Dr Hannes Saal

School of Psychology

Senior Lecturer

Photo of Hannes P Saal
Profile picture of Photo of Hannes P Saal
h.saal@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 6504

Full contact details

Dr Hannes Saal
School of Psychology
F05
Pam Liversidge Building
Mappin Street
91直播
S1 3JD
Profile

I am a Cognitive Scientist and run the . I studied Cognitive Science at the University of Osnabr眉ck, Germany and then obtained my MSc and PhD in Neuroinformatics at the University of Edinburgh. I was then a postdoctoral scholar in Sliman Bensmaia鈥檚 lab at the University of Chicago, before joining the University of 91直播 to set up my own lab. For most of my career I have worked on the sense of touch, using methods from computational neuroscience, robotics, and machine learning.

Qualifications
  • BSc Cognitive Science (Osnabrueck, Germany)
  • MSc Neuroinformatics (Edinburgh)
  • PhD Neuroinformatics (Edinburgh)
Research interests

I work on mathematical models of sensory coding and perception; my main research area is the sense of touch, where I use human psychophysics, computational modelling, and applied machine learning in order to elucidate the fundamental computations allowing us to make sense of our environment through touch.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Journal articles

  • Cleland LD, Rowland HM, Mazz脿 C & Saal HP (2023) . Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 20(203). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Katic N, Siqueira RK, Cleland L, Strzalkowski N, Bent L, Raspopovic S & Saal H (2023) . iScience, 26(1). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Casal MA, Panzeri S & Saal HP (2022) . PLoS Computational Biology, 18(12). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Edmondson LR, Jim茅nez Rodr铆guez A & Saal HP (2022) . eLife, 11. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Wesselink DB, Sanders Z-B, Edmondson LR, Dempsey-Jones H, Kieliba P, Kikkert S, Themistocleous AC, Emir U, Diedrichsen J, Saal HP & Makin TR (2022) . Science Advances, 8(16). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G & Saal HP (2020) . Journal of Neurophysiology. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Boundy-Singer ZM, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2017) . Journal of Neurophysiology, jn.00161.2017-jn.00161.2017. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Delhaye BP, Rayhaun BC & Bensmaia SJ (2017) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 114(28), E5693-E5702. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Graczyk EL, Schiefer MA, Saal HP, Delhaye BP, Bensmaia SJ & Tyler DJ (2016) . Science Translational Medicine, 8(362). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Wang X & Bensmaia SJ (2016) . Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 40, 142-149. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Harvey MA & Bensmaia SJ (2015) . eLife, 4. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2015) . Neuropsychologia, 79, 344-353. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2014) . Trends in Neurosciences, 37(12), 689-697. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Weber AI, Saal HP, Lieber JD, Cheng J-W, Manfredi LR, Dammann JF & Bensmaia SJ (2013) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(42), 17107-17112. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Harvey MA, Saal HP, Dammann JF & Bensmaia SJ () . PLoS Biology, 11(5), e1001558-e1001558. RIS download Bibtex download

Conference proceedings papers

  • Edmondson L, Jimenez-Rodriguez A & Saal H (2019) Nonlinear scaling of resource allocation in sensory bottlenecks. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 19) (pp 7543-7552). Vancouver, Canada, 8 December 2019 - 14 December 2019. RIS download Bibtex download

All publications

Journal articles

  • Cleland LD, Rowland HM, Mazz脿 C & Saal HP (2023) . Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 20(203). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Han C, English G, Saal HP, Indiveri G, Gilra A, von der Behrens W & Vasilaki E (2023) . PLoS Computational Biology, 19(5). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Sanders Z, Dempsey鈥怞ones H, Wesselink DB, Edmondson LR, Puckett AM, Saal HP & Makin TR (2023) . Human Brain Mapping. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Katic N, Siqueira RK, Cleland L, Strzalkowski N, Bent L, Raspopovic S & Saal H (2023) . iScience, 26(1). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Casal MA, Panzeri S & Saal HP (2022) . PLoS Computational Biology, 18(12). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Edmondson LR, Jim茅nez Rodr铆guez A & Saal HP (2022) . eLife, 11. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Edmondson LR & Saal HP (2022) . Neuron, 110(11), 1743-1745. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Wesselink DB, Sanders Z-B, Edmondson LR, Dempsey-Jones H, Kieliba P, Kikkert S, Themistocleous AC, Emir U, Diedrichsen J, Saal HP & Makin TR (2022) . Science Advances, 8(16). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G & Saal HP (2020) . Journal of Neurophysiology. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Suresh AK, Solorzano LE, Weber AI & Bensmaia SJ (2017) . Neuroscience. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Boundy-Singer ZM, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2017) . Journal of Neurophysiology, jn.00161.2017-jn.00161.2017. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Delhaye BP, Rayhaun BC & Bensmaia SJ (2017) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 114(28), E5693-E5702. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Delhaye BP, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2016) . Journal of Physiology-Paris. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Graczyk EL, Schiefer MA, Saal HP, Delhaye BP, Bensmaia SJ & Tyler DJ (2016) . Science Translational Medicine, 8(362). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Suresh AK, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2016) . J Neurophysiol, 116(6), 2647-2655. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Wang X & Bensmaia SJ (2016) . Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 40, 142-149. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Harvey MA & Bensmaia SJ (2015) . eLife, 4. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2015) . Neuropsychologia, 79, 344-353. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Callier T, Saal HP, Davis-Berg EC & Bensmaia SJ (2015) . Journal of Neurophysiology, 113(7), 3013-3020. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2014) . Trends in Neurosciences, 37(12), 689-697. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Manfredi LR, Saal HP, Brown KJ, Zielinski MC, Dammann JF, Polashock VS & Bensmaia SJ (2014) . Journal of Neurophysiology, 111(9), 1792-1802. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Weber AI, Saal HP, Lieber JD, Cheng J-W, Manfredi LR, Dammann JF & Bensmaia SJ (2013) . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(42), 17107-17112. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Mackevicius EL, Best MD, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2012) . Journal of Neuroscience, 32(44), 15309-15317. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Vijayakumar S & Johansson RS (2009) . Journal of Neuroscience, 29(25), 8022-8031. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Cleland LD, Rupani M, Blaise CR, Ellmers TJ & Saal HP () . Journal of Neurophysiology. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Harvey MA, Saal HP, Dammann JF & Bensmaia SJ () . PLoS Biology, 11(5), e1001558-e1001558. RIS download Bibtex download

Chapters

  • Saal H (2022) , Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience (pp. 3182-3185). RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal H (2015) , Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience (pp. 2756-2759). Springer New York RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal H (2013) , Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience (pp. 1-4). RIS download Bibtex download

Conference proceedings papers

  • Corniani G, Lee Z, Carre MJ, Lewis R, Delhaye BP & Saal HP (2022) Imaging Sub-surface Skin Strain Patterns During Fingertip Sliding. HAPTICS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, APPLICATIONS, EUROHAPTICS 2022, Vol. 13235 (pp 358-361) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Edmondson L, Jimenez-Rodriguez A & Saal H (2019) Nonlinear scaling of resource allocation in sensory bottlenecks. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 19) (pp 7543-7552). Vancouver, Canada, 8 December 2019 - 14 December 2019. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Davis-Berg EC, Sachar C, Callier T, Saal HP & Bensmaia SJ (2014) Dynamic adaptation of exploratory movements for texture perception. INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, Vol. 54 (pp E49-E49) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Heess NMO & Vijayakumar S (2011) (pp 81-96) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Jo-Anne Ting & Vijayakumar S (2010) . 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 18 October 2010 - 22 October 2010. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Ting JA & Vijayakumar S (2010) Active sequential learning with tactile feedback. Journal of Machine Learning Research, Vol. 9 (pp 677-684) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Strohmayr MW, Saal HP, Potdar AH & van der Smagt P (2010) . 2010 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 18 October 2010 - 22 October 2010. RIS download Bibtex download

Posters

  • Edmondson L, Saal H & Jimenez-Rodriguez A NeurIPS 2019 poster: Nonlinear scaling of resource allocation in sensory bottlenecks. RIS download Bibtex download

Datasets

  • Saal H & Corniani G . RIS download Bibtex download

Preprints

  • Rupani M, Cleland LD & Saal HP (2024) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Cleland LD, Rupani M, Blaise C, Ellmers TJ & Saal H (2024) , Center for Open Science. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Lee ZS, Carr茅 MJ, Lewis R, Delhaye BP & Saal HP (2024) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Lee ZS, Carr茅 MJ, Lewis R, Delhaye BP & Saal HP (2024) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Tummala N, Reardon G, Dandu B, Shao Y, Saal HP & Visell Y (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Birznieks I & Johansson RS (2023) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Birznieks I & Johansson RS (2023) , eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Lee ZS, Carre MJ, Lewis R, Delhaye BP & Saal HP (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Saal HP, Birznieks I & Johansson RS (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Cleland LD, Rowland HM, Mazz脿 C & Saal HP (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Han C, English G, Saal HP, Indiveri G, Gilra A, von der Behrens W & Vasilaki E () . RIS download Bibtex download
  • Edmondson LR, Rodr铆guez AJ & Saal HP () . RIS download Bibtex download
  • Wesselink DB, Sanders Z-B, Edmondson LR, Dempsey-Jones H, Kieliba P, Kikkert S, Themistocleous AC, Emir U, Diedrichsen J, Saal HP & Makin TR () . RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G & Saal HP () . RIS download Bibtex download
  • Corniani G, Casal MA, Panzeri S & Saal HP () , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. RIS download Bibtex download
Research group

Neuroscience and Cognition

Grants
  • Innovate UK (2023-24): PathStance - Transforming a simple, prescribed NHS wearable, into a sensor-rich, at-home rehabilitation device. Smart Grant. With Matt Carre and Claire Brockett (Mechanical Engineering).
  • Leverhulme Trust (2022-2025): The computational origins of the cortical homunculus. Research project grant. Principal Investigator.
  • EU Horizon 2020 (2019-2023): NeuTouch - Understanding neural coding of touch as enabling technology for prosthethics and robotics. Innovative Training Network. With Tony Prescott (Computer Science) and EU-wide consortium.
Teaching activities

I am the course director for our MSc programmes in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, as well as Cognitive Neuroscience and Human Neuroimaging.

I currently teach PSY6308 - Computational Neuroscience 2 and PSY6309 - Mathematical Modelling and Research Skills.

Professional activities and memberships

I am a member of:

91直播 Robotics

Insigneo Institute for in-silico Medicine

Neuroscience Institute

PhD Opportunities

I am happy to receive applications for PhD study in my area of research.

We advertise PhD opportunities (Funded or Self-Funded) on 

For further information, please see the department PhD Opportunities page.