“I was looking to connect neuroscience with engineering.”

As we settle into a round, grey, soundproof cubicle at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Mélina Lasfargues immediately shows her trademark resolve. “When I was around 7 or 8, I already knew I wanted to be a doctor,” she says when asked to introduce herself. This singleminded determination was what led her to be the first student to finish the demanding Neuro X Master program—a master degree earned at the crossroads of three EPFL Schools: Engineering, Life Sciences and Computer and Communication Sciences.

Born and raised in the south of France, Mélina knew from a young age that she wanted to explore the mysteries of the human brain. Her early fascination for neuroscience, even if she was too young to articulate it as such, was sparked by her interactions with her ailing great-grandmother. “While she was never diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, old age had taken its cognitive toll. I helped her with everyday tasks and pretended to be her doctor,” recounts Mélina.

The Neuro X master program was the perfect fit.

Once at the university, Mélina followed her path and completed her bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences Engineering at EPFL’s School of Life Sciences, where she was drawn to the interdisciplinary approach combining biology with engineering. Her interest for the brain guided her towards the Neuro X program for her master’s studies. “I was looking to connect neuroscience with engineering, and the Neuro X master program was the perfect fit,” she explains. “I feel lucky that the program was launched when I was finishing my bachelor’s degree in 2022.”

Her master’s thesis explores thermal illusions and was conducted at Silvestro Micera’s Translational Neural Engineering Lab (TNE) under the supervision of Solaiman Shokur. She created these illusions using devices known as thermodes, which apply specific temperatures to the skin to generate sensations of heat and cold.

“I’m proud to have conducted thermal illusion experiments that have never been studied before,” she says. “Not only did I analyze the data that lead to some interesting results, but I also had to code a lot.”

A feeling of temperature moving
By placing thermodes on participants' forearms and manipulating their temperatures, her experiments produced the illusion of a sensation of temperature midway between the two thermodes. “Depending on the intensity of the thermodes, we found that we could change the position of the illusory sensation, even make it ‘move’ across the forearm,” Mélina explains.

And this is why I loved working in the lab, because all of their research aims to be translational.

A burgeoning field of research, thermal illusions are currently being studied in participants without any disability. But for amputees, the focus of the TNE lab, a better understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms could lead to a significant improvement in prosthetic development.

“And this is why I loved working in the lab, because all of their research aims to be translational—to be applied one day to a patient in a real-world setting,” says Mélina.

Getting out of the research bubble
In addition to her dedication to neurotechnologies, the aspiring neuro-engineer finds balance through her love for swimming. Throughout her academic journey, she has worked as a swimming instructor, offering lessons to small children and helping parents introduce their newborns to water. “I just love being in water, and I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember.” she says. She also finds it a refreshing break from her intense academic schedule. “EPFL, it’s great, but it’s nice to get out of the bubble and interact with different people every weekend,” she notes.

Her next steps? “I love working in the lab and I’m interested in pursuing a PhD, but it depends on the opportunities that come up,” she says. Whether she continues in academia or ventures into industry, her goal remains clear: to contribute meaningfully to neuroscience and help bridge the gap between research and real-world applications.