I’m a neuroscientist and psychologist interested in how rhythm, attention, and experience intertwine. I did my PhD in Psychology, where I studied individual differences in rhythmic entrainment —how our unique internal tempos shape the way we perceive and synchronize with the world. My current work expands this question into the realm of breathwork and altered states, exploring how physiological rhythms connect to perception and consciousness.
I enjoy building the systems that make this research possible, from EEG and sound setups to synchronization tools and experimental workflows. My background in cognitive science and psychophysiology taught me to approach science as both a technical craft and a way of paying attention: a form of listening.
Outside of research, I’m most at home around music, visualization, and quiet moments in the city with friends, jam sessions, or cats. I’m not an artist, but I’m drawn to the creative processes that make science and art overlap: curiosity, iteration, and the joy of seeing patterns emerge.
Uncovering how intrinsic attentional rhythms shape perception and interaction with external auditory rhythms
Thesis: Individual differences in oscillator properties and rhythmic entrainment 📖
Supervisors: Dr. Molly Henry, Prof. Sonja Kotz
auditory rhythm · attention · entrainment · individual differences · aging
Linking language, perception, and rhythm to understand how the brain organizes auditory experience.
Thesis: In Search of Language-Related Factors Influencing Rhythmic Grouping 📖
Supervisors: Dr. Esra Mungan, Dr. Pavel Logacev
auditory grouping · phonology · temporal perception · psychoacoustics
Foundation in psychological science and early exploration of how sensory information shapes emotion and thought.
research methods · psychopathology · environmental psychology
2024 - present
🧩 A Comprehensive Neuropsychological Test of Breathwork as a Tool for Trauma Processing and Mental Well-being
🙌 Zero Noise (Havenith & Schölvinck) Lab
📍 Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience of the Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
2019 - 2024
🧩 BRAINSYNC: Brain-environment Synchrony and the Auditory Perception Problem
🙌 Research Group "Neural and Environmental Rhythms"
📍 Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt, Germany
2018 - 2019
🧩 In Search of Influences of Music and Language on Rhythm Perception
📍Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
2018 - 2019
🧩 Concepts and Beliefs: From Perception to Action
📍Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
PsychoPy / Python · PsychToolBox / MATLAB · jsPsych / JavaScript
Designing, programming, and coordinating in-lab and online experiments with human participants.
Python · fieldtrip / MATLAB · R · Praat
Experience with EEG, behavioral, and psychophysiological data; aperiodic analyses, spectral decomposition, and statistical modeling.
Inkscape · MATLAB · MaxMsp · JavaScript (D3.js)
Developing custom data visualizations and interactive representations for research and teaching.
Arduino · Raspberry PI · hardware & sensor integration
Building and maintaining experimental systems connecting sensors, audio interfaces, and custom software; developing reproducible, automated, and adaptable lab workflows.
Beyond the lab, I stay close to communities that keep me grounded in science, in music, and in the human stories behind them.