Hi! My name is Alexander Atalay, 

but you can call me Xander. I'm a data scientist working in the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Neurotechnology and NeuroRecovery. Before moving to Boston, I was an Echols scholar at the University of Virginia where I studied neuroscience and data science.

    I am a hobbyist videographer, astrophotographer, and graphic designer, as well as an internationally competitive rower. I love spending time at the intersections of my interests, and hope you enjoy getting a sense of the things that I'm passionate about through this website: an exploration of my brain using MRI data, Blender, and vanilla JavaScript.

    I do research on the human brain

and believe it to be the most fascinating object in the known universe. I fell in love with neuroscience early in my undergraduate career after developing interests in biology, chemistry, and philosophy. I realized that the computational tools we have access to today lend remarkable power to our ability to better understand the brain and began to pursue computer science and data science courses. I was fortunate enough to take some amazing classes that fostered connections between my growing interests in neuroscience and data science.

    I am a member of the Coma Recovery Lab at MGH, where I work with world experts on traumatic brain injury and neuroimaging technologies to advance knowledge about the physiology of consciousness and improve care for patients with disorders of consciousness. My role in the lab involves project design, data management, and computational pipeline development across different imaging modalities, including MRI, EEG, and histology. I am broadly interested in how neuroimaging technologies can be integrated to reveal new features of structural and functional neurobiology.

    I am also a rower

I was first introduced to crew in high school at St. Andrew’s school in Delaware, where it didn’t take me long to become obsessed. I’ve had the privilege of being a part of some truly remarkable teams including the Men’s Rowing team at the University of Virginia, where I was honored to be selected to the All American team by the American Collegiate Rowing Association, and Riverside boat club in Cambridge, where I am currently a member.

    Many of the most impactful experiences I've had have been in a shell on the water where I often find peace and purpose. While a majority of my cherished rowing memories have occurred during ordinary practices, some highlights of my career include getting the opportunity to race internationally in Switzerland and at Henley Royal Regatta in England and winning the Club Division of the men’s 8+ at the Head of the Charles Regatta. I have learned many life lessons from the sport, and I hope to continue to row competitively for as long as I am able to.

    I create aesthetic digital content

–or at least enjoy the process of trying–primarily through photography, videography, and graphic design. My passion for visual media began when I was 10 years old and got my first camera–a purple iPod nano–and has developed steadily into a hobby and side job.

    One of my first goals when I bought a proper entry-level camera was to capture the beauty of the night sky. As an avid stargazer, astrophotography fascinated me, and with just a tripod, a remote, and some trial and error, I managed to photograph the majesty of a clear night and dark sky. My star photos have even been featured in a Ted talk! More recently, I’ve been exploring 3D design and animation in Blender, aiming to apply the open source software to neuroimaging visualization tools; The animation for this website was rendered using real anatomical data from an MRI of my brain! You can explore some of the visual media that I've produced here.

    I believe that transparency and collaboration are fundemental to success, both in science and beyond. If you're interested in learning more about what I'm up to or want to work together on a project, please feel free to reach out!