Headshot of Jakob Voigts.

Jakob Voigts

Group leader
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Jakob Voigts is a group leader in the Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience research area at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus. His lab studies how the brain rapidly builds models of the world and updates hypotheses during naturalistic behavior. He is also co-founder of Open Ephys, an open-source initiative aimed at improving neuroscience research tools.

Voigts studied mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, where he began neuroscience research on naturalistic tactile behavior in Bert Sakmann’s lab with Tansu Celikel. He earned his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying cortical computations with Christopher Moore and Emery Brown, and completed postdoctoral work with Mark Harnett at MIT before joining Janelia.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of people connecting basic science.

Bringing basic biology back to INSAR

As the International Society for Autism Research has grown over the past two decades, basic science has become less central, Christine Wu Nordahl says. This year, she and other meeting organizers aimed to change that.

By Diana Kwon
28 May 2026 | 6 min read
Illustration of scale balancing Petri dish and test tubes.

Every neuroscience lab needs an ethicist

The ethics issues that arise in neuroscience research are usually novel, unresolved and understudied. Embedding ethicists in labs helps scientists navigate these challenges and develop strategies in real time to prevent harm.

By Timothy E. Brown
27 May 2026 | 5 min read
Myelin research image.

Beyond glucose: The brain may feed itself

Myelin may serve as an energy reserve for the brain, according to recent findings, prompting neuroscientists to rethink how the brain stores, shares and protects energy.

By Carlos Matute
26 May 2026 | 6 min read