janstegenga

Jan Stegenga (1979) studied electrical engineering at the Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden (NHL), earning his Bachelor of Science degree in the year 2000. He continued his study at the University of Twente with a Master’s degree in 2004 contributing to research into the detection of landmines using nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR).

From 2004 to 2009, he performed his doctoral research into ex-vivo neural networks under the supervision of professors Wim Rutten and Enrico Marani. Jan’s work encompassed the characterization of electrical activity displayed by neuronal networks cultured on multi electrode arrays. He developed algorithms to change this activity using electrical stimuli; a process akin to learning. He proceeded with post-doctoral research where he applied the same technology to slices of the rat midbrain, in a project aimed to develop better techniques to combat (the signs of) Parkinson’s Disease. In particular, he studied the electrophysiological effects of high frequency electrical stimulation, as is applied in deep brain stimulation (DBS), on the neural network scale.

Jan is currently part of the industrial research group of Incas³. He is part of the supervising team of the FOCUSS@home project , which aims to develop a serious game for balance improvement among elderly. He is also involved in the development of (embedded) signal processing and event detection algorithms for various other projects within Incas³. His expertise is in the area of health, sports and signal processing.