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Principal Investigator

Gregory Cogan, PhD
Dr. Gregory B. Cogan obtained his Bachelors in Psychology at Queen’s University, Canada, followed by his masters in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He completed his PhD in 2011 at the University of Maryland, College Park under the supervision of David Poeppel, where he examined the neural phase coding of speech using information theoretic approaches and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Dr. Cogan then carried out his postdoctoral work at the Center for Neuroscience at New York University (CNS - NYU) with Bijan Pesaran examining speech sensory-motor transformations using electrocorticography (ECoG). This was followed by a postdoctoral position in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke University with Jon Viventi to establish a human cognition research program using high density/high channel count electrode arrays. Dr. Cogan is currently an Associate Professor at Duke University in the Department of Neurology, Department of Neurosurgery, Biomedical Engineering, and Psychology and Neuroscience. He is also as a member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Since 2019, he is the Director of Research for the Duke Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (DCEC).
Email: gregory dot cogan at duke dot edu
Postdoctoral Associates

Baishen is a Postdoctoral Associate in the department of Neurology. He graduated from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023 with a Ph.D. degree in Cognitive Neuroscience. Before this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Psychology, Central China Normal University in 2017. Baishen's research in the Cogan Lab aims to use ieeg to study how verbal working memory help speech production adapt to changing conversational contexts. Outside of the lab, Baishen enjoys writing poetry and novels.
Email: baishen dot liang at duke dot edu
Baishen Liang, PhD

Nanlin is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Neurology. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2024. Prior to his doctoral studies, he completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University. His research focuses on brain-computer interfaces, neural encoding, and decoding. Outside the lab, Nanlin enjoys learning to cook and riding his bicycle.
Email: nanlin dot shi at duke dot edu
Nanlin Shi, PhD
PhD Students
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Zac Spalding
Zac is a Ph.D student in the department of Biomedical Engineering and is co-advised by Dr. Gregory Cogan and Dr. Jonathan Viventi. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 with a Bachelor's degree in Bioengineering. Zac's research in the Cogan Lab aims to use high-density micro-ECoG electrodes to decode speech in patients who have lost the ability to speak. Outside of the lab, Zac enjoys cooking with his wife and ice skating.
Email: zac dot spalding at duke dot edu

Jim Zhang
Jim graduated from Rice University in 2022 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a B.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience, working with Dr. Tobias Egner, Dr. Simon Davis, and Dr. Gregory Cogan. Jim is currently interested in how subjective experiences arise from neural activity, the application of stimulation (TMS) to improve semantic memory in MCI adults, and the influence of episodic memory on cognitive control levels. He plans to study these questions using behavioral, fMRI, modeling, TMS techniques, and intracranial recordings.
Email: jim dot zhang at duke dot edu

Areti Majumdar
Areti is a Ph.D. student in the department of Biomedical Engineering. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience, and a minor in Computer Science. Areti’s research in the Cogan Lab aims to use SEEG and high-density micro electrode arrays to understand and decode speech processing and production in humans. Outside of the lab, Areti enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her dog.
Email: areti dot majumdar at duke dot edu
Visiting PhD Students

Gyeonghwa is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering at Pusan National University. He graduated from Pusan National University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Optics and Mechatronics Engineering. His research interests include neural decoding, deep learning, and the fabrication of electrodes for neural signals. Outside of the lab, gyeonghwa enjoys cooking asian food and listening to jazz.
Email: gyeonghwa dot heo at duke dot edu
Masters Students
Gyeonghwa Heo

Jianghao is an M.S. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He obtained a B.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2025. His research interests include brain-computer interfaces, neural encoding and decoding, and the neuroscience of language. Outside the lab, Jianghao enjoys driving and listening to classical music.
Email: jianghao dot qian at duke dot edu
Jianghao Qian
Undergraduate Students

Erin is a sophomore undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and pursuing a certificate in Decision Sciences. She is interested in the interaction between Neuroscience and other disciplines such as language and computer science. In her free time, she loves to read, watch movies, and hike.
Email: erin dot burns at duke dot edu
Erin Burns
Research and Clinical Staff

Aaron is a Scientific Data Manager who is helping to develop and maintain the data analysis pipelines for the lab. He is planning on pursuing his Ph.D. He is from Oneonta, New York and has a bachelors in Bioengineering from Cornell University. He most interested in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and hopes to use highly accurate ECoG data to develop models of the brain for prosthetics or wearables. In his free time, Aaron enjoys tennis, politics, backpacking, and board games.
Email: aaron dot earlerichardson at duke dot edu
Aaron Earle-Richardson

Harini is a Senior Clinical Research Specialist in the lab. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience and a minor in Sustainability. At UMD, she conducted research in the Language, Music and Cognition Lab (LMCL) to investigate why bilinguals might code-switch while texting. In her free time, she enjoys reading a good thriller or cooking new dishes.
Email: harini dot muthu at duke dot edu
Harini Muthu
LAB ALUMNI
Nicole Liddle
Nicole is currently a PhD student in Cognitive Science at UCSD.
Former CRS Sr.
Daniel Sexton, MD
Daniel is currently a Neurosurgery Fellow at Stanford University.
Former Neurosurgery Resident
Kumar Duraivel, PhD
Kumar is currently a postdoc at MIT.
Former PhD Student
Brooke Sevchik
Former Undergraduate Student
Brooke is currently a Data Analyst Associate at the University Of Pennsylvania in the Penn Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center (PennLINC).
Kassie Hamilton
Kassie is currently a PostBac. at the Washington University in St. Louis.
Former Undergraduate Student
Alice Lyu
Alice is currently an undergraduate student at Duke University.
Former Undergraduate Student
Seth Foster
Seth currently works at RedHat Ansible, and still supports the Indiana Pacers.
Former Research Technician II
Shervin is currently faculty at the University of Utah in the Department of Neurosurgery.
Former Neurosurgery Resident
Shervin Rahimpour, MD
Aidan Rogers
Former Masters Student
Aidan is currently a clinical research coordinator at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Palee Abeyta, MS
Palee is currently a clinical research coordinator at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Former Clinical Research Specialist
Anna is currently a Research Program Leader in the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke University.
Anna Thirakul-Denning
Former Clinical Research Coordinator
Alex Shields
Alex is currently a Human Factors Engineer at Genetech.
Former Masters Student
Nami Reddy
Former Undergraduate Student
Juliette Gerber
Juliette is currently a clinical research coordinator at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Former Undergraduate Student
Sarah Hodges
Sarah is currently a Neurosurgery resident at Yale University.
Former Medical Student
Ian Jackson
Ian is currently a PhD student in Cognitive Science at UCSD.
Former Masters Student
Izzy Kjaerulff
Izzy is currently an undergraduate student at Duke University.
Former Undergraduate Student
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