Employment
2025-present: Post-Doctoral Research Associate @4D lab, MRC-CBU, University of Cambridge
Other Appointments & Responsibilities
2026-present: Co-organizer @Making Connections Seminar Series
2025-present: Visiting Researcher @The Institute of Computational Neuroscience (ICNS), UKE Hamburg
2025-present: Founding member of Hamburg's Bernstein Node
Education
2019-2024: PhD. Candidate @The Institute of Computational Neuroscience (ICNS), UKE Hamburg. (Summa cum laude) 2016-2018: MSc. Neuroscience @Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg.2009-2015: BSc. Clinical Psychology @Roudehen University.
Awards & Scholarships
2026: Best Poster Award, Cambridge Neuroscience Seminar (£200)
2022: Best PhD Paper Award, UKE Hamburg (€1,000)
2021: Best PhD Poster Award, UKE Hamburg
2018: Volkswagen foundation's SMARTstart fellowship (€30,000)
2018: German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarships for international students (€1,400)
2018: University of Oldenburg's travel grant (€400)
2017: A*Midex fellowship, University of Marseille (€6,000)
2025: Bernstein travel award (€500)
2021: Best PhD Poster Award, UKE Hamburg
2018: Volkswagen foundation's SMARTstart fellowship (€30,000)
2018: German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarships for international students (€1,400)
2018: University of Oldenburg's travel grant (€400)
2017: A*Midex fellowship, University of Marseille (€6,000)
Invited Talks
2026: Rutgers Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR) Network Neuroscience Seminar Series*
2026: Departmental presentation @Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences*
2026: Lab presentation @Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University
2026: Toward a More Ecological Investigation of Bilingualism: Current Challenges and (AI-based) Solutions @Cambridge University
2026: Workshop on Lesion-symptom Mapping @UKE
2026: Workshop on Lesion-symptom Mapping @UKE
2026: Neuroimaging Methods day, @MRC-CBU
2025: Bernstein Conference, Frankfurt, DE
2025: Career Day, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, DE
2023: Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study
2023: Hamburg Center for Neuroscience
2022: Brain Modes Conference, Viña del Mar, CL*
2022: SNUFA seminar series, London, UK*
2022: IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence, Padova, IT
Academic Experiences
2026: Network Neuroscience lecture for Mphils @MRC-CBU, Cambridge, UK
2025-present: TA for Mathematical biology @Pembroke College, Cambridge, UK
2024-present: Project Mentor at Neuromatch Academy, Online
2020: TA for Computational Neuroscience @Neuromatch Academy, Online
2018: RA @ Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, CA
2017: RA @ Timone Institute, Marseille University, Marseille, France
Supervision Experiences
2025-2026: MSc thesis on "Mapping the trade-off landscape of the human brain" @MRC-CBU2022-2024: MSc thesis on "Multidimensional game-theoretic analysis of AI models" @ICNS-UKE
2024: two Erasmus projects on "Analytical models of inter-areal communication in brain networks" @ICNS-UKE
2023: MSc thesis on "Optimal signal propagation in the cortex" @ICNS-UKE
2023: Visiting research project "Controllability of the cortical networks" @ICNS-UKE
Organized Events
2026: Workshop "Promises & Perils of Connectome-Constrained Neuro-AI Models" @OHBM, Bordeaux, FR
2025: Workshop "Linking Structure, Dynamics, & Function in Neuronal Networks: Old Challenges & New Directions" @OCNS, Florence, IT
2024: Seminar series "Networks in artificial neural networks" @ICNS-UKE
2023: Symposium "Modeling large-scale brain networks & their disconnection in neurological disorders" @DGKN, Hamburg, DE
2022: Symposium "Searching for Causes & Mechanisms in the Brain" @ICNS-UKE
2022: Workshop on Science Communication @Interdisciplinary College, Möhnesee-Günne, DE*
2018: Workshop on Visual Science Communication @University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, DE
2025: Workshop "Linking Structure, Dynamics, & Function in Neuronal Networks: Old Challenges & New Directions" @OCNS, Florence, IT
2024: Seminar series "Networks in artificial neural networks" @ICNS-UKE
2023: Symposium "Modeling large-scale brain networks & their disconnection in neurological disorders" @DGKN, Hamburg, DE
2022: Symposium "Searching for Causes & Mechanisms in the Brain" @ICNS-UKE
2022: Workshop on Science Communication @Interdisciplinary College, Möhnesee-Günne, DE*
2018: Workshop on Visual Science Communication @University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, DE
*held online
Selected Publications (see my Google Scholar page for more)
- Hadaeghi, F., Fakhar, K., & Hilgetag, C. (2026). Controlling reciprocity in binary and weighted networks: A
novel density-conserving approach. Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science - Fakhar, K., Akarca, D., Luppi, A., Oldham, S., Hadaeghi, F., Vértes, E., Bullmore, E., Hilgetag, C., & Astle, D., (2025) Human cortical networks trade communication efficiency for computational reliability. bioRxiv
- Hadaeghi, F., Fakhar, K., Khajehnejad, M., & Hilgetag, C. (2025). A Computational Perspective on the No-Strong-Loops Principle in Brain Networks. bioRxiv.
- Dixit, S., Fakhar, K., Hadaeghi, F., Mineault, P., Kording, K. P., & Hilgetag, C. (2025). Who Does What in Deep Learning? Multidimensional Game-Theoretic Attribution of Function of Neural Unit. arXiv.
- Fakhar, K., Hadaeghi, F., Seguin, C., Dixit, S., Messe, A., Zamora-Lopez, G., Misic, B., & Hilgetag, C. (2024). A General Framework for Characterizing Optimal Communication in Brain Networks. eLife.
- Fakhar, K., Dixit, S., Hadaeghi, F., Kording, K. P., & Hilgetag, C., (2024). Downstream Network Transformations Dissociate Neural Activity from Causal Functional Contributions. Nature Scientific Reports.
- Puschmann, S., Regev, M., Fakhar, K., Zatorre, R., & Thiel, C., (2024). Attention-driven Modulation of Auditory Cortex Activity During Selective Listening in a Multi-speaker Setting. Journal of Neuroscience.
- Fakhar, K., Hadaeghi, F., Hilgetag, C., (2022). Causal Influences Decouple From Their Underlying Network Structure In Echo State Networks. IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks.
- Fakhar, K., Hilgetag, C., (2022). Systematic Perturbation of an Artificial Neural Network: A Step Towards Quantifying Causal Contributions in The Brain. PLOS Computational Biology.
Open-source libraries
Fakhar, K., Dixit, S., 2024. YANAT: Yet Another Network Analysis Toolkit.Fakhar, K., Dixit, S., 2021. MSA: A compact Python package for Multiperturbation Shapley value Analysis.
Fakhar, K., 2020. Hard-working Memory: A unified working & short-term memory task for artificial neural networks.
Other Experiences
2025-present: Reviewing board member of the CALM dataset @MRC-CBU2022-present: Graphic designer & member of the volunteer engagement committee @sciencematch
2022-2025: Graphic designer @Interdisciplinary College
2016-2017: MSc students' representative of the MSc admission committee @University of Oldenburg
2016-2018: Founding memberof MSc neuroscience's student body @University of Oldenburg
2014-2016: Graphic designer @Eshareh creative solutions
2009-2016: Graphic designer @Behnam Daheshpour charity organization
2013-2015: Graphic designer @United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP)