Dr. Arseny Finkelstein

I am a neuroscientist interested in how neural interactions give rise to cognitive abilities and how brain networks adapt during learning and disease. During my Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute with Prof. Nachum Ulanovsky I discovered a three-dimensional neural compass and vectorial goal representations in the bat brain. As a postdoctoral fellow at HHMI Janelia Research Campus with Dr. Karel Svoboda, I investigated how attractor dynamics in frontal cortex gate sensory information during decision-making and developed methods for large-scale causal mapping of neuronal connectivity. 

As a PI at Tel Aviv University, my lab studies how learning reshapes cortical network structure and function, focusing on mechanisms underlying memory formation and flexible behavior. In addition, we study how brain networks break down during neurodegenerative conditions such as stroke, and how they can be reconfigured to support recovery. I have received multiple competitive awards, including Rothschild and EMBO postdoctoral fellowships, Azrieli Early Career FacultyFellowship, the Sieratzki Prize for Advances in Neuroscience, and an ERC Starting Grant. I serve on the program committee of COSYNE conference and the steering committee of the Israel Society for Neuroscience.