Zurna Ahmed

Dr. Zurna Ahmed is an independent postdoctoral researcher within the DFG Research Training Group RTG 2906 Curiosity at Göttingen Campus. She is also an associate member of the DFG Collaborative Research Center SFB 1528 Cognition of Interaction. Her research explores exploration and information-seeking behavior bridging systems neuroscience, developmental psychology, and machine learning.
Dr. Ahmed initially studied medical engineering and obtained her engineering degree before transitioning to neuroscience. After completing her master's in neuroscience, she pursued a PhD in systems neuroscience at the German Primate Center. In her doctoral research, she investigated how the primate brain anticipates the sensory consequences of actions—work with important implications for neuroprosthetics and rehabilitation. Additionally, she developed experimental paradigms to study brain activity underlying complex behaviors such as foraging and social decision-making under more naturalistic conditions.
Following her PhD, Dr. Ahmed worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the German Primate Center within SFB 1528 and RTG 2906. Since March, she has been a full-time independent postdoctoral researcher within RTG 2906 while maintaining her associate membership in SFB 1528.
Beyond her research, Dr. Ahmed is actively engaged in science communication, teaching, and mentoring. She has organized career workshops, coordinated interdisciplinary research projects, and participated in public science events, podcasts, and social media outreach.
Find out more about her work at zurnaahmed.com.