Dr. Casey Paquola

I lead an interdisciplinary research program investigating the biological principles that govern human brain development, cortical architecture, and cognitive maturation. By bridging micro-scale neuroanatomy (histology, transcriptomics) with macro-scale MRI and computational modeling, my group builds multiscale frameworks to map how the human brain matures and why developmental trajectories diverge in psychiatric conditions.

Major grants and prizes

• ERC Starting Grant (2027 – 2032) - NEUROCAST

• DFG Emmy Noether Programme (2024 – 2030) – Microstructural development of the brain: Towards the origins of higher-order cognition

• Bayer Foundation Early Excellence in Science Award (2025)

• L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award (2025)

Tools and resources

• CortPro: An open-source toolbox for generating and analysing intracortical microstructure profiles. Published in Imaging Neuroscience

• BigBrainWarp: A set of data, scripts and tutorials for integrating human histology and in vivo MRI. Published in eLife

Selected key publications

1. Paquola C et al., (2025) The architecture of the human default mode network explored through cytoarchitecture, wiring and signal flow. Nature Neuroscience

2. Paquola, C., et al. (2022). Closing the mechanistic gap: the value of microarchitecture in understanding cognitive networks. Trends in Cognitive Sciences

3. Paquola, C., et al. (2019). Microstructural and functional gradients are increasingly dissociated in transmodal cortices. PLOS Biology.