Rodrigo Braga

Rodrigo Braga is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, where he leads the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (Braga Lab). His academic journey includes an NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99) as an Instructor at Stanford University working with Josef Parvizi and Russ Poldrack, and a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University with Randy Buckner. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Robert Leech and Prof. Richard Wise.

Dr. Braga's research focuses on unraveling the detailed organization of human brain networks, particularly association cortices that are expanded in humans and serve advanced cognitive functions like language, episodic memory, and social cognition. His groundbreaking work has demonstrated that canonical brain networks such as the default mode network actually comprise multiple parallel, closely interdigitated networks when resolved within individuals at high resolution. He employs individual-level whole-brain network mapping using fMRI combined with intracranial recordings and stimulation to understand how distributed networks interact during cognition.

His publication record reveals a strong focus on brain network organization across multiple cognitive domains. Analysis of his 15 most recent articles shows consistent investigation of individual differences in brain architecture, with particular emphasis on network dissociation in episodic versus social cognition, multisensory integration, and the role of transmodal cortex in network integration. His work bridges basic neuroscience with clinical applications in neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99)
• Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship

Dr. Braga's research program is supported by significant grant funding, including the NIH K99 award that facilitated his transition to independence. His lab develops innovative methods to combine individual-level network mapping with intracranial recordings, suggesting substantial research infrastructure. While specific students aren't listed in the source material, his position as an independent principal investigator indicates he likely mentors graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in cognitive neuroscience.

The Human Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (Braga Lab) specializes in high-resolution mapping of individual brain networks. Dr. Braga's approach of preserving individual brain circuitry rather than relying on group averages has revealed new organizational principles of the brain, including the discovery that what were thought to be single networks actually contain multiple parallel architectures when examined at sufficient resolution within individuals. His lab's work has implications for understanding both normal cognitive function and neurological disorders.