Alexis Cervan kills it in his PhD Defense!

On March 25, 2026, Alexis Cervan defended his PhD thesis carried out under the supervision of Jaime and Carles, presenting his work on “Neural dynamics of perceptual decision making across behavioral states.” The examination committee was composed of Alex Hyafil (CRM), Fanny Cazettes (Timone, Marseille), and Diksha Gupta (UCL). We want to thanks this fantastic jury for the work they took and to Fanny and Diksha because they were so nice to share their research in a talk the day after (see below)

The discussion that followed was particularly lively, with extensive questioning around the most challenging aspects of the project: the complexity of the experimental design, the interpretation of psychophysical kernels (“why so noisy?!”) and how different levels of behavioral engagement shape the observed neural dynamics. Alexis handled the exchange with remarkable clarity and confidence, addressing essentially all points raised by the committee, with only a few more open-ended questions remaining on “the top of his personal list”.

Overall, the defense showcased both the depth of the work and Alexis’s ability to navigate demanding scientific discussion, putting the bar very high in this closing of his PhD. Way to go Dr Cervan!