I am Zurna Ahmed — a Medical Engineer and Neuroscientist working at the intersection of systems neuroscience, cognitive science, and machine learning.

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I investigate how internal drives interact with external environmental structure to shape information-seeking behavior and decision-making. I take a comparative and translational approach, studying both non-human primates, children and adults to uncover principles of exploration and curiosity that generalize across species.

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​To study these questions, I combine:

• Wireless single-neuron recordings in freely moving rhesus macaques

• Mobile EEG in children and adults

• Markerless motion capture and computer-vision–based behavioral quantification

• Theory-driven behavioral paradigms that isolate information-theoretic and social drivers of curiosity

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This multimodal framework allows me to examine how sensorimotor state, whole-body movement, and information seeking jointly shape cognition — both within and across species.

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A central component of my work is methods innovation. I design and refine tools, hardware, experimental setups, and computational approaches that push the boundaries of what we can measure in naturalistic, freely moving contexts in humans and non-human primates alike.

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If you’re curious to learn more, please e feel free to reach out. Looking forward to hearing from you!