April 2021 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Up to 6 PhD fellowships in Cognitive Neuroscience at SISSA, Trieste, Italy, to start Oct, 2020
by Alessandro Treves 12 Oct '22

12 Oct '22

SISSA is an elite postgraduate research institution located in Trieste, Italy, and focused on Maths, Physics and Neuroscience. It operates in English: many among its students and faculty are not Italian. The Cognitive Neuroscience Department hosts 6 research labs that study the neuronal bases of time and magnitude processing, visual perception, motivation and intelligence, language and reading, tactile perception and learning, and neural computation. The Department is very inter–disciplinary; our approaches include behavioural, psychophysics, and neurophysiological experiments with humans and animals, as well as computational and mathematical models. Students with diverse backgrounds (physics, math, medicine, psychology, biology) are most welcome to apply. The Department has an exceptional track record with highly competitive funds (recent funding includes 4 ERC and 3 Human Frontiers grants) and publication in top journals (Nature, Science, PNAS, Current Biology). Recent placements after PhD include Harvard, MIT, Columbia and Princeton in the US; the NTNU, Manchester and Radboud in Europe; and Sydney University, Australia. Our alumni have been awarded 4 ERC grants, the 2015 Kandel Young Neuroscientist Prize and the 2017 ICTP Prize. More information about the Department is available at our website https://phdcns.sissa.it. The selection procedure is now open; to learn how to apply, please visit https://phdcns.sissa.it/admission-procedure. Please contact the PhD Coordinator (davide.crepaldi(a)sissa.it) and/or your prospective supervisor for more information and informal enquiries. -- Alessandro Treves SISSA, Cognitive Neuroscience, http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html if in, rm 241, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy: +39-040-3787623

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Postdoc in neural data analysis
by Mark Humphries 26 Jun '22

26 Jun '22

A 3 year postdoc post is available in the lab of Prof Mark Humphries, at the University of Nottingham (UK) In this project, our aim is to test the overarching hypothesis that movement transitions are encoded by the same neural population reconfiguring its joint activity, for both rhythmic and discrete movements. We will tackle this question using newly-available population recordings during rhythmic movement transitions in Aplysia and discrete arm movement transitions in monkeys, The Humphries’ group researches fundamental insights into how the joint activity of neurons encodes information about and actions in the world. For more see: https://www.humphries-lab.org Queries: mark.humphries(a)nottingham.ac.uk Deadline: 5th September Full details, and to apply: https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?id=27005&forced=2 [http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/org/images/socialmedia.png]<https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?id=27005&forced=2> Job Vacancy at the University of Nottingham: Research Associate/Fellow (Fixed term)<https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?id=27005&forced=2> Applications are invited for a postdoctoral research fellow to join the Humphries’ group on the MRC-funded project “Uncovering the neural basis of movement transitions”. The Humphries’ group researches fundamental... jobs.nottingham.ac.uk Professor Mark Humphries | MRC Senior non-Clinical Fellow | Chair in Computational Neuroscience Lab: humphries-lab.org<https://www.humphries-lab.org/> Twitter: @markdhumphries Public blog: https://medium.com/the-spike This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored where permitted by law.

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Explainable AI: Overcoming problems of Deep Learning problems with Adaptive Resonance
by Grossberg, Stephen 09 Apr '22

09 Apr '22

Dear Colleagues, There's currently a lot of interest in AI, notably Deep Learning, and in achieving autonomous adaptive intelligence. The following new article summarizes foundational problems of reliability and trustworthiness of Deep Learning, explains how Adaptive Resonance overcomes them, and outlines a blueprint for achieving autonomous adaptive intelligence: Grossberg, S. (2020). A path towards Explainable AI and autonomous adaptive intelligence: Deep Learning, Adaptive Resonance, and models of perception, emotion, and action. Frontiers in Neurobotics, June 25, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbot.2020.00036 Best, Steve Grossberg

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Postdoc at the University of Leicester to work on human single cell recordings
by Quian Quiroga, Rodrigo (Prof.) 23 Nov '21

23 Nov '21

The Centre for Systems Neuroscience at the University of Leicester, UK, offers a 3-years postdoc position to study single cell recordings in humans – performed in epileptic patients for curative surgery. The project will investigate concept cells (a.k.a. Jennifer Aniston neurons) – that means, neurons in the hippocampus and surrounding areas that selectively fire to specific concepts, like different pictures and the written or spoken name of a particular person (e.g. Quian Quiroga et al, Nature 2005; Quian Quiroga Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2012), which are involved in declarative memory functions. For more details see: www.le.ac.uk/csn The successful candidate will contribute to performing recordings with patients in collaborating hospitals and the analysis of the data to investigate the role of these neurons in memory. He/She should have very good quantitative skills (data processing, and programing e.g. in Matlab) and a strong background or interest in neuroscience. He/She should be able to work both independently and as part of a research team within the Centre for System Neuroscience at Leicester and with our external collaborators. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be made to Paula Warrington, Research Centre Manager, csn(a)le.ac.uk or 0116 252 3249. To apply, please use this link: https://jobs.le.ac.uk/vacancies/1393/research-associate.html The applications should include a curriculum vitae and a brief description of their scientific interests The closing date for the applications is 21st October 2019. Cheers, Rodrigo Rodrigo Quian Quiroga Centre for Systems Neuroscience University of Leicester www.le.ac.uk/csn

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Research placement positions at Secondmind Labs
by Hrvoje Stojic 01 May '21

01 May '21

Dear all We have just opened five research placement positions at [Secondmind Labs](https://www.secondmind.ai/labs/), based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The overall area for the placements is Gaussian process models and Bayesian optimisation. The placements are three months long and are typically targeted at PD candidates. More details, including some placement proposals, can be found [here](https://boards.greenhouse.io/secondmind/jobs/5205946002). Note that it is also possible for applicants to propose their own topics for the placement. Kind regards, Hrvoje ----------------------------- Hrvoje Stojic, PhD Web: [https://hstojic.re/](http://hstojic.re/)

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The Algonauts Project 2021 Challenge- How the Human Brain Makes Sense of a World in Motion
by Gemma Roig 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce a new challenge sponsored by The Algonauts Project <http://algonauts.csail.mit.edu/>: How the Human Brain Makes Sense of a World in Motion. We invite you to join us in a competition to develop the best computer model of how the human brain perceives videos of everyday events. Participants who come up with a model that most closely matches recorded brain data will be invited to present their work at a virtual workshop on Sept. 7, 2021 at this year’s Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN <https://ccneuro.org/2021/>). Submission deadline: Aug. 15, 2021. The Algonauts Project: http://algonauts.csail.mit.edu/ <http://algonauts.csail.mit.edu/> CCN Workshop: How the Human Brain Makes Sense of a World in Motion Sept. 7, 2021 Organizers will summarize the outcome and provide hands-on tutorials. Challenge winners will present the results of their work. We look forward to seeing you at the workshop in September, and we hope you will consider joining the challenge! Best wishes, The Algonauts Project Team Algonauts 2021 Project Team: Radoslaw Cichy, Freie Universität Berlin Aude Oliva, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gemma Roig, Goethe University Frankfurt Alex Andonian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kshitij Dwivedi, Goethe University Frankfurt Monika Graumann, Freie Universität Berlin Polina Iamshchinina, Freie Universität Berlin Kendrick Kay, University of Minnesota Benjamin Lahner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alex Lascelles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology N Ratan Murty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Excellence PhD opening on advanced analyses of monkey recordings in parieto-motor cortices (Aix-Marseille University)
by BATTAGLIA Demian 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

We are offering one excellence PhD fellowship (3 years) at Aix-Marseille University within the labs of Bjorg Kilavik (experimental electrophysiology; Timone Institute of Neuroscience - INT, Marseille) and Demian Battaglia (computational neuroscience; Institute of Systems Neuroscience - INS, Marseille & University of Strasbourg Institute of Advanced Studies - USIAS). The project will involve the analysis with advanced computational methods (network and activity pattern analyses, machine learning, information theory...) of laminar-specific recordings in parietal and motor cortices of non-human primates. The aim will be to investigate the role of different cortical layers and of their dynamic interactions, mediating the processing and integration of information from bottom-up and top-down sources, in the encoding of motor plans and behaviors. This project corresponds to "ESR1" (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/in2pb/phdprojects/esr1/) within the EU high-level training-by-research consortium "In2PrimateBrains" (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/in2pb/) federating world-leading european groups working in non-human primate neuroscience research. Becoming PhD within the network will offer unique training and interaction opportunities with other In2PrimateBrains members, in addition to the specific research conducted in the host lab. Depending on the profile of the candidate, the PhD project will revolve on the computational analysis side of existing data or may also include the possibility to learn how to acquire new recordings, in a mixed experimental-theoretical project. The fellowship comes with a competitive salary (beyond national averages) within the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions scheme and with grant money for participating to training, conferences, buying equipment... In addition to the training providing within the "In2PrimateBrains" international program, the candidate will also profit ot the local "Neuroschool" graduate program (https://neuro-marseille.org/) offering high-level training (in English language) in integrative neuroscience, research management and soft skills, within one of the largest neuroscience communities in France. Aix-Marseille University is one of few excellence-labelled universities (IDEX) in France, making of interdisciplinary research one of its main axes. Marseille is a vibrant city with wonderful natural surroundings and high-speed train and flight connections to many large cities in Europe. The interesting candidate will file an application through an online form (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/in2pb/phdprojects/) selecting Project "ESR1 - Layer-specific dynamics of parieto-motor networks during visually-guided arm reaching behaviour" as first choice (other projects described on the website can be selected as second and third choice). DEADLINE is 15th May 2021 The top-ranked candidates are then going to be interviewed orally and finally selected through a competitive, equal-opportunities procedure. Applying candidates are strongly invited to make a parallel inquiry by writing to us directly, including a CV, the name of two references and any other information that you may wish to share. Demian Battaglia - demian.battaglia(a)univ-amu.fr Bjorg Kilavik - bjorg.kilavik(a)univ-amu.fr

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Two Postdoctoral Scholar Positions at Washington University in St. Louis
by Shuo Wang 30 Apr '21

30 Apr '21

Our lab will be moving to Washington University in St. Louis in July 2021. We are looking for two highly motivated postdoctoral scholars to work on NSF and DoD funded projects. One postdoctoral scholar will use human single-neuron recordings to study the neural circuits underlying social attention, and the other postdoctoral scholar will use multimodal neuroimaging techniques to study social behavior and brain networks in people with autism. The research will be conducted in a highly collaborative environment using state-of-the-art equipment, facilities, and analytical methods. The postdoctoral scholars will collaborate with an established team of investigators within and outside WashU and have ample opportunity to learn new techniques and methods. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in systems, cognitive, or computational neuroscience, or in physics, electrical engineering, or computer science, with relevant research expertise in neuroscience. Applicants must also have strong programming (Matlab or similar) skills. Individuals with previous human intracranial EEG expertise and/or macaque single-neuron recordings that wish to expand into human single-unit recordings are encouraged to apply. Our lab combines multimodal and advanced measurement techniques with sophisticated computational approaches to understand the neural mechanisms and neural computations underlying social attention, face processing, emotion, memory, and decision making. Overarching questions involve how the brain figures out what is important in the environment, how socially relevant stimuli pop out and attract attention, how faces are processed and represented in general, and how memory is modulated by attention. We are particularly interested in the neural computations underlying these cognitive processes: multimodal approaches allow us to investigate these questions from the microscopic single-neuron and neural circuit level using our state-of-the-art human single-neuron recordings as well as macroscopic level using fMRI, EEG, and intracranial EEG (sEEG and ECoG). These multimodal experimental approaches are powered by sophisticated computational approaches that can deal with complex and large datasets. Shuo Wang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor West Virginia University https://wangshuo45.wixsite.com/shuowang

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New Master’s programme Applied Data Science in Göttingen, Germany
by Ecker, Alexander 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

*New Master’s program Applied Data Science in Göttingen, Germany* https://uni-goettingen.de/msc/datascience In the upcoming winter term, we are launching the new international Master’s programme Applied Data Science at the University of Göttingen. The study programme is characterised by its interdisciplinary nature. Students holding a Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science or mathematics are welcome, as well as graduates from other fields. We want to equip students with both in-depth knowledge of the key mathematical, statistical and computer science methods for Data Science as well as to make sure they understand how to use these methods in an application domain. Currently, the following application domains can be chosen: Computational Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, Medical Data Science, and Digital Humanities. The Göttingen Campus features an amazing variety of data-intensive research from natural and life sciences to social science and humanities. It includes top-notch research institutions like five Max Planck Institutes, the German Primate Center and the German Aerospace Center. Göttingen a university town located in the centre of Germany and Europe, in a region known for its green hills, lovely small towns with half-timbered houses and the Harz Mountains. Well-connected through motorways and high-speed trains, it is a great place to discover Germany and Europe. For further information see https://uni-goettingen.de/msc/datascience or the flyer: https://owncloud.gwdg.de/index.php/s/gBeb11Io6mw9XiR

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WWNeurise series on naturalistic behavior & applications/recommendations
by William Podlaski 29 Apr '21

29 Apr '21

WorldWideNeuRise will host several online talks throughout May-June on the topic of naturalistic behavior from the following speakers: Wednesday, 5 May, 5pm CET Asaf Gal (Kronauer Lab, The Rockefeller University, USA) Daniel Knebel (Ayali Lab, Tel Aviv University, Israel) Wednesday, 19 May, 5pm CET Constanze Lenschow (Lima Lab, Champalimaud Research, Portugal) Takashi Yamaguchi (Lin Lab, NYU, USA) Wednesday, 2 June, 5pm CET Ayelet Sarel (Ulanovsky Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel) Tu Anh Nguyen Thi (el Jundi Lab, University of Wuerzburg, Germany) Wednesday, 16 June, 5pm CET Yael Bitterman (Luethi Lab, Friedrich Miescher Institute, Switzerland) Adam Calhoun (Murthy Lab, Princeton University, USA) For more information, please visit our website (https://neurise.github.io/) find us on WorldWideNeuro (https://www.world-wide.org/Neuro/WWNeuRise/) or follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/WWNeuRise) We are actively searching for PhD students and postdocs to give talks in our upcoming seminar blocks. On our website (https://neurise.github.io/) you can find an application form to directly apply, as well as a recommendation form, where you can suggest individuals from your lab, institute, or otherwise who you think might have an interesting story to tell! We are looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming seminars! The organising committee, Ellen Boven (Apps lab, University of Bristol) Christina Buetfering (Häusser lab, University College London) Lucie Descamps (Kentros lab, Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Gily Ginosar (Ulanovsky lab, Weizmann Institute) Loreen Hertäg (Clopath lab, Imperial College London) Joram Keijser (Sprekeler lab, TU Berlin) Bill Podlaski (Machens lab, Champalimaud Research)

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