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

Argentine protesters condemn science funding shortfall

Demonstrators across the country called for the government to increase public university salaries and funding for scientific research.

neural networks illustration.

This paper changed my life: Appreciating John Hopfield’s brilliant neural network

In a 1982 paper, the Nobel laureate created his namesake recurrent neural network—work that taught Maria Geffen to always ground research questions in biology.

By Maria Geffen
15 May 2026 | 5 min read
dialogue illustration.

How basic neuroscientists can connect with autistic people and their communities

A first-of-its-kind workshop offers a template for autism researchers who want to incorporate community perspectives into their work.

By Juliana Chase, Hannah R. Monday, Lea Witkowsky
14 May 2026 | 6 min read