Community Spotlight #5: Johanna Bayer
October 27th, 2023
Johanna is a Post-Doc at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and behaviour in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and a recurring TA for ReproRehab. Her focus is on Git and Open Science.
Tell us about your background.
Johanna has a background in psychology, computer science and an interest in neuroscience and neuroimaging. Born in Germany, she obtained her PhD as part of a 6 year stint in Melbourne, Australia. She is also currently obtaining a bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Hagen, Germany.
What sparked your interest in learning data science?
I like the creativity associated with data science, and the story that data can tell. In addition, I like programming and making nice plots. In sum, data science requires both analytical and creative thinking, and a combination of problem solving and design, which makes it great fun.
What are you most excited about ReproRehab?
The community and the enthusiasm! I am also excited about seeing people progress in their skills and figuring things out. Plus, the focus of ReproRehab is a focus on better science – a topic that is very dear to my heart.
What advice would you give to those who wish to follow a similar path?
Teaching forces and helps you understand a topic better – so sign up to teach what you want to learn or understand better.
You are never too old to learn something new.
Success is often the result of either money, time, or effort. If you don't have the first one, you can still focus on the latter two.
Anything you are passionate about outside of ReproRehab?
Neuroimaging, computer science and noise. I am really fascinated by how the brain works, how computers work, and how we can overcome the "noise" that interferes with figuring things out (noise is a broad term here that can range from bad code to heart rate effects in a neuroimage). I also help organize a data science and machine learning podcast and I spend a lot of time with my cat and books.
Anything else you would to share? (website/github/podcast)
