enny H van Beest, Michael X Cohen, Jeannette AM Lorteije, Sreedeep Mukherjee, Lisa Kirchberger, Jorrit S Montijn, Premnath Thamizharasu, Daniela Camillo, Christiaan N Levelt, Pieter R Roelfsema, Matthew W Self, J Alexander Heimel (2019). "Activity in lateral visual areas contributes to surround suppression in awake mouse V1." Current Biology.
Orientation-Tuned Surround Suppression in Mouse Visual Cortex
Matthew W Self, Jeannette AM Lorteije, Joris Vangeneugden, Enny H van Beest, Mihaela E Grigore, Christiaan N Levelt, J Alexander Heimel, Pieter R Roelfsema. (2014). "Orientation-Tuned Surround Suppression in Mouse Visual Cortex." Journal of Neuroscience.
Software
Talks
Distinguished speaker ‘Rising Star’ Seminar series - title t.b.d.
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Brainwide representations of navigation
at 10th European Vision & Cognition Meeting, Cortona, Italy
Tracking neurons across recordings in high-density recordings
at University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Brainwide representations of navigation
at ECR symposium abstract selection, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
Brainwide representations of navigation
at Fellowship talk, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, UK
Brain-wide recruitment of neurons tuned to running, sensation, reward, and position during navigation
at UK-Japan Neuroscience Symposium, Cambridge, UK
From vision to navigation
at University of California, Los Angeles - Vision Club, Los Angeles, United States
UnitMatch - Tracking neurons across recordings with large density probes
at University of Oxford - Cortexclub, Oxford, United Kingdom
Distributed spatial modulation and how to track this over time
at Northwestern University - Dan Dombeck lab, Chicago, United States of America
Keep your eyes on the prize: distributed activity in goal-directed behavior
at GELIFES - Rijks Universiteit Groningen - online, Groningen, Netherlands
Tracking neurons across days with high temporal resolution.
at Quantum Photonics Media - public outreach, World wide web
Tracking neurons across large-scale recordings
at International Brain Laboratory - online, world wide web
Tracking neurons across large-scale recordings.
at Sydney Cash lab - Harvard Medical School - online, Boston, United States of America
Early career speaker nomination talk: Keep your eyes on the prize
at RANK Symposium on Neural Processing of Visual Information and Behavioral Context., Windermere, United Kingdom
Neuropixels recordings
at UCL Neuroscience Technology Workshops - online, London, United Kingdom
Cortical organization in visual perception.
at Experimental Psychology, University College London - online, London, United Kingdom
The direct and indirect pathways modulate dorsal cortical activity and future perceptual decisions.
at Human Brain Project - Brain Matters #7 - online, Brussels, Belgium
Cortical organization in visual perception.
at Cruciform building, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Neuronal correlates of figure-ground segregation throughout mouse cortex.
at Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience., Amsterdam, Netherlands
Neural correlates of figure-ground segregation throughout mouse cortex.
at Amsterdam Vision Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Teaching
Conference abstracts
- 2026: FENS. Poster: Spatial navigation engages a distributed neural representation - Spain
- 2025: SfN. Poster: Spatial navigation engages a distributed brain-wide neural representation - US
- 2025: CCN (Cognitive Computational Neuroscience). Poster: Spatial navigation engages a distributed neural representation - NL
- 2025: UK Neural Computation. Poster: Spatial navigation engages a distributed neural representation - UK
- 2025: Cosyne. Poster (shared last author): Tracking neurons across days in chronic electrophysiological recordings with Deep Neural Networks - CA
- 2024: SfN. Nanosymposium talk: Spatial modulation of sensory activity in multiple brain regions - USA
- 2024: iNav. Poster: Spatial modulation of sensory activity in multiple brain regions - ITA
- 2024: Cosyne. Poster: Tracking neurons across days with high-density probes - POR
- 2023: SfN. Poster: Fast and scalable method for tracking neurons across recordings - USA
- 2023: UCL Symposium. Poster: Tracking neurons across recordings - UK
- 2022: SfN. Poster: Spatial modulation of sensory activity during virtual navigation - USA
- 2021: SfN. Poster: The direct and indirect pathways modulate dorsal cortical activity and future perceptual decisions - USA
- 2020: FENS Forum. Poster: Contribution of striatal pathways to cortical activity during visually driven working memory - EU
- 2019: European Visual Cortex Meeting. Poster: Cortical dynamics in visually driven working memory - NL
- 2018: SfN. Poster: Neuronal correlates of figure-ground segregation throughout mouse cortex - USA
- 2017: SfN. Poster: Figure-ground modulation in higher visual areas in mice - USA
- 2017: European Visual Cortex Meeting. Poster: Figure-ground modulation in higher visual areas in mice - UK
Symposia organized
- 2024: Nanosymposium: Circuit dynamics across brain regions during navigation. Organizer and chair - Society for Neuroscience.
- 2023: Symposium: Perception and behavior in a variable world. Organizer and chair - Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience.
Professional service
- 2025-2027: UCL coordinator for Pint of Science UK - managing multiple organizing teams
- 2025-2026: Mentor for Institute of Ophthalmology/ear institute mentoring scheme (UCL)
- 2021-2026: Mentor for Neuromatch Academy - Computational Neuroscience (3 summers)
- 2024-2026: Abstracts reviewer for Cosyne 2025 & 2026 (selective conference)
- 2024-2026: Reviewer for Nature Protocols & eLife
- 2023-2026: Hiring committee(s) member, obtained fair and inclusive recruitment certificate
- 2025: ‘Meet the expert’ (as expert) at Neuropixels booth - Society for Neuroscience
- 2025: Member of a faculty-wide committee to improve open science practises through the design and delivery of workshops. Department representative
- 2021-2026: Daily supervision of bachelor and (integrated) master students for their research projects, University College London (3 - 6 months each)
- 2025: Event manager/host for Pint of Science - team ‘beautiful mind’, London
- 2022-2024: In2Science: co-supervision of talented high school students for 1 week during the summer
- 2021: Science is wonderful! Science education initiative of the European Commission. Online lecture for primary school students. Title: We see with our brain!
- 2016: Weekend school educational program for kids, aged 10-14. Workshop: Visual perception and the brain game
- 2015-2020: Treasurer Alumni Network and Cognitive Sciences, University of Amsterdam
- 2017-2020: President of the Social Committee, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
- 2015-2020: Daily supervision of three bachelor and three master students for their research projects, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (5 – 10 months each)
Attended conferences, symposia, and schools
- 2019: FENS summer school: Brain reading and writing - Bertinoro Italy
- 2018: NSAS: Cell-reprogramming technology - Venice Italy
- 2017: NIN summer school: Procedural learning - Amsterdam Netherlands
- 2017: Human Brain Project meeting - Paris France
- 2016: Barrel cortex meeting - Amsterdam Netherlands
- 2016: FENS Brain Conferences - new approaches to imaging - Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2015: U4 workshop: extra-retinal influences on vision - Göttingen, Germany
- 2015: Winter school BCCN: ethics and neuroscience - Berlin, Germany
- 2015: Scientific writing workshop BCCN - Berlin, Germany
- 2014: ABC Summer school: early life experience - Amsterdam, Netherlands