Dr. Kirst studies how brains perform computations with a focus on how neuronal circuits achieve their flexible function and coordinate processing among different sub-networks.

He works in the interface between mathematics, physics, computer science, and neurobiology to build theoretical, mechanistic as well as conceptual understanding of flexible brain function. He collaborates closely with experimentalists on a broader range of model systems, data sets, and experimental paradigms to investigate the structure, dynamics, modulation, and function of single neurons, neuronal circuits, large-scale neuronal networks, and whole brains.