Mattias Nilsson

I am trying to understand how human gaze behavior and eye movements reflect brain function in health and disease, and across the lifespan from childhood to old age. A central goal is to develop models and applications that both advance our theoretical understanding of the relationship between eye movements and brain function, and that contribute to the early detection of neurological diseases and functional impairments. My work primarily involves eye movement recordings (eye tracking), but I am interested in all types of physiological data that can be related to human sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processes. An important theme concerns children's and adolescents’ reading development and how eye movements during reading can reflect language-based reading difficulties, commonly referred to as dyslexia. More recently, I have started to investigate eye movement changes that arise as a result of changes in the nervous system and neurodegeneration, for example in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Can subtle changes in eye movements and gaze behavior serve as early markers of these conditions? To address these questions, we develop predictive models using machine learning methods and artificial intelligence. These techniques provide new opportunities to understand the complex interaction between eye, brain, and vision, and to translate this knowledge into practical tools and applications that promote better health for all.

Awards and Distinctions

• 2022 – Award from The Swedish Dyslexia Association and the Marianne Bernadotte scholarship fund for "Important contributions to reading  research".
• 2019 – IVA-award for "Research with prominent potential for trade and industry in the field of digitization". Awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (Kungl. Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien - IVA).
• 2016 – EiNAR award (Excellence in Neuroscience Annual Reward). Awarded by the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet.

• 2018 – Present: Course coordinator and teacher in Statistics and Scientific Methods, Optometry Programme, Karolinska Institutet
• 2016 – 2017: Teacher in Statistics and Scientific Methods, Optometry Programme, Karolinska Institutet
• 2007– 2012: Teacher in computational linguistics at the Language Technology Programme, Uppsala University