Alexandra Rieger
Composing the Sensory Renaissance of Future Health
About| MIT Doctoral Student and Harvard-MGH Fellow, Alexandra Rieger ignites the intersection of science, music, technology, and the senses to reshape healing, medicine, and the human experience. Trained in neuroscience and mechatronic engineering, and grounded in design and a rich folk-music legacy, she orchestrates research, creation, and collaboration with visionary precision.
Her scholarly formation spans Stanford and Oxford (undergraduate), Dartmouth (MS), and MIT (MS) before embarking on doctoral research at MIT and Harvard MGH. She has published 30+ peer-reviewed works, taught courses from theoretical physics to audiology and experience design, built 100+ projects and collaborations, and performed globally. As part of her dissertation, she is convening an aspirational board of leading creative and active “sensory practitioners” to shape more humane futures for healthcare, the arts, and wellbeing.
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Alumni Institutions
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Music and the Mind
Renée Fleming (Ed.)
Alexandra is a contributing author to Music and the Mind, where she co-authored the chapter “Composing the Future of Health” alongside Professor Tod Machover and Professor Kleinberger. The chapter explores novel approaches to wellbeing through music-technology, examining how dynamic, responsive musical systems can shape sensory experience, emotional regulation, and health outcomes. Drawing on neuroscience, engineering, and artistic practice, the work advances new models for integrating music as an active, adaptive force in healthcare.
Blue Cats & Chartreuse Kittens
Patricia Lynne Duffy
Alexandra is featured in the audiobook edition of Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens for her research at the intersection of cross-modal cognition, sensory perception, and neurodegenerative disease. Her work investigates the use of frequency entrainment, sensory monitoring, and synesthetic frameworks to better understand human perception and to inform early diagnostic approaches for Alzheimer’s disease. The contribution highlights how sensory integration can serve as a window into cognitive health and neurological change.
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