Dear sir/madam,

I am writing to express my strong interest the advertised position of Research Associate post-doc at
the BCBL. I believe my profile is an excellent fit for the position.

First, briefly introducing my background, I have years of experience with both EEG (from my doctoral
studies at the University of Zürich) and fMRI (from my postdoctoral studies at Weill Cornell Medicine
in New York City). I have also worked with MEG. I have been continuously active in the field of
neuroscience since working on my master’s thesis on the Madrid Cajal Blue Brain project at
Complutense University of Madrid, doctoral studies in computational neuroscience applied to the
field of human sleep neuronal dynamics at the University of Zürich, and a subsequent 2 year post-
doc focused largely on conducting quantitative analyses on functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) on WCM in NYC, recently concluded 2 months ago.

Second, both an independent and highly motivated researcher and a reliable team member, I have a
track record of pursuing research projects and publishing my findings in peer-reviewed journals, as
demonstrated in here ResearchGate

Third, I have exceptional methodological and statistical skills. I have a strong theoretical and
mathematical/statistical background, as my master’s studies were in the field of biomedical physics,
and prior to that, my bachelor’s degree was in physics (both at Complutense University of Madrid).
My educational background gives me a useful skillset as a neuroscientist. I believe that physics
teaches a systematic way of thinking which trains the mind for abstract reasoning, which I am able to
apply fruitfully to neuroscientific questions. In addition, I have experience using and programming
with Python, Bash, MATLAB, FSL, eLORETA and other packages.

Finally, I have a solid knowledge of cognitive/executive functions from my post-doc experience at

Cornell. In particular, I read many papers regarding the relationship between multilingualism and
improved executive functioning, some of which I presented in WCM radiology department’s scientific
journal club (devoted to paper discussion, where fMRI was specifically used). I also performed the
Coursera course on the Bilingual brain on my own.

As a result, I would be highly interested in performing research around the relationship between
bilingualism and executive functioning. For instance, I studied cognitive reserve for some months on
my previous postdoc (and how it slows down brain aging), and I think one niche of great interest
could be how bilingualism may be protective against stroke or neurodegeneration, with cognitive
reserved gathered through bilingualism acting as a buffer against more serious symptomatology.
Although I don’t have previous experience working with brain-damaged populations (only healthy
old people, although some of them had mild cognitive impairments), I am willing to introduce myself
for working with this population if necessary. Another area which I would be interested in deepening
our understanding is how being multilingual delays neurodegenerative symptoms (as much as 4
years), given that this result is widely known at the behavioural level, yet, a biological network-level
explanation of the neural underpinnings responsible for this neuronal protection is still lacking.

Thank you for considering my application for this post-doc at the BCBL.

Sincerely,
Antonio Fernández Guerrero

Referees:

Peter Achermann: achermann@pharma.uzh.ch

Isabel Gonzalo: igonzalo@fis.ucm.es

Ray Razlighi: qrr4001@med.cornell.edu