Julie DUQUE

Research broadly explores a range of questions pertaining to the cognitive neuroscience of human behavior. Conduct experiments to explore the interaction between cognition and action in neurologically healthy and impaired individuals. Use a variety of techniques to characterize the functional role of different parts of the motor pathways, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG). Recent research investigates the role of the locus coeruleus in various aspects of action control, including reaching movement control, decision making, and behavioral vigor, using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) to causally probe this neuromodulatory system. [More →](/blog/julie-duque-research/)

Ronan DENYER

Ronan Denyer recently completed his PhD in Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia, Canada, under the supervision of Dr. Lara Boyd. His PhD thesis research combined brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and behavioural tasks to investigate the role of the dorsal premotor cortex in the control of simple and complex bimanual movements. As a postdoctoral fellow in the CoActions Lab, Ronan will use transcranial magnetic stimulation in tandem with vagus nerve stimulation to better understand the role of the locus coeruleus in movement preparation.

Emeline PIERRIEAU

Emeline Pierrieau completed her PhD at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada, under the supervision of Dr. Pierre-Michel Bernier and Dr. Jean-François Lepage. Her doctoral research focused on how movement effort influences action selection and motor control, as well as on brain activity measured using EEG. After that, she did a three-year postdoctoral stay at the University of Bordeaux in France, where she worked with Dr. Camille Jeunet-Kelway and Dr. Nathalie George on the relationship between sensorimotor beta activity and motor control for non-invasive brain-computer interface applications in Parkinson’s disease. As a postdoctoral fellow in the CoActions Lab, her research will integrate EEG, EMG, and pupillometry to examine how cognitive and motor effort differentially influence action selection.

Clara BRACONNIER

Clara graduated in 2022 from a master degree in biomedical engineering. She then worked in a pharmaceutical industry but, after few months, she decided to switch to fundamental research and joined the CoActions lab in June 2023 to begin a PhD. She will focus on the speed-accuracy trade off during reaching movement as well as on the role of arousal in this trade off. To do so, she will use reward, transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) and electroencephalography (EEG).

Fostine CHAISE

Fostine completed her Master in Behavioral Neuroscience at Université Caen Normandie, where she focused on the atypical visual processing of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as an explanation of their difficulty to communicate and interact with others. She joined the CoActions Lab in early 2023 to begin a PhD. Her goal is to investigate the role of motor structures in impulsive decision making in alcohol-dependent individuals.

Luca CREITZ

Luca joined the CoAction Lab (UCLouvain) in June 2026 as a PhD researcher. His research explores how neuromodulation, in particular taVNS, influences motor learning and adaptation. He holds a Bachelor's in Biomedical Sciences (minor in Psychology) and a Master's in Human Movement Sciences from Maastricht University. Outside the lab, Luca is an avid sport climber and trail runner with a passion for the outdoors.

Thibault FUMERY

Thibault is an MD currently specializing in neurology at UCLouvain since 2020. After 2 years of clinical training, he joined the coactions lab on October 1st 2022 to start a PhD. He intends to focus on how reward, which induces “WANTING”, interacts with cognitive control, which allows “CAUTION”, to shape urgency during decision making; using neurophysiological tools and MRI (tractography). He will work with healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease to better understand this interaction.

Anaëlle SOILLE HAMBYE

Anaëlle joined the lab during her master’s thesis, where she investigated the neural sources of urgency in decision-making among healthy adolescents. Since October 2025, she’s pursuing her PhD at the CoActions Lab, where she aims to investigate the interplay between impulsivity, urgency, and the gut microbiota. Her project is conducted in co-supervision with Sophie Leclercq from the Nutritional Psychiatry Lab.

Clara MASSON

Clara Masson is a Master’s student in Neuroscience at UCLouvain who joined the CoActions Lab for her thesis project in 2025. Her current research explores the neural basis of urgency during decision-making in typically developing adolescents, combining behavioral testing with Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI).

Mantosh PATNAIK

Mantosh did his Masters in Neuroscience from the National Brain Research Centre, India. He further did a Research Assistantship with Prof. Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam, where he worked on a project analyzing structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data from a large set of Parkinson's Disease patients curated from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative database in the hopes of identifying biomarkers that could be used in the early stages of the disease to predict the onset of dyskinesias later in life. He then joined the CoActions lab in December 2022 for his PhD.

Thomas VANVOORDEN

Thomas is a PhD student with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience option) from UCLouvain. He joined the CoActions Lab for his Master’s thesis in early 2024. His thesis aimed to investigate the causal role of the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system in regulating speed and accuracy during decision-making. In October 2025, he began his PhD, which continues the work initiated during his Master’s thesis. His current project involves behavioral testing, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), pupillometry, electroencephalography (EEG), and the use of the Kinarm robotic system.

Lucien DELFORGE

Lucien is a medical student who joined the student research program this year. Prior to this, he completed a Master's degree in Physitherapy and Rehabilitation at UCLouvain, during which he conducted his Master's thesis in the lab in 2025. His thesis aimed to comprehend the causal role of the Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine Systeme (LC-NE) on perceptual decision making, using behavioral testing combined with transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.

Alan DE GEEST

Alan joined the CoActions Lab in early October 2025 to begin his Master’s thesis, which he will complete over the next two years. He is studying Kinesiology with a focus on athlete training and neuroscience at UCLouvain. His current research investigates transcranial vagus nerve stimulation to better understand the role of the locus coeruleus in movement preparation.

Léa DE MAERE

Léa is a Master’s student in Biomedical Sciences (Neurosciences option) at UCLouvain, undertaking her one-year Master’s thesis at the CoActions lab. Her research explores how transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and reward affect the co-regulation of decision-making and movement vigor.

Alice SCHULLER

Alice Schuller is a Master’s student in Biomedical Sciences, specializing in Neurosciences at UCLouvain. For her one-year Master’s thesis at the CoActions lab, she is investigating the role of the locus coerulus in decision-making using transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation.

Andrea ALAMIA

Former postdoctoral researcher investigating attention, sequence learning, and the neural mechanisms underlying chunking and learning. Currently research scientist at Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition (CerCo) at Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse.

Gérard DEROSIERE

Independent researcher at INSERM Lyon since 2022, focusing on neural mechanisms underlying motivation, decision-making, and apathy. Previously spent seven years as a postdoctoral researcher in the CoActions Lab investigating neural bases of motor decisions. Still affiliated as visiting researcher collaborating on multiple projects.

David THURA

Alexandre ZÉNON

Former postdoctoral researcher investigating cognitive processes underlying decision-making, action selection, and behavioral control. Currently leads the Mococo (Motor Control and Cognition) research group at Université de Bordeaux INCIAMO.