| Adam Steel, CV
Appointments
January 2025 Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2019-current Post-doctoral Fellow, Dartmouth College
Advised by Dr. Caroline Robertson
Education
2014-2019 D. Phil in Biomedical Sciences, University of Oxford
Advised by: Chris I. Baker, NIH
Charlotte J. Stagg, University of Oxford
2012-2014 Post-bacc Fellow, National Institutes of Health
Advised by: Eric Wasserman, NINDS
2008-2012 BA, Honors in Neuroscience; English composition, Vassar College
Fellowships/Grants/Awards
2024 Post-doctoral Fellow Award, Cognitive Neuroscience Society
2023-2024 Neukom CompX Grant ($25,000), Neukom Institute for Computational Science
2021-2024 Fellow, Neukom Institute for Computational Science ($205,000), Dartmouth College
2020 VSS Travel Award (fulfilled remotely), Vision Science Society
2017 Innovation Award, International Biomedical Research Alliance
2017 Graduate Research Award, Lincoln College (Oxford)
2014-2019 NIH-Oxford/Cambridge Scholar, National Institutes of Health
2012-2014 NIH Post-baccalaureate IRTA Fellowship, National Institutes of Health
Teaching
2020-2023 Lecturer, PBS 81.11: “Real-world scene perception”, Dartmouth
2019 Assistant lecturer (Robertson), PBS 81: “Real-world scene perception”, Dartmouth
2016 Tutor, FSL short course: “Neuroimaging methods and analysis”, Oxford
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications (* indicates equal contribution)
Adam Steel*, Edward H. Silson*, Brenda D. Garcia, Caroline E. Robertson (2024). A retinotopic code structures perception and memory interactions. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01512-3
Adam Steel, Brenda D. Garcia, Kala Goyal, Anna Mynick, Caroline E. Robertson (2023). Scene perception and visuospatial memory converge at the anterior edge of visually responsive cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience. 43(31): 5723-5737 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2043-22.2023
Anna Mynick, Adam Steel (2023). Dissociating Hippocampal and Cortical Contributions to Predictive Processing. The Journal of Neuroscience. 43(2): 184-186 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1840-22.2022
Adam Steel, Brenda D. Garcia, Edward H. Silson, Caroline E. Robertson (2022). Evaluating the efficacy of multi-echo ICA denoising on model-based fMRI. NeuroImage. 264: 119723 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119723
Adam Steel, Madeleine M. Billings, Edward H. Silson, Caroline E. Robertson (2021). A network linking scene perception and spatial memory systems in posterior cerebral cortex. Nature Communications. 12:2632. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22848-z
Adam Steel, Caroline Robertson, Jeff Taube (2020). Current promises and limitations of combined virtual reality and functional magnetic resonance imaging research in humans: A commentary on Huffman and Ekstrom (2019). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01635
Adam Steel, Mark Mikkelsen, Richard A. E. Edden, Caroline E. Robertson (2020). Regional Balance between glutamate+glutamine and GABA+ in the resting human brain. NeuroImage. 220: 117112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117112.
Adam Steel, Chris I. Baker, Charlotte J. Stagg (2020). Intention to learn modulates the impact of reward and punishment on sequence learning. Scientific Reports. 10:8906. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65853-w
Edward H. Silson*, Adam Steel*, Alexis Kidder, Adrian W. Gilmore, Chris I. Baker (2019). Distinct subdivisions of human medial parietal cortex are recruited differentially for memory recall of people and places. eLife. 8:e47391. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.47391
Marcie King, Iris Groen, Adam Steel, Dwight Kravitz, Chris I. Baker (2019). Similarity judgments and cortical visual responses reflect different properties of object and scene categories in naturalistic images. NeuroImage. 197:368-382. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.079
Tim P. Lawrence, Adam Steel, Martynn Ezra, Mhairi Speirs, Pieter Pretorius, Gwenaelle Douaud, Stamatios Sotiropoulos, Thomas Cadoux-Hudson, Uzay E. Emir, Natalie L. Voets (2019). MRS and DTI evidence of progressive posterior cingulate cortex and corpus callosum injury in the hyper acute phase after TBI. Brain Injury. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2019.1584332.
Adam Steel, Edward H. Silson, Charlotte J. Stagg, Chris I. Baker. Differential impact of reward and punishment on functional connectivity after skill learning (2019). Neuroimage. 189:95-105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.009
Adam Steel*, Cibu Thomas*, Aaron Trefler, Gang Chen, Chris I. Baker. Finding the baby in the bath water - evidence for task-specific changes in resting state functional connectivity evoked by training (2019). Neuroimage. 118:524-538. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.12.038
Edward H. Silson*, Adrian W. Gilmore*, Sarah E. Kalinowski, Adam Steel, Alexis Kidder, Alex Martin, and Chris I. Baker (2018). A posterior-anterior distinction between scene perception and scene construction in human medial parietal cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience, 1219-18; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1219-18.2018.
Adam Steel, Mark Chiew, Peter Jezzard, Natalie Voets, M. Albert Thomas, Charlotte Stagg, and Uzay E. Emir (2018). New metabolite cycled density-weighted concentric rings k-space trajectory (DW-CRT) enables 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging at 3 Tesla. Scientific Reports. 8:7792. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26096-y
Adam Steel, Cibu Thomas, Chris I. Baker (2018). Effect of time of day on reward circuitry. A discussion of Byrne et al. 2017. arXiv. arXiv:1802.00753 [q-bio.NC]. http://arxiv.org/abs/1802.00753
Mark Chiew, Wenwen Jiang, Brian Burns, Peder Larson, Adam Steel, Peter Jezzard, M. Albert Thomas, and Uzay E. Emir (2017). Density-Weighted Concentric Rings K-Space Trajectory for 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging at 7 Tesla. NMR in Biomedicine. 2018:31:e3838. DOI: 10.1002/nbm.38388
Leonora Wilkinson, Phillip J. Koshy, Adam Steel, Devin Bageac, Selene Schintu, Eric M. Wassermann (2017). Motor cortex inhibition by TMS impairs cognitive non-motor procedural learning when immediate feedback is present. Cortex,11/2017; 97. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.001.
Adam Steel, Edward H. Silson, Charlotte J. Stagg, Chris I. Baker (2016). The impact of reward and punishment on skill learning depends on task demands. Scientific Reports. 6:36056. DOI: 10.1038/srep36056.
Edward H. Silson, Adam D. Steel, & Chris I. Baker (2016). Scene-Selectivity and Retinotopy in Medial Parietal Cortex. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 10(412). DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00412
Adam Steel, Sunbin Song, Devin Bageac, Kristine M. Knutson, Ziad S. Saad, Stephen J. Gotts, Eric M. Wassermann, Leonora Wilkinson (2015). Shifts in connectivity during procedural learning after motor cortex stimulation: A combined transcranial magnetic stimulation/functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Cortex. 74. DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2015.10.004
Sunbin Song, Lúcia Garrido, Zoltan Nagy, Siawoosh Mohammadi, Adam Steel, Jon Driver, Ray J Dolan, Bradley Duchaine, Nicholas Furl (2015). Local but not long-range microstructural differences of the ventral temporal cortex in developmental prosopagnosia. Neuropsychologia. 78. DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.010
Leonora Wilkinson, Adam Steel, Eric Mooshagian, Trelawny Zimmermann, Aysha Keisler, Jeffrey D Lewis, Eric M Wassermann (2015). Online feedback enhances early consolidation of motor sequence learning and reverses recall deficit from transcranial stimulation of motor cortex. Cortex. 7. DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.012
Book Chapters
Adam Steel, Edward H. Silson (2022). Visual category-driven differences in memory. Ed: W. A. Bainbridge, T. F. Brady. Visual memory. Oxford, England: Routledge
Mentorship
2022-2023 Women in Science Program Supervisor (Nandhini Parthasarathy), Dartmouth
2022 Neukom Scholar supervisor (Kenna van Steyn), Dartmouth
2020-2021 Thesis advisor (Brenda Garcia; Best thesis award), Dartmouth
2019 Postdoctoral mentor (Madeleine Billings), Dartmouth
2017-2018 FHS (Thesis) Supervisor (Georgina James, St. Edmunds Hall), Oxford
2014 Summer internship Mentor (Caitlyn van Wicklin), National Institutes of Health
2013 Summer internship Mentor (Caitlyn van Wicklin), National Institutes of Health
2012 Summer internship Mentor (Angad Uppal), National Institutes of Health
Educational training
2020 Syllabus Design Workshop, Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning (DCAL)
2020 Future Faculty Teaching Workshop (Student-centered approaches), DCAL
Editorial positions
2020-current Reviewing editor, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Journal Reviewer
Nature Communications, Current Biology, eLife, NeuroImage, Cerebral Cortex, Imaging Neuroscience, PLOS Computational Biology, Human Brain Mapping, Journal of Neurophysiology, Scientific Reports, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex Communications, PLOS One, Brain Stimulation, BMC Neuroscience, Experimental Brain Research, Experimental Brain and Behavior, Brain and Behavioral Research, Neuromodulation, Neurocase
Leadership/Outreach
2020-current Co-Founder, Innovators in Cognitive Neuroscience, https://innovatorsincogneuro.github.io
2019-current Organizer, Dartmouth Brain Imaging Center FMRI Brown Bag Seminar Series
2020-current Volunteer, Skype-A-Scientist
2020 Moderator, Neuromatch 2020 2.0
2016-2017 MCR (Graduate student association) Secretary, Lincoln College (Oxford)
2009-2010 Student Fellow, Vassar College
Media interviews/appearances
Feb. 2022 “New map of meaning in the brain changes ideas about memory.” Quanta magazine. https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-map-of-meaning-in-the-brain-changes-ideas-about-memory-20220208/
Dec. 2022 “How the brain distinguishes perceptions from memories.” Quanta magazine. https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-distinguishes-memories-from-perceptions-20221214/
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Presentation Sessions
Invited talks
January 2024 NYU (Biyu He)
May 2023 BIU Vision Science Series (Sharon Gilaie-Dotan)
September 2022 University College London (Hugo Spiers)
November 2021 University of Chicago (Wilma Bainbridge)
January 2021 UC Davis (Charan Ranganath)
March 2020 MIT (Nancy Kanwisher)
April 2018 Dartmouth College (Caroline E. Robertson)
April 2018 University of Pennsylvania (Danielle Bassett)
April 2018 Columbia University (Daphna Shohamy)
March 2018 Johns Hopkins University (Marina Bedny)
June 2017 University of Pittsburgh (Vishnu Murty)
February 2017 University of East Anglia (George Malcolm)
December 2016 University of Birmingham (Joseph Galea)
Conference presentations
Steel, A. (May 2023). A retinotopic reference frame structures perception-memory interactions. Vision Science Society Meeting. Talk. St. Petes Beach, Florida.
Steel, A. (May 2020). The place memory network: an interface between spatial memory and scene perception. Neuromatch 2020 2.0. Short talk. Video presentation: https://youtu.be/nsXHrDDrJkw?t=15230
Steel, A., Billings, M. M., Robertson, C. E. (May 2020). The place memory network: A network of brain areas supporting perception and memory of familiar places. V-VSS.
Steel, A., Robertson, C. E. (November 2019). Balance of excitation and inhibition in the human brain. International Symposium on GABA and Advanced MRS. Symposium presentation. Salt Lake City, Utah.
Steel, A., Wilkinson, L., Mooshagian, E., Zimmermann, T., Keisler, A., Lewis, J.D., Wassermann, E.M (November 2014). Reduction of primary motor cortex cTBS excitability predicts benefit of feedback for retention of sequence learning. Nanosymposium presentation. Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, DC.
Poster sessions
Steel, A.,. Silson, E. H., Garcia, B. D., Robertson, C. E. (November 2023). Inverted visual coding at the cortical apex in neurotypical and autistic people. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. Poster. Washington, DC
Steel, A.,. Silson, E. H., Garcia, B. D., Robertson, C. E. (August 2023). A retinotopic reference frame structures perception-memory interactions. Cognitive Computational Neuroscience. Poster. Oxford, United Kingdom
Steel, A,. Silson, E. H., Garcia, B. D., Robertson, C. E. (March 2023). A retinotopic reference frame structures perceptual-mnemonic interactions. Poster presentation. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Steel, A,. Silson, E. H., Garcia, B. D., Robertson, C. E. (November 2022). A retinotopic reference frame structures perceptual-mnemonic interactions. Poster presentation. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA.
Steel, A., Garcia, B. D., Mynick, A., Goyal K., Robertson, C. E. (April 2022). Representation of visuospatial context in posterior cerebral cortex. Poster presentation. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting. San Francisco, CA.
Steel, A., Billings, M. M., Robertson, C. E. (May 2020). Distinct neural substrates for scene perception and imagery. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting. Virtual poster. Video presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-v7w5vzntQ
Steel, A., Silson, E., Kidder, A., Gilmore, A. W., Baker, C. I. (May 2019). Recall of people and places reveals regions showing distinct effects of category and familiarity in high-level cortex. Poster presentation. Visual Science Society Annual Meeting.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Baker, C. I. (November 2018). Distinct subdivisions in medial parietal cortex revealed by functional connectivity with category-selective ventral temporal cortex. Poster presentation. Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. San Diego, CA.
Steel A., Chiew, M., Jezzard, P., Voets, N., Thomas, M. A., Stagg, C. J. , Emir, U. E.. (June 2018). New metabolite cycled density-weighted concentric rings k-space trajectory (DW-CRT) enables 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging at 3 Tesla in a clinically feasible timeframe. Poster presentation. ISMRM. Paris, France.
Steel, A., James, G., Chiew, M., Thomas, M. A., Emir, U. E., Stagg, C. J. (June 2018). Regional GABA levels assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging predict motor behaviors. Poster presentation. Organization for Human Brain Mapping. Singapore, Singapore.
Steel, A., Silson, E. H., Baker, C. I. (May 2018). Functional connectivity to ventral temporal cortex reveals category selectivity in medial parietal areas. Poster presentation. Visual Sciences Society Meeting. St. Pete’s Beach, FL.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (April 2018). Intentionality modulates the impact of reward and punishment on performance during sequence learning. Poster presentation. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting. Boston, MA.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (June 2017). Opposing effects of reward and punishment on motor skill learning. Poster presentation. Organization for Human Brain Mapping meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (May 2017). Reward and punishment differentially recruit cerebellum and hippocampus to support skill stabilization. Poster presentation. Conference of the Neural Control of Movement. Dublin, Ireland.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (April 2017). Opposing effects of reward and punishment on motor skill learning. Poster presentation. British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience, Birmingham, UK.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (April 2017). Reward and punishment differentially recruit cerebellum and hippocampus to support skill stabilization. Poster presentation. Thomas Willis Day, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Steel, A., Thomas, C., Gang, C., Trefler, A., Baker, C. I. (March 2017). Measuring the impact of short term training on brain networks using resting-state connectivity. Poster presentation. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Meeting in San Francisco, California.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (November 2016). Impact of reward and punishment on the neural correlates of sequence learning. Poster presentation. Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (June 2016). Impact of reward and punishment on motor skill learning. Poster presentation. Organization for Human Brain Mapping meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (June 2016). Impact of reward and punishment on motor skill learning. Poster presentation. NIH OxCam colloquium in Cambridge, UK.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (April 2016). Dissociating the impact of reward and punishment on performance and retention of skilled behaviors. Poster presentation. Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting in New York, NY.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (November 2015). Impact of feedback valence during skill learning on dynamic and static functional connectivity. Poster presentation. Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago, IL.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (June 2015). Feedback improves sequence performance and decreases global connectivity after learning. Poster presentation. NIH OxCam colloquium in Cambridge, UK.
Steel, A., Silson, E., Stagg, C. J., Baker, C. I. (June 2015). Feedback improves sequence performance and decreases global connectivity after learning. Poster presentation. Organization for Human Brain Mapping meeting in Honolulu, HI.
Bell, A., Steel, A. (May 2012). Cabin Fever: Effects of group housing on stress induced frustration. Mid-Hudson Valley Life Sciences Conference, New Paltz, NY.
Extra curricular activities and interests
Marathon and ultra marathon running 2013-present
Lincoln College Boat Club, University of Oxford 2015-May 2018
Vassar College Rugby 2008-2012