Prof. Dr. Simon N. Jacob
Academic Career and Research Areas
Prof. Jacob (b. 1977) is a neurologist and neurophysiologist. His research focusses on the cellular and circuit basis of cognitive brain functions. Based on his experimental work, Prof. Jacob is developing technologies that can contribute to improving treatments for disorders in the domains of perception, memory and language.
Prof. Jacob studied medicine in Freiburg and Heidelberg, at University College London (UK) and at Harvard University (USA) as a fellow of the German National Academic Foundation. He obtained his medical doctorate degree in 2006 based on experimental neurophysiological work conducted at Yale University (USA). Prof. Jacob was a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Integrative Neuroscience in Tübingen and qualified as a board-certified neurologist after training in Tübingen and at the Charité in Berlin. In 2015, Prof. Jacob moved to TUM where he established an interdisciplinary research group investigating the neuronal mechanisms of cognitive brain functions. He was appointed professor for Translational Neurotechnology in 2019.
Awards
- Coordinator and speaker of TUM Innovation Network NEUROTECH (2021-2025)
- ERC Starting Grant (2017)
- Coordinator and speaker of BMBF research collaboration "PsychoSys" (2015-2018)
- Charité Clinical Scientist Award (2014)
- German Primate Center Award (2013)
Key Publications
Jacob SN, Hähnke D and Nieder A.: “Structuring of abstract working memory content by fronto-parietal synchrony in primate cortex”. Neuron. 2018; 99(3): 588-597.
AbstractJacob SN, Stalter M, Nieder A: “Cell-type-specific modulation of targets and distractors by dopamine D1 receptors in primate prefrontal cortex”. Nature Communications. 2016; doi: 10.1038/ncomms13218.
AbstractRanganath A, Jacob SN: “Doping the mind: dopaminergic regulation of prefrontal cortical cognition”. Neuroscientist. 2016; 22(6): 593-603.
AbstractOtt T, Jacob SN, Nieder A: “Dopamine receptors differentially enhance rule coding in primate prefrontal cortex neurons”. Neuron. 2014: 84(6): 1317-1328.
AbstractJacob SN, Nieder A: “Complementary roles for primate frontal and parietal cortex in guarding working memory from distractor stimuli”. Neuron. 2014; 83(1): 226-237.
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