The primary impact of Laminar-PL is the analysis pipeline for laminar fMRI data. This is the first pipeline to cover from data acquisition to data preprocessing and will benefit the future use of laminar fMRI for investigating the neural mechanisms underlying different cognitive processes. Second, understanding the neural computations that support brain plasticity is critical for designing training programmes that boost learning capacity and support functional brain enhancement, providing effective tools for promoting learning in real-world situations. In this framework, Laminar-PL advances our understanding of human brain plasticity, with potential implications for the remediation of cognitive functions through training in lifelong health and disease (brain injury, neurodegenerative disease).
The third impact of Laminar-PL is the training of the Fellow. During the fellowship, the fellow received advanced training to enhance his career development, with particular emphasis on support in grant writing, preparation of manuscripts for publication, and guidance for effective oral presentations. By gaining expertise with state-of-the-art methods, the Fellow advanced in his research in cognitive neuroscience at a globally competitive level. More importantly, by working with PhD students, and taking a role in supervising undergraduate and Masters students, the Fellow has also gained valuable experience in team working and research group management. Further, although the secondment was not possible in person due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, the Fellow interacted extensively with the secondment host and published his work in collaboration with the industrial stakeholder. Interactions with Brain Innovation BV provided the Fellow with critical insight into entrepreneurship, and research with commercial application. This experience has significantly broadened his future career prospects by enabling him to pursue work that has academic and/or commercial aspects. In sum, the independence in performing these roles has helped the Fellow to achieve the experience necessary for building his own laboratory and research team in the near future.
