Alison Barker

Alison Barker is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany. Her research focuses on neural mechanisms underlying socially meaningful vocal communication, particularly in naked mole-rats, integrating evolutionary perspectives with multi-disciplinary approaches.

• PhD in Neuroscience (2015), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
• ScB in Biochemistry (2006), Brown University

Her work explores three key areas: (1) Sensory Encoding of vocalizations, (2) Plasticity of Circuits for communication, and (3) Information Transfer within social groups. Methodologies include in vivo calcium imaging, electrophysiology, transcriptomics, and machine learning.

Notable awards include the ERC Starting Grant (2021) and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2010–2012). She collaborates with Prof. Gary Lewin and Prof. Herwig Baier.

• PhD Students: Julian Burger, Sanjana Joshi, Rebecca Saager, Lucía Sanz Vilar
• Team Members: Niamh Carr, Dori Grijseels, Alena Lemazina, Luciana López Jury