Dr. Roza Gunes Bayrak, Senior Research Engineer and Research Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt, embodies the spirit of curiosity and innovation that defines VALIANT. With a background in electrical engineering and a passion for brain research, her journey has taken her from hardware research to spearheading transformative initiatives in neuroimaging and open science.

Dr. Bayrak’s fascination with brains was sparked when she took an extracurricular neurobiology class in graduate school and came across the concept neuroplasticity—how the brain adapts and rewires itself even in adulthood—. This newfound inspiration led her to pursue a PhD at Vanderbilt. “Neuroplasticity gave me a sense of wonder about the brain’s ability to change,” she reflects. “Vanderbilt gave me a home to explore that.” During her PhD she explored brain-body interactions through functional neuroimaging and physiological data. Dr. Bayrak developed individual specific computational approaches to improve precision in brain mapping with Dr. Catie Chang in the NEURDY lab.

Dr. Bayrak is also the driving force behind BrainHack Vanderbilt, a hub for open and reproducible neuroscience. The event, part of the global BrainHack initiative, connects from students, to faculty, all brain researchers across disciplines to tackle pressing problems in neuroscience. “Vanderbilt has a big interdisciplinary neuroscience community,” she explains. “BrainHack fosters collaboration by breaking down silos and creating opportunities for dialogue and innovation.” The 2025 BrainHack event, which attracted over 100 participants from 24 departments and institutes, emphasized inclusivity with hybrid participation options and doubled its active participants from the previous year.

In her current role, Dr. Bayrak is focused on developing a comprehensive library for time series data analysis, tailored to neuroimaging. Her team is integrating state-of-the-art pre-trained foundation models and methods for analyzing diverse datasets such as fMRI, EEG, and physiological recordings. “We are leading the initial effort, but his library will be a community-driven effort, designed to evolve and expand beyond a single lab,” she shares. It’s a project that highlights her commitment to both innovation and accessibility in science.

Dr. Bayrak’s connection to Vanderbilt extends beyond the lab. She praises the university’s collaborative environment and resources, crediting them with enabling her to write her first NIH grant and advance her research. “The support here has been transformative for my career,” she says and I’m excited to see how we can push the boundaries of what’s possible in the years ahead.
 

Outside of work, she enjoys exploring Nashville’s natural beauty and indulging in local gems like the vegetarian Indian restaurant Woodlands. She also recommends tubing in Tennessee’s rivers and visiting the state’s many parks—a pastime she enthusiastically recommends to colleagues and students alike.