I'm very interested in the link between intelligent robotics and neuroscience. In particular, I have two projects in mind: the first relates to the study of "neuro-inspired" robots; the second concerns upper limb prostheses.
P
ierre Sacré began his training by studying electromechanical engineering with a specialization in aerospace at ULiège. "At the time, I was already interested in the link between engineering, medicine and biology He began a PhD in 2008, and the following year was awarded a 4-year FNRS aspirant fellowship. "The idea of my thesis was to develop tools to analyze oscillators (systems that evolve towards a periodic behavior rather than a fixed equilibrium point) such as neuron discharge, the circadian rhythm or the menstrual cycle."
Pierre Sacré completed his PhD in 2013. He then moved to the United States, to Johns Hopkins University, with a Fulbright scholarship and then a grant from the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute. " There I pursued research in neuro-engineering with an approach based on experimental data. Despite the abundance of data available to researchers, the origin of variability in neuronal activity and the link between neuronal variability and that observed in behavior (decision-making, movement, etc.) are still highly mysterious. For example, it is not always the same neurons that are active for the same behavior... One of the great challenges is to succeed in modeling the action of groups of neurons that we cannot observe directly, to see if they can explain this variability. "
From neuro-engineering to robotic
Pierre Sacré also had the opportunity to work on two concrete projects. The first was aimed at better understanding the neural mechanisms of bias induced by past experience in decision-making. The second focused on chronic pain, which affects 37% of the U.S. population. " The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this type of pain are still largely unknown. A better understanding of these mechanisms could lead to the identification of more effective drugs or more specific and adapted neurostimulation tools. I'm going to continue working on this subject. I'm also very interested in the link between intelligent robotics and neuroscience. In particular, I have two projects in mind: the first relates to the study of "neuro-inspired" robots; the second concerns upper limb prostheses. They are becoming more and more powerful, but feedback to the user is still very limited
Giving people a taste for research
During his postdoc in Baltimore, Pierre Sacré was involved in mentoring students of all levels. " U.S. research labs are open to bachelor's, master's and even high school students. This gave me the opportunity to introduce the world of research to high school students and students making the transition from high school to university. "
Back in Belgium in November 2018, Pierre Sacré teaches a digital signal processing course to3rd bachelor students in engineering sciences and masters in biomedical civil engineering. He also offers a course in intelligent robotics to master's students in civil engineering (electricity, computer science, data science, mechanics), master's in data science and master's in computer science.
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