My name is Marcel Kehl, and I am a neuroscientist and physician interested in how the human brain transforms perception into meaning and memory.

I am currently a researcher in the Staresina Lab at the University of Oxford, where I study the neuronal mechanisms of memory formation during learning and sleep. Working closely with hospitals across the UK and Germany, I use rare intracranial recordings from the human brain to investigate how individual neurons encode sensory experiences, abstract concepts, and lasting memories.

A particular focus of my research is the olfactory system, whose unique links to memory provide a powerful model for understanding the neural basis of cognition. By combining human single-neuron recordings with insights from animal models, I aim to uncover the cellular mechanisms that support perception, memory, and flexible behaviour.

I am passionate about collaborative, interdisciplinary research and about advancing experimental approaches that enable the human brain to be studied at unprecedented resolution.

In the past I worked on searching for gravitational waves predicted by Einstein and I was a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. It was a great honour for me to be part of this scientific community at the time of the first direct detection of gravitational waves. Besides this I have worked on fascinating ways to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity with a special kind of stellar remnants called pulsars.