Nima Mesgarani, Ph.D.
​​Associate Professor
​Neural Acoustic Processing Lab
Electrical Engineering Department
Neurobiology and Behavior Program
email: nima@ee.columbia.edu
​Office: CEPSR 910 (Schapiro)
Research interests
My research goal is to identify and model the representational and computational characteristics of the brain regions involved in naturalistic speech communication. Our understanding of how this process works is fragmentary because we do not yet have a complete model of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms enabling this cognitive ability. 
    My interdisciplinary approach incorporates theoretical and experimental techniques in invasive and non-invasive human neurophysiology, neural network models for speech processing, and computational neuroscience. Better models of the neural mechanisms involved in human speech communication can critically impact research in artificial intelligence, neurolinguistics, systems neuroscience, and translational medicine. 
Positions
  • 2020, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
  • 2013, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
  • 2010-2013, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, CA
  • 2008-2010, Postdoctoral Scholar, Center for Language and Speech Processing, Johns Hopkins University, MD
​Education
  • Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • M.Sc. Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • B.Sc. Electrical Engineering,   Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Awards
  • Top-10 Health innovator of the year award, Health Innovations, 2020
  • Top-10 Breakthrough of the year award, Institute of Physics, 2020
  • Young Investigator Award, Advances and Perspectives in Auditory Neuroscience, 2018
  • Top-10 most significant tech innovator of the year, UNICEF, 2018
  • 2016, National Science Foundation (NSF), Faculty Early Career Development Award
  • 2016, Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Pilot Research Award for Basic Science and Clinical/Translational Investigators (CaMPR BASIC), Irving Institute
  • 2015, Pew Charitable Trust, Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences Award
  • 2015, Research Initiatives in Science and Engineering Award (RISE)
  • 2015, Kavli Institute for Brain Science Award          
  • 2005, George Harhalakis Outstanding Systems Engineering Graduate Student Award​
Publications
​​Teaching