Axel Faes
Postdoctoral Researcher - Data Scientist - Computational Neuroscientist - Computer Engineer
Work & Research Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher: Scientific Coordinator and Artificial Intelligence
UHasselt
January 2024 - Current
- Scientific Coordinator of the Flanders AI Research program, Use Case Real World Evidence.
- Technical Machine Learning lead of the Biomedical Data Sciences Group, UHasselt
Postdoctoral Researcher: Brain-Computer Interfacing and Machine Learning
KU Leuven
May 2023 - January 2024
- Project: "Sign Language Alphabet decoding from intracranial brain activity"
- Group: Prof. Marc van Hulle, Computational Neuroscience, Laboratory for Neuro-and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven
Data Science Consultant
Flanders BCI
2022 - 2024
- Provided consulancy for physical experiments using Synamps RT and Neuvo EEG Systems.
- Supported the data analysis for hybrid BCI with new analytical EEG modeling techniques & signal detection- and classification algorithms.
- Infer emotion from EEG signals using machine learning techniques.
- Usage of ECoG signals from semi-invasive recording for imagined movement detection and language processing.
Research Stay Idrogenet Srl, Gloreha: Robotic Rehabilitation
Lumezzane, Italy
Dec. 2022 - Jan. 2023
- Develop custom software for the control of the Gloreha robotic rehabilitation device,
- Specifically the R-TOUCH PRO Sinfonia, a custom-built robotic exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation.
PhD Researcher in Computational Neuroscience
KU Leuven
Sep. 2018 - May 2023
- Cognitive and Molecular Neuroscience
- PhD Thesis: Finger Movement Decoding: From Source-Localisation to Tensor Regression Modelling
Web Performance Research Internship
UHasselt
Jul. 2016 - Sep. 2016
- I worked on the iMinds PRO-FLOW project @ Expertise centre for Digital Media (EDM)
- focus on the difference between the http versions (http1.1, https, http2).
Summer Research Internship Physical Computing
UHasselt
Aug. 2015 - Sep. 2015
- Interfacing between human entity, a drone and virtual objects @ Expertise centre for Digital Media (EDM).
- (C++, Optitrack motion capture, custom built drone)
Teaching & Academic Activities
BKO (Basis Kwalificatie Onderwijs) traject - Onderwijsprofessionalisering
UHasselt
2025
Advanced Topics in Data Science (4569 & 4585) Lecturer Federted Learning (lid onderwijsteam)
UHasselt
June 2024 - Sept. 2025
Bio-informatica (3740) Co-lecturer (co-titularis)
UHasselt
June 2024 - Sept. 2025
Guest Associate Editor Use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Multiple Sclerosis
Frontiers in Immunology
2024 - 2025
Student Research Competition Judge (International Conference on Functional Programming)
ICFP
2024
Brain-Computer Interfacing (B-KUL-H08M0A) Guest Lecturer
KU Leuven
2022-2025
Educational background
Flemish Sign Language course
Flemish Sign Language Centre (Vlaams Gebarentaal Centrum)
Sep. 2022 - May 2024
- Graduates are able to engage in day-to-day conversations with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
Doctoral Programme in Biomedical Science (PhD) in Computational Neuroscience
KU Leuven
Sep. 2018 - May 2023
- Cognitive and Molecular Neuroscience
- PhD Thesis: Finger Movement Decoding: From Source-Localisation to Tensor Regression Modelling
Advanced Master of Science in Engineering (M.Sc.) in Artificial Intelligence
KU Leuven
Sep. 2017 - Jul. 2019
- Engineering and Computer Science (76% - Cum Laude)
- Thesis: An Information Theoretical Approach to EEG Source-Reconstructed Connectivity (on Github)
Honoursprogramme of the Faculty of Engineering Science (Research Track)
KU Leuven
Sep. 2016 - Oct. 2018
- Research Assistant: design of type-&-effect system for Eff based on row polymorphism
- Research Assistent: efficient compilation of algebraic effect handlers (in Eff)
Master of Science in Engineering (M.Sc.) in Computer Science (Burgelijk Ingenieur - ir.)
KU Leuven
Sep. 2016 - Sep. 2018
- Artificial Intelligence & Theoretical Computer Science (76% - Cum Laude)
- Thesis: Algebraic Subtyping for Algebraic Effects and Handlers (on Github)
Business Summer School: United in Manchester (0739)
The University of Manchester
Jul. 2015 - Aug. 2015
- International Business
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Computer Science
UHasselt
Sep. 2013 - Jul. 2016
- Physics and General courses (79% - Magna Cum Laude)
- Thesis: Machine learning techniques for flow-based network intrusion detection systems (on Github)
Honors & Awards
| Jan 2018 | FWO Fundamental Research Grant, FWO | Belgium |
| Mar 2018 | Finalist, Cyber Security Challenge 2018 | Brussels, Belgium |
| Sep 2017 | 3rd place, ICFP 2017 Student Research Competition | Oxford, UK |
| Jul 2016 | Bachelor Award, in Computer Science | UHasselt, Belgium |
| May 2016 | 3rd place, ACM CHI 2016 Student Design Competition | San Jose, CA, USA |
| Feb 2016 | 2nd place, BeGDC (Belgian Game Development Championship) | Brussel, Belgium |
| Jan 2016 | IELTS, Academic Module (8.0/9.0) | Brussel, Belgium |
Extracurricular Activities
Coach
DjangoGirls
Mar. 2018 - 2024
- Inspire women to fall in love with programming (Python, Django workshops)
Coach
CoderDojo (UHasselt, PXL)
Sep. 2014 - 2025
- Teach children programming (Scratch, Python, Minecraft and Lego mindstorm).
Student Representative
KU Leuven
Sep. 2017 - Sep. 2018
- POC of Master Computer Science Engineering,
- POC of Advanced Master Artificial Intelligence,
- Member of Departmental council of Computer Science, Department board of Computer Science and Faculty council of Engineering Science
Student Council Member
StuRa UHasselt
Mar. 2015 - Aug. 2016
- Member of Board of Education, Faculty Council. Board of Student Facilities, Diversity Commission,
- Temporary representative in VVS (Vlaamse Vereniging van Studenten vzw)
Student Representative
UHasselt
Sep. 2013 - Jul. 2016
- Representing students interests in a Computer Science education context.
- Representing Computer Science education for high school students
Projects
Cardinal: scripting language
Lead Developer
Jan. 2015 - Current
- Written in C (and since 2023, in C++14). High performance (on par with Luajit 2.1 -joff).
Reinforcement Learning Agent in Google Deepmind’s StarCraft II Framework
Developer
Feb. 2018 - Jul. 2018
- Implement reinforcement learning algorithms in PySC2 utilising the KU Leuven supercomputer.
IoT-platform with pluggable sensors
Developer
Feb. 2017 - Jul. 2017
- Showcase large-scale use of Internet of Things sensors
ICAL parser for KU Leuven schedules
Lead Developer
Aug. 2016 - Current
- An nodejs application to create an iCalender file for courses at KU Leuven. (>1000 active users)
Search and Recommendation System
Team Member
Feb. 2016 - Jul. 2016
- A search and recommendation system for VoD (Video on Demand) for Androme.
- In production in the Nebula project.
Household Survival
Researcher
Sep. 2015 - Dec. 2015
- A tower-defense game written in Unity utilising Optitrack motion capture.
- Combine the virtual world and reality using augmented reality
Visual Programming IDE
Developer
Feb. 2015 - Jul. 2015
- A Visual programming IDE (Java)
Publications
Papers in Preparation
| [1] | Liesbet Peeters Marc Van Hulle "Federated Transfer Learning for intracranial motor brain-computer interfaces" |
| [2] | Liesbet Peeters "Block-Term Tensor Regression as an autoencoder " |
| [3] | Liesbet Peeters "Federated Block-Term Tensor Regression for Heart Diseases in Realistic Healthcare Settings" Spotlight |
| [4] | Ashkan Pirmani Edward De Brouwer Adam Arany Martijn Oldenhof Antoine Passemiers Tomas Kalincik et al. "Personalized Federated Learning for Predicting Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis Using Real-World Routine Clinical Data" Submitted to npj Digital Medicine (15.357 IF) (Under review) |
| [5] | Valentina Pergher* Yide Li Marc M. Van Hulle (* equal contribution) "How stimulus type and task structure can affect ERP signatures" Submitted to Frontiers in Psychology, section Cognition (2.6 IF) (Under review) |
| [6] | Eva Calvo Merino Anais Van Hoylandt Elina Keirse Tom Theys Marc M. Van Hulle "Finger abduction trajectory prediction from high-density ECoG" Submitted to Journal of Neural Engineering (5.4 IF) (Under review) |
| [7] | Mariana P. Branco Anais Van Hoylandt Elina Keirse Tom Theys Nick F. Ramsey Marc M. Van Hulle "Decoding Sign Language Finger Movements from high-density ECoG using Graph-Optimized Block Term Tensor Regression" Submitted to Journal of Neural Engineering (5.4 IF) (Under review) |
International Journal Papers
| [8] | Eva Calvo Merino Marc M. Van Hulle "The role of distinct ECoG frequency features in decoding finger movement" Journal of Neural Engineering (5.4 IF) |
| [9] | Marc M. Van Hulle "Finger movement and coactivation predicted from intracranial brain activity using extended Block-Term Tensor Regression" Journal of Neural Engineering (5.4 IF) Spotlight |
| [10] | Flavio Camarrone Marc M. Van Hulle "Single finger trajectory prediction from intracranial brain activity using Block-Term Tensor Regression with fast and automatic component extraction" IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems (14.25 IF) |
| [11] | Aurelie de Borman Marc M. Van Hulle "Source space reduction for eLORETA" Journal of Neural Engineering (5.4 IF) |
| [12] | Iris Vantieghem Marc M. Van Hulle "Neural Networks for Directed Connectivity Estimation in Source-Reconstructed EEG Data" Applied Sciences (2.9 IF) |
Conference Papers
| [13] | "Proprioceptive Feedback Challenges Motor Intention Detection from EEG during Human-Exoskeleton Interaction" Proceedings of 2025 International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR) 2025 |
| [14] | Robin Marx Maarten Wijnants Peter Quax Wim Lamotte "Web Performance Characteristics of HTTP/2 and comparison to HTTP/1.1" International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies, pg 87-114 |
| [15] | Robin Marx Peter Quax Wim Lamotte "Concatenation, embedding and sharding: Do HTTP/1 performance best practices make sense in HTTP/2?" WEBIST 2017 - Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies |
Other publication
| [16] | Matija Pretnar Amr Hany Shehata Saleh Tom Schrijvers "Efficient compilation of algebraic effects and handlers" 2017 - CW Reports, CW708, 32 pp. Leuven, Belgium: Department of Computer Science, KU Leuven. |
Thesis
| [17] | "Finger Movement Decoding: From Source-Localisation to Tensor Regression Modelling" PhD Thesis |
| [18] | "An Information Theoretical Approach to EEG Source-Reconstructed Connectivity" Advanced Master's Thesis |
| [19] | "Algebraic Subtyping for Algebraic Effects and Handlers" Master's Thesis |
| [20] | "Machine learning techniques for flow-based network intrusion detection systems" Bachelor's thesis |
Posters
| [21] | Tom Schrijvers "Towards a Core Language with Row-Based Effects for Optimised Compilation" International Conference on Functional Programming 2017 Student Research Competition |
Extended Abstracts
| [22] | Qiang Sun Marc M. Van Hulle "Individual and Coordinated Finger Movements Decoding from High-Density EEG and Its Implication in Hand Exoskeleton Control" European Congress of NeuroRehabilitation 2023 |
| [23] | Eva Calvo Merino Marc M. Van Hulle "Modulation of LMPs using the gamma band increases the stability of finger trajectories decoded from ECoG" BCI (Brain-computer interfaces) - Society 2023 |
| [24] | Benjamin Wittevrongel Marc M. Van Hulle "Reconstructing single finger trajectories from intracranial brain activity" III International Conference "Volga Neuroscience Meeting 2021" |
| [25] | Mansoureh Fahimi Hnazaee Marc M. Van Hulle "Causal Graphical Modelling of Functional Connectivity from Reconstructed EEG Sources" 8th International BCI Meeting (2021) |
| [26] | Tom Schrijvers "Towards a Core Language with Row-Based Effects for Optimised Compilation" International Conference on Functional Programming 2017 Student Research Competition |
| [27] | Kashyap Todi Brent Berghmans Matthijs Kaminski "Purpose-Centric Appropriation of Everyday Objects as Game Controllers" CHI EA '16: Extended Abstracts of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Late Breaking Work |
| [28] | Kashyap Todi Donald Degraen Brent Berghmans Matthijs Kaminski Kris Luyten "Household Survival: Immersive Room-Sized Gaming Using Everyday Objects as Weapons" CHI EA '16: Extended Abstracts of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Student Game Competition |
Supervised students, talks and other media
Students
| [1] | "Matteo Ramina" Estimating Household Wealth in Guyana - Remote Sensing and Convolutional Neural Network Approach |
| [2] | "Mohsen Soleimanisemsani" AI for time series imputation |
| [3] | "Meseret Assefa Kerga" Predicting Cirrhosis Patient Survival Using Machine Learning - A Data-Driven Approach |
| [4] | "Dongho Chun" (Federated) Machine Learning for Health Data |
| [5] | "Dries Cornelissen" Federated Learning for Regression modelling with Cardiovascular Health Data |
| [6] | "Ward Ceyssens" Brain-Computer Interfacing - population-based finger movement decoding |
| [7] | "Qiang Sun" Hand exoskeleton dexterity achieved by shared control with a semi-invasive brain-computer interface |
| [8] | "Eva Calvo Merino" Restoring finger dexterity with an exoskeleton controlled by human intracranial recordings |
| [9] | "Aurélie de Borman" Investigating the effect of Source Mixing on Directed Connectivity estimated between Simulated Reconstructed EEG Sources |
| [10] | "Diogo Sousa Morais" Estimating the effectiveness of source localized EEG for BCIs |
| [11] | "Guilherme de Borras Silva" Cluster Permutation Analysis of N-Back related EEG-ERP Data |
| [12] | "Iris Vantieghem" Using Neural Networks to derive Directed Connectivity between Reconstructed EEG Sources |
| [13] | "Didier Quintius" Neural Network Approach to the Inverse Problem |
Talks, presentations and other media
| 2025 | "Guest Lecture "Federated Finger movement decoding - brain-computer interfacing"" KULeuven |
| 2024 | "Use Case - Real-World Evidence" Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research Program (FAIR) Research Day |
| 2024 | "FAIR Use Case Real World Evidence Kick-off Event" Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research Program (FAIR) |
| 2023 | "Decoding finger movements from invasive recordings in human motor cortex" Mindseed event Leuven, NeuroTech Leuven |
| 2023 | "Guest Lecture "Finger movement decoding - brain-computer interfacing"" KULeuven |
| 2022 | "Coordinated Finger Movements Predicted from Intracranial Brain Activity" International Congress Humanities vs Sciences & the Knowledge Accelerating in Modern World: Parallels an Interaction, |
| 2022 | "BCI demo - Advanced Engineering, Antwerp Expo" AI Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen Industrie 4.0 |
| 2022 | "Guest Lecture "Decoding single and coordinated finger actions from intracranial brain activity"" KULeuven |
| 2022 | "Finger abduction trajectory prediction from high-density ECoG" Leuven AI Scientific Workshop |
| 2021 | "Decoding single and coordinated finger actions from intracranial brain activity." XIV World Scientific Congress - SCIENCE FOR PEACE Modern Science, Global and Regional Theory and Practice |
| 2021 | "Guest Lecture "Finger Movement Decoding - From Source-Localisation to Tensor Regression Modelling"" KULeuven |
| 2021 | "Reconstructing single finger trajectories from intracranial brain activity" III International Conference "Volga Neuroscience Meeting 2021" |
| 2021 | "BCI demo - Dag van de Wetenschap" Technopolis (geannuleerd wegens de covid-19 situatie) |
| 2019 | "Presentation "'MINDSPELLER' Medical Research Project on Brain Computer Interfaces" and concert (with Tigran Maytesian and his Mind Speller Chamber Orchestra)" Kathedraal van Sint-Michiel en Sint-Goedele, Brussel |
| 2017 | "Honours student Axel Faes wins bronze medal in ACM SIGPLAN" KU Leuven, Department of Computer Science |
| 2017 | "Student Axel Faes wins bronze medal in the ACM SIGPLAN Student Research Competition in ICFP conference" KU Leuven, Department of Computer Science, DTAI |
| 2016 | "Purpose-Centric Appropriation of Everyday Objects as Game Controllers" ACM SIGCHI |