Meet The Team

Sebastian Zahler

Sebastian Zahler, PhD, is a neuroscientist with expertise in sensorimotor control and the autonomic nervous system. He earned his doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, where he studied how the brain organizes movement. Before that, he spent two years as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health studying how the brain regulates autonomic function. His work has been published in several peer-reviewed, high-impact journals.

In 2021, Sebastian was introduced to Contact Improvisation, a dance form that sparked a deep commitment to somatic research. He has since dedicated himself to full-time study of somatic movement practices. Alongside his work with Science of Somatics, he co-organizes a space for somatic research in Northern Thailand with his partner, Julie (felt-space.org).

 

 

Tim Cacciatore

Tim Cacciatore, PhD, studies the neuroscience of postural tone and its relationship with movement coordination. He became interested in postural control because of the lack of plausible scientific explanations for how the Alexander Technique affected posture and helped his own back pain. His research has aimed to use somatic methods as a tool to reveal properties of the motor system. He has held research positions at University College London, Oregon Health Sciences University, and the University of California, San Diego. 

Dr Cacciatore later trained as an Alexander Technique teacher with Shoshana Kaminitz in London. His two decades of research and numerous peer-reviewed publications about how the Alexander Technique affects postural tone and movement make him a leading expert on mechanisms underlying somatic practices.

Mari Hodges

Mari Hodges, MScMed (Pain Management), TPS, M.AmSAT, is passionate about helping people navigate pain and get back to living life fully. Chronic neck and back pain led her to Alexander Technique and inspired her curiosity about pain science. Mari has a private practice as an Alexander Technique teacher, pain educator and pain coach and runs the volunteer PainSavvy Walk & Talk.

Mari completed her Alexander Technique training at the Escuela de Técnica Alexander Buenos Aires in 2014. She holds a Therapeutic Pain Specialist certificate from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Medicine in Pain Management from the University of Sydney. She is also certified as an Art of Running instructor. In her free time you can find Mari reading up on pain science, cross-country skiing and dancing tango.

Our selected Publications

Cacciatore, T., Anderson, D.I., Cohen, R.G. Central mechanisms of muscle tone regulation: implications for pain and performance. Frontiers in Neuroscience 18 (2024).

Hodges, M., Cacciatore, T. Modern Pain Science and Alexander Technique: How Might Alexander Technique Reduce Pain? Kinesiology Review 13 (4), 548-557 (2024).

Zahler, S. H., Taylor, D.E., et al. Hindbrain modules differentially transform activity of single collicular neurons to coordinate movements. Cell 1–17 (2023).

Cacciatore, T. W., Johnson, P. M. & Cohen, R. G. Potential Mechanisms of the Alexander Technique: Toward a Comprehensive Neurophysiological Model. Kinesiology Review 9, 199–213 (2020).

Piñol, R. A., Zahler, S. H., et al. Brs3 neurons in the mouse dorsomedial hypothalamus regulate body temperature, energy expenditure, and heart rate, but not food intake. Nature Neuroscience 21 (11), 1530–1540 (2018).

Cacciatore, T. W., Mian, O. S., Peters, A. & Day, B. L. Neuromechanical interference of posture on movement: evidence from Alexander technique teachers rising from a chair. Journal of Neurophysiology 112, 719–729 (2014).

Cacciatore, T. W., Gurfinkel, V. S., Horak, F. B. & Day, B. L. Prolonged weight-shift and altered spinal coordination during sit-to-stand in practitioners of the Alexander Technique. Gait & Posture 34, 496–501 (2011).

Gurfinkel, V., Cacciatore, T. W., Cordo, P., Horak, F., Nutt, J., & Skoss, R. Postural Muscle Tone in the Body Axis of Healthy Humans. Journal of Neurophysiology 96, 2678–2687 (2006).