Kat Agres is a cognitive scientist, public speaker, educator, and cellist. In addition to spearheading music cognition research and teaching on the subject at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, she is also a Research Scientist and founder of the Music Cognition group at the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Kat’s research in music perception and cognition spans a number of topics and methodologies, including auditory statistical learning, musical memory, comparisons of auditory and visual perception, computational creativity, music Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), and using computational models to simulate music cognition. Kat also has a strong interest in music & medicine, the therapeutic effects of music for special populations, and developing music technology (music MedTech) for healthcare and well-being.

Kat received her PhD in experimental Psychology, with a graduate minor in Cognitive Science, from Cornell University. She completed her postdoctoral research at Queen Mary University of London in the School of Electronic Engineering & Computer Science, where she was supported by a grant from the European Commission to investigate music perception and computational creativity. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Psychology and Cello Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. Kat has received numerous grants to support her research, including Fellowships from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the USA.