Miriam Spering
Research Area
Education
MSc Psychology, Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Germany, 2002
PhD Psychology & Neuroscience, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany, 2006
Postdoc Psychology & Neuroscience, New York University, New York, 2010
RCC (Registered Clinical Counsellor), BCACC, 2024
About
On January 1, 2025, Dr. Miriam Spering will join the Department of Psychology as Associate Professor.
Miriam Spering is an Associate Professor at UBC and a member of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, the Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Systems (ICICS), the Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health (DMCBH), and the Edwin S. H. Leong Center for Research in Healthy Aging (ELCHA).
Teaching
Research
Dr. Spering directs the UBC EyeLab, whose research focuses on how humans use visual information to control movements. The lab uses a suite of world-class equipment consisting of ultra-fast display technology, auditory stimulation, eye tracking, and motion capture to study vision, multisensory integration, eye and hand movements in healthy adults, athletes, and patients with sensorimotor deficits.
Publications
Selected recent publications (for a full list please see lab webpage):
Carrasco, M., Spering, M. (2024). Perception-action dissociations as a window into consciousness. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 36, 1557-1566.
Kreyenmeier, P., Kumbhani, R., Movshon, J.A., Spering, M. (2024). Shared mechanisms drive ocular following and motion perception. eNeuro, 11(6), https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0204-24.2024.
Kreyenmeier, P., Spering, M. (2024). A unifying framework for studying discrete and continuous human movements. Journal of Neurophysiology, 131(6): 1112-1114, https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00186.2024.
Kreyenmeier, P., Bhuiyan, I., Gian, M., Chow, H.M., Spering, M. (2024). Smooth pursuit inhibition reveals audiovisual enhancement of fast movement control. Journal of Vision, 24(4):3, 1-17.
Antoniades, C.A., Spering, M. (2024). Eye movements in Parkinson’s disease: from neurophysiological mechanisms to diagnostic tools. Trends in Neurosciences, 47(1): 71-83.
Awards
Selected awards since joining UBC:
- Early Career Scholar Award, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, UBC (2012)
- Co-Vice Chair and Co-Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Eye Movements (2017 – 2019)
- J.A.F. Stevenson Visiting Professorship of the Canadian Physiological Society (2018)
- NSERC Accelerator Award (2018)
- UBC Killam Research Fellowship (2021)
- Humboldt Award for Experienced Researchers, Germany (2021)
- Mentorship Award, Women in Cognitive Science, Canada (2022)