CV

cdemircan@tutanota.com

Education

PhD – Institute for Human Centered AI
Helmholtz Munich 2023 —

  • Working on representations of deep learning models, mechanisms of learning, and interpretability
  • Supervised by Dr. Eric Schulz

MSc – Neural & Behavioural Sciences
University of Tübingen 2021 — 2023

  • Thesis: Using tools of neuroscience to understand large language models: A case-study of temporal difference learning
  • Member of the International Max Planck Research School for The Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction (IMPRS MMFD).

BA – Experimental Psychology
University of Oxford 2017 — 2020

  • Thesis: How Task Relevance of Stimuli and Expectations Influence Visual Information Processing in the Human Brain
  • Graduated with 1st Class Honours

Skills

Programming: Python, R, MATLAB, Bash, HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Software and Tools: Git, \(\LaTeX\), Markdown, Docker, Singularity, CI/CD

Languages: Turkish (native), English (fluent), German (beginner)

Publications & Preprints

  • Binz, M., … , Demircan, C., … , Schulz, E. (2024). Centaur: a foundation model of human cognition. arXiv. paper

  • Demircan, C.*, Saanum, T.*, Jagadish, A. K., Binz, M., & Schulz, E. (2024). Sparse Autoencoders Reveal Temporal Difference Learning in Large Language Models. ICLR 2025. paper

  • Demircan, C., Saanum, T., Pettini, L., Binz, M., Baczkowski, B. M., Doeller, C., Garvert, M. M., Schulz, E. (2024). Evaluating alignment between humans and neural network representations in image-based learning tasks. NeurIPS 2024. paper, code ,data

  • Demircan, C., Pettini, L., Saanum, T., Binz, M., Baczkowski, B. M., Doeller, C., Garvert, M. M., Schulz, E. (2022). Decision-making with naturalistic options. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 44, No. 44). paper, code & data

  • Şentürk, Y. D., Ünver, N., Demircan, C., Egner, T., & Günseli, E. (2023). The reactivation of task rules triggers the reactivation of task-relevant items. Cortex. preprint, doi

* Equal contribution

Research Experience

Research Assistant – Computational Principles of Intelligence
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics 2021 — 2023

  • Investigating representational basis of how humans learn in naturalistic tasks using online experiments and computational modelling
  • Supervised by Dr. Eric Schulz

Lab Rotation Student – Mental Health Mapping
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen 2022 — 2023

  • Investigated how brain structures of Social Anxiety Disorder patients differ from population norms using normative modelling
  • Supervised by Dr. Thomas Wolfers

Lab Rotation Student – Vision and Cognition Group
Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen 2022

  • Investigated how real and implied motion are processed in the human brain using fMRI
  • Supervised by Prof. Dr. Andreas Bartels & Dr. Pablo Grassi

Teaching Experience

Software Carpentry – Version Control with Git
University of Twente 2022

  • Taught a one day workshop to PhD students on how to use Git