July 2023 - Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Announcing SNUFA 2023 workshop: 7-8 November
by Friedemann Zenke 11 Jul '23

11 Jul '23

We are happy to announce SNUFA 2023: 7-8 November (online)--your friendly focus meeting on spiking neural networks. Abstract submission is now open! See https://snufa.net/2023 for details. Invited speakers this year: Rodolphe Sepulchre, Melika Payvand, Gabriel Ocker, Jeff Krichmar. As usual, the workshop brings together computational neuroscience, machine learning, and neuromorphic engineering researchers to present their work and discuss how to translate these findings into a better understanding of neural circuits. Topics include artificial and biologically plausible learning algorithms and the dissection of trained spiking circuits toward understanding neural processing. We aim at a manageable number of talks with ample time for discussions. SNUFA 2023 is brought to you by Charlotte Frenkel, Emre Neftci, Dan Goodman, and Friedemann Zenke -- https://snufa.net/2023

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PhD position - Comp. Neuro. - Navigation using episodic memory
by Vinita Samarasinghe 10 Jul '23

10 Jul '23

*Doctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience* Are you curious about how the human brain stores memories? Have you wondered how we manage to navigate through space? Our dynamic research group uses diverse computational modeling approaches,includingbiological neural networks, cognitive modeling, and machine learning/artificial intelligence, to study learning and memory. Currently, we are actively seeking a *talented graduate student* to join our team, someone who will expand our computationalmodeling framework Cobel-RL (https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2023.1134405)and use it to study how episodic memory might be used to learn to navigate.* * *Your Profile: * Candidates must * have a mastersdegreein neuroscience, physics, computer science, mathematics, psychology,or a related field * be able to work independently * have experience in mathematical modeling * have excellent programming skills, * have excellent communication skills in English, and * work well in a team. We are committed to providing a supportive work environment for female researchers and those with young children. Our university provides mentoring and coaching opportunities specifically aimed at women in research. We have a strong research network with female role models and will provide opportunities to meet with them. Wherever possible, events will be scheduled during regular childcare hours. Special childcare will be arranged if events have to be scheduled outside of regular hours, in case of sickness and during school or daycare closures. Where childcare is not an option parents will be offered a home office solution. The Ruhr University Bochum is home to a vibrant research community in neuroscienceand cognitive science. The Institute for Neural Computation combines different areas of expertise ranging from experimental and theoretical neuroscienceto machine learning androbotics. This position is *65% at TV-L E13*, starts as soon as possible and is funded for *3 years*. Please send your application, including CV, transcripts and research statement electronically, as a single PDF file, to samarasinghe(a)ini.rub.de. In addition, at least two academic references mustbe sent independently to the above email address. The deadline for applications is 20.08.2023. The Ruhr University Bochum is committed to equal opportunity. We strongly encourage applications from qualified women and persons with disabilities. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions. -- Vinita Samarasinghe M.Sc., M.A. Science Manager Arbeitsgruppe Computational Neuroscience Institut für Neuroinformatik Ruhr-Universität Bochum, NB 3/73 Postfachnummer 110 Universitätstr. 150 44801 Bochum Tel: +49 (0) 234 32 27996 Email:samarasinghe@ini.rub.de

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Tutorial CNS 2023, T11: Simulation of spiking and BOLD signals using the ANNarchy simulator
by Julien Vitay 10 Jul '23

10 Jul '23

Dear colleagues, we would like to draw your attention to the hands-on tutorial entitled "T11: Simulation of spiking and BOLD signals using the ANNarchy simulator” of the upcoming CNS conference held in Leipzig ( https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2023). The tutorial will take place on Saturday, July 15th in the afternoon session. The ANNarchy neuro-simulator targets the efficient simulation of rate-coded and spiking models on shared memory systems (multi-core, GPU). This tutorial will first introduce the definition of spiking neural networks in ANNarchy through its equation-oriented interface. The tutorial can be done on your laptops using the provided Jupyter notebooks or remotely on colab. The second part will demonstrate how to record BOLD signals from a spiking simulation using various balloon models and optimize the underlying hyperparameters. Registration for the tutorials at CNS 2023 is required and can be done at: https://ocns.memberclicks.net/cns-2023-registration The tutorial description can be found here: https://cns2023.sched.com/event/1NDRl Useful links: - Source code: https://github.com/ANNarchy/ANNarchy - Documentation: https://annarchy.github.io/ - White paper of the ANNarchy neural simulator: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2015.00019/full - BOLD monitoring in ANNarchy: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.790966/full Best regards Fred Hamker, Helge Ülo Dinkelbach, Julien Vitay -- Professur Künstliche Intelligenz Fakultät für Informatik Technische Universität Chemnitz Straße der Nationen 62 09111 Chemnitz Germany

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T12: Vast parameter space exploration using L2L on EBRAINS
by Michiel van der Vlag 10 Jul '23

10 Jul '23

Did you ever wonder how to best go about exploring the parameters space of a dynamic brain model or how you can optimize a task learning network. Or maybe you just want to know how to work with the research infrastructure from the Human Brain Project called EBRAINS and send jobs to a supercomputer from this cloud environment? We cordially invite you to join our tutorial to learn all about EBRAINS and a scalable HPC solution for learning to learn (L2L), discussing machine learning optimization techniques applied on brain simulations. Synopsis: https://cns2023.sched.com/event/1NCef/t12-vast-parameter-space-exploration-… Organizers: Alper Yegenoglu and Michiel van der Vlag. Hope to see you there! Kind regards, -- Michiel Alexander van der Vlag Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS) Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) SDL Neuroscience 52425 Jülich, Germany phone: +49-2461-61-8911

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Two postdoc positions in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience / Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience
by Martin Hebart 10 Jul '23

10 Jul '23

Dear all, The Computational Cognitive Neuroscience lab <https://hebartlab.com> of Martin Hebart is looking for two postdocs (initially for two years, with a possibility for an extension), who work in Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, Computer Science, or a related field. The positions are part of the LOEWE Start Professorship of Martin Hebart, as well as the ERC Starting Grant COREDIM "Uncovering the core dimensions of visual object representations". Our lab aims at uncovering fundamental principles of visual and semantic processing in the human brain, with a focus on the visual system. To this end, we have access to a wide range of exciting large-scale datasets, including (1) human neuroimaging, human and macaque neurophysiological, and behavioral datasets as part of the THINGS initiative ( https://things-initiative.org) as well as (2) recent densely-sampled ultrahigh field functional and structural MRI data to reveal the relationship between the fine-grained cortical anatomy, the human structural connectome, and brain function in occipitotemporal cortex. The exact implementation of the projects is flexible but should be tied to the overall goals of the projects. The project of postdoc position 1 should be focused on using and ideally integrating the diverse datasets acquired as part of the THINGS initiative, including the possibility of developing or testing computational models of vision and language. The project of postdoc position 2 should be focused either on the functional neuroanatomy of the human visual system or on the relationship between visual and semantic features in occipitotemporal cortex. The positions are located at University of Giessen, with close collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. Our lab provides a supportive environment that strives towards helping postdocs advance in their career. We provide expertise and state-of-the-art resources for the successful completion of the postdoc positions. University of Giessen offers a vibrant community of vision scientists, and there are close collaborations with Marburg (15min distance by train) and Frankfurt (40min distance). The proximity to Frankfurt provides ideal mobility for national and international candidates. For details, please read the job announcements. Please apply using the online form: Postdoc position 1 <https://www.uni-giessen.de/karriere/stellenangebote/ausschreibungen/wissens…> Postdoc position 2 <https://www.uni-giessen.de/karriere/stellenangebote/ausschreibungen/wissens…> For more information, please reach out to Martin Hebart ( martin.hebart(a)psychiat.med.uni-giessen.de). Best wishes, Martin

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Endowed Professorship "Machine Learning for Clinical Neuroscience"
by Philipp Berens 10 Jul '23

10 Jul '23

Dear all, we are currently advertising an Endowed professorship "Machine Learning for Clinical Neuroscience" (https://www.academics.com/jobs/w3-stiftungsprofessur-fuer-maschinelles-lern…) at the University of Tübingen. We are looking for candidates that perform innovative research on the application and development of new machine learning methods in clinical neuroscience, in particular for early detection and prediction of disease progression. This can include work on topics such as explainability, safety and robustness of machine learning methods in clinical settings. It would be great if candidates had worked with multimodal data with clinical relevance (e. g. MRI, fMRI, EEG, electrophysiology, omics data, data from sensors of wearables) as well as cohort data (UKBiobank, NAKO, etc.). Tübingen offers a first-rate environment at the intersection of neuroscience and AI/ML research with the Excellence Cluster for Machine Learning in Science, the Tübingen AI Center, the Max Planck Institutes for Intelligent Systems and Biological Cybernetics, the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research and many other institutions! We are looking forward to your application by July 20th. Best Philipp -- Professor of Data Science, Director Hertie Institute for AI in Brain Health Medical Faculty of the University of Tübingen www.berenslab.org

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Workshop on Neuro-Inspired Topology and Machine Learning at CNS 2023
by Neymotin, Samuel (NKI) 08 Jul '23

08 Jul '23

We invite the computational neuroscience community to join us at our workshop on Neuro-inspired topology and machine learning at CNS 2023, on July 19th, 2023 in Leipzig, Germany. Workshop Description: Mathematics, machine learning, and computational neuroscience have long been intertwined. Mathematical tools such as graph theory, information theory and dynamical systems have been used to model neural activity. Similarly, modern machine learning approaches have been inspired by neuroscience and have been used to better understand brain connectivity and dynamics. These three research facets play off of each other to advance each field individually and concurrently. The goal of this workshop is to bring computational neuroscientists, mathematicians, and computer scientists together to communicate research around their expertise. Additionally, it will serve as a venue to discuss avenues of future research impacting computational neuroscience and mathematics while advancing machine learning and artificial intelligence methods. Speakers include: Max Bazhenov, Vasileios Christopoulos, Claudia Clopath, Salvador Dura-Burnal, Daniela Egas-Santander, Celia Hacker, Erik Hermansen, Bill Lytton, Robert McDougal, Aitor Morales-Gregorio, Manish Saggar, Brittany Story, and Nick Tolley Full details including schedule are available here: https://sites.google.com/view/nitmlcns2023/home The organizers, Brittany Story, Vasileios Maroulas, Sam Neymotin ________________________________ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail is meant only for the use of the intended recipient. It may contain confidential information which is legally privileged or otherwise protected by law. If you received this e-mail in error or from someone who was not authorized to send it to you, you are strictly prohibited from reviewing, using, disseminating, distributing or copying the e-mail. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Comp. Neurosci. postdoc - NY
by Neymotin, Samuel (NKI) 07 Jul '23

07 Jul '23

Postdoctoral scientist positions are available at the Nathan Kline Institute (NKI) for Psychiatric Research (https://www.nki.rfmh.org/) to work on computational neuroscience research funded by NIH and DoD grants. Applicants should have a PhD in computational neuroscience (or a related field), strong background in multiscale modeling using NEURON/NetPyNE, Python software development, neural/electrophysiology data analysis, machine learning, and writing/presenting research. Applicants should send the following information to the computational neuroscience lab PI (Sam Neymotin; samuel.neymotin(a)nki.rfmh.org): 1. Curriculum vitae (.pdf, required) 2. Cover letter describing your research interests, relevant experience, and career goals 3. At least one academic writing sample 4. Referrer's Contact Information/Recommendation Letter Applications will be considered and interviews offered (for qualified applicants) as they are received. ________________________________ IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail is meant only for the use of the intended recipient. It may contain confidential information which is legally privileged or otherwise protected by law. If you received this e-mail in error or from someone who was not authorized to send it to you, you are strictly prohibited from reviewing, using, disseminating, distributing or copying the e-mail. PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY OF THE ERROR BY RETURN E-MAIL AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE FROM YOUR SYSTEM. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Workshop on neuronal optimality and trade-offs at CNS*2023
by Jedlicka, Peter 07 Jul '23

07 Jul '23

Dear all, Join us at CNS*2023 in Leipzig on July 18th and 19th for the workshop W06: Optimality, evolutionary trade-offs, Pareto theory and degeneracy in neuronal modelling<https://www.treestoolbox.org/CNS2023_pareto_workshop/program.html>. Nervous systems, like any evolved structure, encounter unavoidable trade-offs between multiple tasks. They must fulfil their fundamental computational functions whilst consuming as little energy as possible and remaining robust to potential environmental changes. These tasks are often in direct opposition to one another, and a general quantification of the relative importance of individual optimisation targets is non-trivial. The problem is complicated by the degeneracy seen across neurons and circuits, where multiple different combinations of components can lead to similar functional behaviours. Pareto optimality might provide a useful framework to analyse neurobiological systems from biophysically detailed cells to large-scale network structures that combine high-dimensional parameter spaces with high-dimensional objective spaces. Pareto, or multi-objective, optimality can, for example, help to identify geometrically simple subspaces of neuronal models that cannot be improved upon for all relevant objectives. This workshop aims to discuss applications of Pareto optimality to the trade-offs encountered by diverse nervous systems. The talks and discussions will also address the trade-off between functional effectiveness and energetic efficiency and the concept of metabolically efficient information processing. Registration for the workshops at CNS 2023 is required and can be done at: https://ocns.memberclicks.net/cns-2023-registration Speakers include: Astrid Prinz, Anna Levina, Timothy O'Leary, Marcel Oberländer, Arnd Roth, Rishikesh Narayanan, Suhita Nadkarni, Albert Gidon, Zahid Padamsey, Wiktor Mlynarski, Dylan Festa Full details are available at: https://www.treestoolbox.org/CNS2023_pareto_workshop/index.html and https://cns2023.sched.com/event/1O0MO/w06-optimality-evolutionary-trade-off… Hope to see you there! Alex Bird, Philipp Norton, Peter Jedlicka, and Susanne Schreiber -- Prof. Dr. Peter Jedlicka Computer-Based Modelling in the field of 3R Animal Protection Faculty of Medicine Justus Liebig University Giessen Rudolf-Buchheim-Straße 6 35392 Gießen Phone: ++49 (0)641 9941387 Fax: ++49 (0) 641 9941359 Email: Peter.Jedlicka(a)informatik.med.uni-giessen.de 3R Centre of Justus Liebig University Giessen Interdisciplinary Centre for 3Rs in Animal Research (ICAR3R) Frankfurter Straße 104 35392 Giessen (Germany) www.ICAR.de<https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb11/institute/computerbasiertes-modellin…>

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2 Fully funded PhD positions in testing of AI-based systems at Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland)
by Nargiz Humbatova 07 Jul '23

07 Jul '23

Dear All, The TAU (Testing AUtomated) research group at the Software Institute <https://www.si.usi.ch/> of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) <https://www.usi.ch/> investigates novel testing techniques to improve the robustness and security of systems based on deep learning. We offer two PhD positions in the following topics: 1. Search-based test case generation for vulnerability exposure in deep learning based systems and creation of a robustness assessment benchmark. The position is funded by the Horizon <https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/…> European project Sec4AI4Sec <https://search.usi.ch/en/projects/3018/cybersecurity-for-ai-augmented-syste…> which aims to support security testing of AI-based systems; 2. Automated partition of a complex input space into a topographical map consisting of regions that maximise the likelihood of fault exposure when test cases are sampled from unexplored or boundary map regions. This position is funded by the SNSF <https://snf.ch/en> project TopoScope <https://search.usi.ch/en/projects/3030/toposcope-a-topographical-approach-t…>, aiming at redefining the testing activities as the exploration of a topographical map of the input space. We are scouting excellent applicants for these two PhD positions. Successful candidates will work at the Software Institute of Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano, Switzerland, under the supervision of Prof. Paolo Tonella <http://inf.usi.ch/faculty/tonella> and the co-supervision of Dr. Nargiz Humbatova <http://usi.to/pio> and Dr. Jinhan Kim. At USI, PhD salaries are highly competitive (around 50 kCHF), in accordance with the Swiss standards. Ideally, the selected candidates are expected to start on October 1st, 2023, but later starts can also be considered. The duration of the PhD contract will be 4 years. How to apply? Applications for PhD positions should include a curriculum vitae and the exam transcripts. PhD candidates should hold an MSc degree in Computer Science by Fall 2023. Applications can be sent to paolo.tonella(a)usi.com. The call will remain open until all positions are filled, but *priority will be given to earlier applications*. Best Regards, Nargiz

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