Welcome!

I am a PhD candidate in the Imaging Science program at the McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis. My research focuses on developing computational and optical neuroimaging methods, primarily high-density diffuse optical tomography (HD-DOT), to map human brain activity in naturalistic settings.

I build voxelwise encoding/decoding models, semantic representations, and reproducible analysis pipelines in Python and MATLAB, and I lead experimental design and data acquisition for multi-session HD-DOT and wearable HD-DOT studies. I am currently exploring postdoctoral opportunities in computational neuroimaging and neurotechnology.

Selected Highlights

• Developing model-based visual semantic encoding and decoding with HD-DOT for naturalistic movies.
• Recipient of an NIH T32 graduate fellowship in Imaging Science.
• Recipient of a Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience (#SfN2025).
• Founder and lead organizer of the annual Summer Math Crash Course for incoming STEM graduate students at WashU.
• Presented research at numerous national and international conferences, including SfN and other neuroimaging meetings.
• Active in mentoring, leadership, and community-building roles within my department and the broader neuroimaging community.

Background

My path into Imaging Science has been interdisciplinary, spanning philosophy and gender studies, neuroscience, and engineering. This trajectory shapes how I think about brain imaging: combining careful experimental design, robust computational methods, and a strong interest in real-world applications of neuroimaging.

Contact

If you’d like to connect or learn more about my work, feel free to reach out at f.wiete@wustl.edu or visit my LinkedIn profile.