Romain received his PhD in Medicine and Health Sciences from Gent University, Belgium. During his doctoral studies, he focused on the use of neuromodulation techniques to treat major depressive disorders. More specifically, he developed and tested a new stimulation protocol (accelerated iTBS) in treatment-resistant depressed patients.

Romain also investigated the role of the reward system and anhedonia in the response to stimulation in the healthy and depressed state, at the behavioral and neuroimaging level (fMRI). Thanks to many collaborations and to his background in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Romain acquired a translational knowledge of rTMS neuromechanisms of action in the human brain and in animal models. More recently, at the university of Pennsylvania, Romain used advanced interleaved TMS/fMRI setups to examine innovative TMS targeting methods taking into account individual variability. Ultimately, his goal was to better understand the factors involved in rTMS clinical response to optimize treatment protocols in depressive and anxiety disorders.