Dr. Silke Coemans

Silke Coemans is a postdoctoral researcher, specializing in neurolinguistics. After completing her Master's degree in Neuroscience, she developed a keen interest in the intersection of language, cognition, and brain function, leading her to pursue a PhD. In 2024, she defended her dissertation titled "Unlocking the Bilingual Brain: Cerebellar tDCS and Language in Progressive Aphasia", which explored the role of the cerebellum in language processing in bilingual individuals with progressive aphasia. Her research interests include language and dementia, bilingualism, phonological processing, and memory. In 2024, she was awarded a FWO grant for her postdoctoral research project, which focuses on phonological processing in patients with logopenic Primary Progressive Aphasia (a variant of Alzheimer's disease). In this work, Silke aims to identify specific phonological deficits in these patients, investigate the potential role of the cerebellum in phonological processing, and examine differences in brain activity between patients and healthy controls using EEG. Through her research, Silke seeks to deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying language and cognition, particularly in the context of neurodegenerative diseases.