Ilka Diester

Prof. Dr. Ilka Diester is a Full Professor of Optophysiology at the Faculty of Biology, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, and Spokesperson of the BrainLinks-BrainTools Center. She serves as Managing Director of IMBIT (Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology) and Section Spokesperson for Systems Neurobiology on the Board of the German Neuroscience Society (2025-2027).

Her educational background includes a Doctorate in Neurobiology from the University of Tübingen (2003-2008) and a Diploma in Biology from Humboldt University of Berlin (1998-2003). Prior positions include Group Leader at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute (2011-2014) and Postdoc at Stanford University (2008-2011).

Her research focuses on the neural basis of motor control and cognitive control, investigating interactions between prefrontal and motor cortex using electrophysiological recordings, optogenetic manipulations, and behavioral analysis. Current projects include developing optoelectronic probes, studying prefrontal flexibility in strategy choice, and examining movement decoding in rodent models.

Recent publications reveal strong trends in neural decoding (2022 cross-subject decoding study), optogenetic methodology (2022 multichannel interrogation), and AI-neuroscience integration (2024 internal world models). Her work bridges basic neuroscience with applications for prosthetic devices and understanding movement disorders.

Prof. Diester leads multiple DFG-funded projects including CRC 1690 on Disease Mechanisms of Sensory and Motor Systems. Her lab actively recruits PhD students for projects on prefrontal flexibility, movement decoding, and virtual reality effects on neural activity.

The Optophysiology Lab maintains strong institutional connections through BrainLinks-BrainTools and IMBIT, recently developing the open-source FreiLaser system for cost-effective optogenetic experiments. The lab participates in major neuroscience symposia including the German Neuroscience Society meetings.