Axel Faes
AI Researcher in Healthcare
- Federated Learning
- Precision Medicine
- Brain-Computer Interfaces
References
Liesbet M. Peeters
liesbet.peeters[at]uhasselt.be
Associate Professor (Postdoc advisor) Biomedical Data Sciences
Marc Van Hulle
marc.vanhulle[at]kuleuven.be
Full Professor (PhD advisor) Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology
Yves Moreau
yves.moreau[at]kuleuven.be
Full Professor (Collaborator)
Work & Research Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher: Foundation Models & Multi-Modal Federated Learning for Precision Medicine and Liver Cancer Detection
University of Twente / Medisch Spectrum Twente
January 2026 - Current
- Developing advanced deep learning and foundation models integrating longitudinal MRI data, multi-omics profiles, and clinical variables for early detection and risk prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
-
Building explainable AI (XAI) frameworks that link imaging features and molecular markers to clinically meaningful outcomes in precision oncology within the AI-HCC ZonMw project.
Postdoctoral Researcher: Federated Learning in Healthcare & Real-World Evidence
UHasselt
January 2024 - January 2026
- Scientific Coordinator of the Flanders AI Research Program Use Case Real World Evidence, leading multi-institutional research on privacy-preserving healthcare analytics. As Technical Machine Learning Lead of the Biomedical Data Sciences Group, developed federated learning frameworks enabling collaborative clinical research across Belgian healthcare institutions without sharing sensitive patient data.
-
Research encompasses federated tensor regression for longitudinal health data, distributed learning architectures for heterogeneous clinical datasets, and translation of federated AI methods into practical healthcare applications.
Postdoctoral Researcher: Deep Learning & Tensor Regression for Sign Language Alphabet Decoding via Brain-Computer Interfaces
KU Leuven
May 2023 - January 2024
- Developed advanced machine learning methods for decoding sign language alphabet gestures from high-density intracranial brain activity (ECoG). Combined deep learning architectures with tensor regression models to capture complex spatiotemporal patterns in neural signals associated with linguistic motor control.
-
Technical contributions included implementing block-term tensor decomposition for multi-dimensional neural data and exploring cross-subject generalization for robust BCI performance. The research advances both fundamental understanding of neural encoding of sign language and practical assistive communication technology. Conducted at the Laboratory for Neuro- and Psychophysiology under supervision of Prof. Marc van Hulle, extending previous doctoral research in motor decoding to linguistic applications.
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.
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Infer emotion from EEG signals using machine learning techniques.
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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
Bioinformatics (3740) Coordinating lecturer
UHasselt
Sept. 2025 - Sept. 2026
BKO (Basic Teaching Qualification) track - Teacher Professionalization
UHasselt
2025
Data Science in Healthcare (4747) Lecturer (teaching team member)
UHasselt
Sept. 2025 - Dec. 2025
Advanced Topics in Data Science (4569 & 4585) Lecturer Federted Learning (teaching team member)
UHasselt
June 2024 - Sept. 2025
Bioinformatics (3740) Coordinating lecturer
UHasselt
Sept. 2024 - Sept. 2025
Guest Associate Editor Use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Multiple Sclerosis
Frontiers in Immunology
2024 - 2025
VLAIO Evaluator for BAEKELAND SPIN OFF MANDATES
VLAIO
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
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)
Honours programme 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 (Burgerlijk 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
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
| Jun 2025 |
Selected for EFSA Framework Contract,
European Food Safety Authority
|
Europe |
| 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)
|
Brussels, Belgium |
| Jan 2016 |
IELTS,
Academic Module (8.0/9.0)
|
Brussels, Belgium |
Grants & (open-source) Projects
Federated Learning for Population Health Management (FL4PHM)
Co-supervisor
2025 - Current
- FWO Senior Research Project (2025)
-
Project: "Federated Learning for Population Health Management"
-
Role: Co-supervisor
-
Team: Prof. Yves Moreau (KU Leuven), Prof. Liesbet M. Peeters (UHasselt), Prof. Bert Vaes (KU Leuven)
-
Funding: Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Belgium (applied, result expected in September 2025)
-
Amount: approx. €1,150,000 (including salaries and operational costs for 4 years)
Use Case Real World Evidence - Flanders AI Research Program
Scientific Coordinator
2024 - Current
- Role: Scientific coordinator (UHasselt) and AI Researcher
-
Team: approx. 10 researchers across 4 institutions
ELIXIR Belgium - Roadmap 2023-2025
Consortium Partner
2023 - 2025
- Role: Consortium partner (UHasselt), focusing on health data re-use and federated analyses
-
Collaborations: KU Leuven (Yves Moreau), University of Antwerp (Geert Vandeweyer), VIB (Frederik Coppens)
-
Context: ELIXIR Belgium is part of ELIXIR Europe, an ESFRI initiative funded by the European Commission and national agencies
Federated Learning Kit (FLkit)
Community Project Lead
2025 - Current
- FLkit is designed to help life scientists apply federated learning in their research. It offers guidance, techniques, and tools for working with decentralized and sensitive data, enabling privacy-preserving collaboration and deeper insights without sharing raw data.
-
The project is in its early stages and open to contributors. The long-term goal is to make FLkit community-driven, sustained, and governed by researchers and practitioners who want to advance federated learning for life sciences.
Cardinal: Educational and Research platform for MSc theses in PL/compilers
Lead Developer
Jan. 2015 - Current
- Cardinal is a C++20 reimplementation of the Wren VM, designed for clarity, research, and education. It provides a small, well-documented virtual machine and runtime for exploring compilers, concurrency (fibers), and language embedding.
-
The project serves as a platform for student theses and for prototyping new programming language ideas.
Open Source Python Package - Block-Term Tensor Regression (BTTR)
Lead Researcher & Developer
2022 - Current
- The open-source BTTR implementation provides researchers and practitioners with accessible, reproducible tools for tensor-based regression in neuroscience and related domains. It is actively developed and documented to support experimentation, education, and further research.
Wisconsin Breast Cancer Dataset Research Tutorial for Federated Learning
Research Tutorial Author
2025 - Current
- This repository serves as a step-by-step tutorial for running federated learning studies with the FL4E framework. Using the Wisconsin Breast Cancer dataset as an example, it guides researchers and students through the full workflow.
-
Clear documentation and markdown guides explain each step, making it easier for newcomers to understand and apply federated learning in practice.
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)
Household Survival: Immersive Room-Sized Gaming Using Everyday Objects as Weapons (Unity, Optitrack Motion Capture)
Researcher
Sep. 2015 - Dec. 2015
- Developed a room-scale AR game using everyday objects as controllers (broom, fan, vacuum, mousetrap).
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Demonstrated immersive physical-virtual interactions.
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Still used in university courses as a teaching example.
Publications
Papers in Review
| [1] |
Axel Faes
"Algebraic Subtyping for algebraic effects and handlers"
Submitted to International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP) 2025
|
| [2] |
Axel Faes
Liesbet Peeters
"Block-Term Tensor Decomposition for Signal Reconstruction"
Submitted to IEEE FLICS 2025 - Symposium on Federated Learning and Intelligent Computing Systems (Under review)
|
| [3] |
Axel Faes
Liesbet Peeters
Marc Van Hulle
"Federated Transfer Learning for intracranial motor brain-computer interfaces"
Submitted to IEEE FLICS 2025 - Symposium on Federated Learning and Intelligent Computing Systems (Under review)
|
| [4] |
Axel Faes
Liesbet Peeters
"Vertical Federated Learning with Block-Term Tensor Regression"
Submitted to Machine Learning: Science and Technology (6.8 IF) (In preparation)
|
| [5] |
Valentina Pergher*
Axel Faes*
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] |
Anh Phuong Do
Axel Faes
et al.
"Individual Reference Intervals for Clinical Event Prediction"
Submitted to IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (6.7 IF) (Under review)
|
| [7] |
Dongho Chun
Axel Faes
"Effects on clustering algorithms based on classification of Atrial Fibrillation based on ECG data"
Submitted to IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (6.7 IF)
(senior author)
|
| [8] |
Ward Ceyssens
Axel Faes
"Cross Subject training for finger movement decoding with high-density ECoG"
Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (4.6 IF) (Under review)
(senior author)
|
| [9] |
Dries Cornelissen
Axel Faes
"Block-Term Decomposition for arrhythmia detection and prediction on sinus rhythms"
Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (4.6 IF) (Under review)
(senior author)
|
| [10] |
Meseret Assefa Kerga
Axel Faes
"Predicting Cirrhosis Patient Survival Using Machine Learning: A Data-Driven Approach"
Submitted to IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics (6.7 IF) (Under review)
(senior author)
|
International Journal Papers
Conference Papers
Other publication
Publications
Thesis
Posters
Extended Abstracts
Supervised students, talks and other media
Students
| [1] |
"Brecht Heeren"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2025-2026)
Federated Machine Learning for Health Data
|
| [2] |
"Denzell Mgbokwere"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2025-2026)
Optimization and Type Checking in Single-Pass Compilers - a Case Study with the Wren Programming Language
|
| [3] |
"Robert Rysskin"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2025-2026)
Redesign of Wren Bytecode - Towards More Efficient Execution and Memory Usage
|
| [4] |
"Anh Phuong DO"
Doctoral Program in Sciences, Statistics (co-supervisor, 2024 - 2025)
Individual Reference Intervals for Clinical Event Prediction
|
| [5] |
"Matteo Ramina"
Master Statistics & Data Science (2024-2025)
Estimating Household Wealth in Guyana - Remote Sensing and Convolutional Neural Network Approach
|
| [6] |
"Mohsen Soleimanisemsani"
Master Statistics & Data Science (2024-2025)
AI for time series imputation
|
| [7] |
"Meseret Assefa Kerga"
Master Statistics & Data Science (2024-2025)
Predicting Cirrhosis Patient Survival Using Machine Learning - A Data-Driven Approach
|
| [8] |
"Dongho Chun"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2024-2025)
Clustering with Cardiovascular Health Data
|
| [9] |
"Dries Cornelissen"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2024-2025)
BTTR for arrhythmia detection/prediction on sinus rhythms
|
| [10] |
"Ward Ceyssens"
Master of Science in Computer Science (2024-2025)
Cross Subject training for finger movement decoding with high-density ECoG
|
| [11] |
"Qiang Sun"
Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences (daily supervision 2022-2023)
Hand exoskeleton dexterity achieved by shared control with a semi-invasive brain-computer interface
|
| [12] |
"Eva Calvo Merino"
Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences (daily supervision 2022-2023)
Restoring finger dexterity with an exoskeleton controlled by human intracranial recordings
|
| [13] |
"Aurélie de Borman"
Internship Student 2021
Investigating the effect of Source Mixing on Directed Connectivity estimated between Simulated Reconstructed EEG Sources
|
| [14] |
"Diogo Sousa Morais"
Internship Student 2021
Estimating the effectiveness of source localized EEG for BCIs
|
| [15] |
"Guilherme de Borras Silva"
Internship Student 2021
Cluster Permutation Analysis of N-Back related EEG-ERP Data
|
| [16] |
"Iris Vantieghem"
Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (2020-2021)
Using Neural Networks to derive Directed Connectivity between Reconstructed EEG Sources
|
| [17] |
"Didier Quintius"
Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (2020-2021)
Neural Network Approach to the Inverse Problem
|
Supervised students, talks and other media
Talks, presentations and other media
| 2025 |
"Optimizing Federated Block-Term Tensor Regression - Strategy Comparisons and Applications"
2025
Symposium on Federated Learning and Intelligent Computing Systems (FLICS)
|
| 2025 |
"Federated Learning for Healthcare - From Brain-Computer Interfaces to Disease Prediction"
2025
IEEE FLTA (International Conference on Federated Learning Technologies and Applications)
|
| 2025 |
"OHDSI Europe Symposium 2025"
2025
OHDSI Europe Symposium
|
| 2025 |
"Guest Lecture "Federated Finger movement decoding - brain-computer interfacing""
2025
KULeuven
|
| 2024 |
"Use Case - Real-World Evidence"
2024
Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research Program (FAIR) Research Day
|
| 2024 |
"FAIR Use Case Real World Evidence Kick-off Event"
2024
Flanders Artificial Intelligence Research Program (FAIR)
|
| 2023 |
"Decoding finger movements from invasive recordings in human motor cortex"
2023
Mindseed event Leuven, NeuroTech Leuven
|
| 2023 |
"Guest Lecture "Finger movement decoding - brain-computer interfacing""
2023
KULeuven
|
| 2022 |
"Coordinated Finger Movements Predicted from Intracranial Brain Activity"
2022
International Congress Humanities vs Sciences & the Knowledge Accelerating in Modern World: Parallels an Interaction,
|
| 2022 |
"BCI demo - Advanced Engineering, Antwerp Expo"
2022
AI Flanders, Flanders Industry 4.0
|
| 2022 |
"Guest Lecture "Decoding single and coordinated finger actions from intracranial brain activity""
2022
KULeuven
|
| 2022 |
"Finger abduction trajectory prediction from high-density ECoG"
2022
Leuven AI Scientific Workshop
|
| 2021 |
"Decoding single and coordinated finger actions from intracranial brain activity."
2021
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""
2021
KULeuven
|
| 2021 |
"Reconstructing single finger trajectories from intracranial brain activity"
2021
III International Conference "Volga Neuroscience Meeting 2021"
|
| 2021 |
"BCI demo - Day of Science"
2021
Technopolis (canceled due to the COVID-19 situation)
|
| 2019 |
"Presentation "'MINDSPELLER' Medical Research Project on Brain Computer Interfaces" and concert (with Tigran Maytesian and his Mind Speller Chamber Orchestra)"
2019
Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, Brussels
|
| 2017 |
"Honours student Axel Faes wins bronze medal in ACM SIGPLAN"
2017
KU Leuven, Department of Computer Science
|
| 2017 |
"Student Axel Faes wins bronze medal in the ACM SIGPLAN Student Research Competition in ICFP conference"
2017
KU Leuven, Department of Computer Science, DTAI
|
| 2016 |
"Purpose-Centric Appropriation of Everyday Objects as Game Controllers"
2016
ACM SIGCHI
|