Britta Westner

Britta Westner is an Assistant Professor and researcher at the Donders Institute and Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She works in the Department of Medical Neuroscience and serves as an Associate Investigator and Collaborator in the Lab of Vitória Piai, focusing on language production and memory research. Her academic journey spans Radboud University, Aarhus University, and the University of Konstanz.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Neuroscience (2017) from University of Konstanz
• MSc in Psychology (2013) from University of Konstanz
• BSc in Psychology (2011) from University of Konstanz

Westner's research centers on the intersection of language and memory, with complementary interests in language and vision interactions. Her expertise spans visual processing from retina to cortex and specializes in source reconstruction methods and MEG decoding for electrophysiological data. As a core developer of MNE-Python since 2019, she actively promotes open-source neuroscience tools. Her methodological innovations are evident in publications addressing beamforming techniques, functional connectivity assessment, and predictive language processing.

Her publication record reveals a dual trajectory: advancing M/EEG analysis methodologies while exploring cognitive neuroscience questions. Recent work demonstrates particular strength in developing robust approaches for source reconstruction, functional connectivity analysis, and decoding neural representations during language tasks, often bridging technical innovation with substantive cognitive questions.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (EU Horizon 2020 scheme, 2020-2022)
• Core developer role in MNE-Python (since 2019)

Westner actively contributes to neuroscience education through teaching workshops on MEG/EEG data analysis and MNE-Python. She developed comprehensive teaching resources including source reconstruction pipelines in FieldTrip specifically for language and dyslexia research. Her Marie Curie Fellowship supported research on visual anticipation and memory at the Donders Institute, though progress was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She maintains close collaboration with the Lab of Vitória Piai at the Donders Institute, where she has developed specialized analysis pipelines and teaching materials. Her GitHub repositories demonstrate active contributions to open-source neuroscience tools, with particular focus on making MEG/EEG analysis more accessible through well-documented workflows and educational materials.