Rebecca Slack

I research neurovascular coupling, which is the relationship between your brain cells, and the blood that supplies them with essentials such as glucose and oxygen. Neurovascular coupling is an important field as it underpins many brain scanning technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI scans only the blood in your brain and uses this measurement to make inferences about what your brain cells are doing. fMRI scans are increasingly popular in many fields with over 2200 studies using them last year alone, so understanding their underpinnings is crucial to many areas from sociology to neurology. When I'm not doing research, I spend time as a Sheffield NeuroGirl finding new and creative ways to help a wide range of people from school children to informed adults get excited and informed about their brains.