Hi, I'm

Ben

My goal is to understand human behavior, cognition and mind. My core passion lies at the intersection of neuroscience, mathematics, and algorithms—translating principles of cognition into code.

Ben

/ Projects

An overview of research tools, apps, and interactive guides I've worked on.

T-Maze Active Inference Tutorial (RxInfer)
Education

T-Maze Active Inference Tutorial (RxInfer)

Contributed tutorial to the RxInfer examples site, teaching Active Inference implementation via message passing on factor graphs in a T-maze environment.

Julia RxInfer Active Inference
Free Energy in a Circumplex Model of Emotion
Research

Free Energy in a Circumplex Model of Emotion

Julia/RxInfer implementation of an active-inference agent exploring a 13-room environment while tracking valence and arousal on the emotion circumplex.

Julia RxInfer Active Inference
Interactive ML Overview - digital textbook
Research

Interactive ML Overview - digital textbook

Created during my internship at the Active Inference Institute. A high-level, interactive guide providing an overview of the machine learning landscape.

Python Interactive Web ML
The Discovery Engine: AI-Driven Synthesis of Scientific Knowledge Landscapes
Preprint

The Discovery Engine: AI-Driven Synthesis of Scientific Knowledge Landscapes

LLM-driven distillation of scientific literature into a computational Conceptual Tensor. Submitted to arXiv (May 2025).

LLMs Python Knowledge Graphs
Psychotherapy Support App (Mindly)
Application

Psychotherapy Support App (Mindly)

A web application helping users understand and manage emotions and thoughts using the ABC model from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Web App CBT Firebase
Visual Introduction to Active Inference
Education

Visual Introduction to Active Inference

An introduction to programming active inference agents in Python with the pymdp package—visual and interactive.

Python pymdp Active Inference
Active Inference Loop
Visualization

Active Inference Loop

A brief visual explanation of the active inference concept.

Active Inference Visualization

/ Publications

Peer-reviewed research on active inference, oligodendrocyte biology, stem-cell modelling, and psychiatric genetics.

October 2026

Parameter Learning in Active Inference via Variational Message Passing

7th International Workshop on Active Inference (IWAI 2026)

Camera-ready full paper. Derives a single variational objective in which entropy-correction channels are substituted at their closed-form optima, so conjugate Dirichlet learning of the observation and transition models survives alongside the Expected Free Energy's information-gain terms. Validated on two grid POMDPs.

August 2025

iPSC-modelling reveals genetic associations and morphological alterations of oligodendrocytes in schizophrenia

Translational Psychiatry

Shared First Author. Focus on Statistics and Stem Cell lab.

2022

Expression of Lineage Transcription Factors Identifies Differences in Transition States of Induced Human Oligodendrocyte Differentiation

Cells

Published in Cells, 2022.

/ Career

A brief overview of my career

07/2020 – 04/2026 · Munich, Germany

Doctorate in Medicine (MD) – Oligodendroglial Disorders in Schizophrenia

Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Laboratory for Neurobiology

Summa cum laude MD thesis on oligodendroglial disorders in schizophrenia, including development of a novel image-based cell recognition workflow and primary responsibility for statistical analysis; published in top-tier journals such as Translational Psychiatry and Cells.

NeurobiologyImage AnalysisStatisticsScientific Writing
10/2016 – 11/2023 · Munich, Germany

Medical School – Focus on Neurology & Psychotherapy

Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU)

Completed medical school with focus on neurology and psychotherapy and received long-term scholarships from LMU (FöFoLe) and others.

Clinical MedicineNeurologyPsychotherapyScholarships
10/2015 – 09/2016 · Tübingen, Germany

B.Sc. Studies in Cognitive Science

University of Tübingen

Introductory studies in cognitive science with a strong quantitative foundation in mathematics, informatics, statistics, and psychology.

Cognitive ScienceMathematicsStatisticsPsychology
12/2024 – 12/2025 · Remote / Bologna, Italy

Intern – Active Inference & Probabilistic Programming

Active Inference Institute

Worked on reactive (variational) message-passing algorithms in open-source Julia ecosystems (RxInfer.jl, GraphPPL.jl, ReactiveMP.jl), self-studied Bayesian machine learning, and created tutorials on inference-as-planning and parameter learning; contributed to an automatic research discovery project combining LLMs with active inference.

Active InferenceBayesian Machine LearningJuliaProbabilistic Programming
2020 – 2023 · Multiple locations

Clinical Electives – Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Surgery, General Medicine

Top-ranked hospitals in Germany, Denmark, Italy & Tanzania

Completed 16 months of clinical electives across psychiatry, internal medicine, surgery, and general medicine in several leading international hospitals.

Clinical PsychiatryInternal MedicineSurgeryIntercultural Collaboration
09/2019 · Nanjing, China

Research Stay – Neurobiology

Nanjing Medical University

Short-term research stay in neurobiology, broadening international research experience and exposure to different scientific environments.

NeurobiologyInternational CollaborationLaboratory Research
01/2018 – 09/2019 · Munich, Germany

Student Assistant – Public Relations & Analytics

LMU – Office of the Dean of Research of Medicine

Developed a Python-based automation pipeline that increased the number of published research articles by approximately 50%, supporting communication and visibility of medical research.

PythonAutomationData AnalysisScience Communication

/ Skills

Breakdown of my technical skills, categorized by domain and proficiency

Expert
Proficient
Beginner

(Computational) Neuroscience & Cognition

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Active Inference
Neurobiology

Programming

Julia
Python
R

Probabilistic Programming

Bayesian Statistics
Variational Inference
RxInfer.jl

/ Contact Me

Feel free to reach out. I'm always open to discussing new projects and opportunities.