Qualifications

BA Liberal Arts and Sciences (Utrecht); MSc Neuroscience (Oxford); DPhil; Neuroscience (Oxford)

Academic background

I completed my BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences at University College Utrecht (2004–07). I then served as a Junior Research Consultant, Eye tracking at Intomart GfK, Hilversum (2008) before completing a Wellcome Trust MSc and DPhil Studentship in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford (2008–13). I have been a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford since 2013. 

Undergraduate teaching

I teach Introduction to Psychology, Cognitive & Behavioural Neuroscience, Perception, and Social Psychology.

Research interests

I have a strong interest in perception – our amazing capacity to take complex patterns of (for instance) light, sound or touch, and extract useful information from them. The study of perception also offers insights into some fundamental questions about the organisational principles of the brain. How do individual brain cells know who to connect to, how does our sensory environment impact the wiring of the brain, and to what extent can the brain keep adjusting to its sensory environment?

In addition, I am interested in how we can use what we know about the visual system to increase the quality of life of people with sight loss using modern technology.

Featured publications

Van Rheede, J. J., Richards, B. A., & Akerman, C. J. (2015). Sensory-Evoked Spiking Behavior Emerges via an Experience-Dependent Plasticity Mechanism. Neuron, 87(5), 1050–1062.

Van Rheede, J. J., Wilson, I. R., Qian, R. I., Downes, S. M., Kennard, C., & Hicks, S. L. (2015). Improving Mobility Performance in Low Vision With a Distance-Based Representation of the Visual Scene. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 56(8), 4802–4809.

Richards, B. A., Van Rheede, J. J., & Akerman, C. J. (2012). Visuospatial information in the retinotectal system of Xenopus before correct image formation by the developing eye. Developmental Neurobiology, 72(4), 507–519.

Van Rheede, J. J., Kennard, C., & Hicks, S. L. (2010). Simulating prosthetic vision: Optimizing the information content of a limited visual display. Journal of Vision, 10(14), 32.

Volcic, R., Van Rheede, J. J., Postma, A., & Kappers, A. M. L. (2008). Differential effects of non-informative vision and visual interference on haptic spatial processing. Experimental Brain Research, 190(1), 31–41. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1447-0

Other interests and activities

I enjoy music – listening to it, going out to see it live, and trying to play, produce and mix my own – as well as travel, books, films and plays.