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Two fully funded PhD positions in Computational Neuroscience at Georgia State University

by Yaroslav Molkov

> > Two fully funded doctoral student positions in computational neuroscience > for the duration of up to four years with very competitive compensation are > available in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Georgia State > University starting in fall 2020. The successful candidates will work > with Dr. Yaroslav Molkov and his collaborators on neural control of > breathing and locomotion. For more details, visit > https://math.gsu.edu/ymolkov/. > > The University: http://www.gsu.edu > Georgia State University is the Southeast's leading urban research > institution. It is on the list of the top 100 public universities for > doctoral degrees awarded. More than 250 fields of study are offered through > some 55 accredited degree programs at the bachelor's, master’s, specialist > and doctoral levels. Our student body is the best qualified and most > diverse in our history. More than 40,000 students are seeking degrees at > Georgia State, and more than 28,000 of them are on campus each semester. > Students come to our campus from every county in Georgia, every state in > the nation and 160 countries. The campus is located in the heart of > downtown Atlanta. > > The Department: http://mathstat.gsu.edu > Currently, the department has twenty seven tenured or tenure-track faculty > members, fourteen lecturers and academic professionals, and about eighty > graduate students. The Department’s faculty members are very active in > research and publication. They regularly publish in top-ranked journals, > more than 1/3 of the research faculty members are supported by various > federally funded grants, and several members have been serving on editorial > boards of journals. They have been directing PhD dissertations and MS > theses within the department, joint with other departments of the College > of Arts and Sciences, and in conjunction with other universities. > > Please apply at http://cas.gsu.edu/graduate-studies/admissions/ > > For additional information, please contact Dr. Molkov, Email: ymolkov > @gsu.edu <fenescu(a)gsu.edu>. > > ================================= > Yaroslav Molkov, PhD > Associate Professor > Department of Mathematics & Statistics/Neuroscience Institute > Georgia State University > 25 Park Place, Atlanta, GA 30303, Room 1415 > Phone: (404) 413-6422 > Email: ymolkov(a)gsu.edu >

Feb. 25, 2020

13ᵗʰ Advanced Scientific Programming in Python in Ghent, Belgium, 31 August—5 September, 2020

by Jakob Jordan

13ᵗʰ Advanced Scientific Programming in Python ============================================== a Summer School by the ASPP faculty and the Ghent University https://aspp.school Scientists spend more and more time writing, maintaining, and debugging software. While techniques for doing this efficiently have evolved, only few scientists have been trained to use them. As a result, instead of doing their research, they spend far too much time writing deficient code and reinventing the wheel. In this course we will present a selection of advanced programming techniques and best practices which are standard in the industry, but especially tailored to the needs of a programming scientist. Lectures are devised to be interactive and to give the students enough time to acquire direct hands-on experience with the materials. Students will work in pairs throughout the school and will team up to practice the newly learned skills in a real programming project — an entertaining computer game. We use the Python programming language for the entire course. Python works as a simple programming language for beginners, but more importantly, it also works great in scientific simulations and data analysis. We show how clean language design, ease of extensibility, and the great wealth of open source libraries for scientific computing and data visualization are driving Python to become a standard tool for the programming scientist. This school is targeted at Master or PhD students and Post-docs from all areas of science. Competence in Python or in another language such as Java, C/C++, MATLAB, or R is absolutely required. Basic knowledge of Python and of a version control system such as git, subversion, mercurial, or bazaar is assumed. Participants without any prior experience with Python and/or git should work through the proposed introductory material before the course. We are striving hard to get a pool of students which is international and gender-balanced. Date & Location =============== 31 August–5 September, 2020. Ghent, Belgium. Application =========== You can apply online: https://aspp.school/wiki/applications Application deadline: 23:59 UTC, Sunday 24 May, 2020 There will be no deadline extension, so be sure to apply on time. Be sure to read the FAQ before applying: https://aspp.school/wiki/faq Participation is for free, i.e. no fee is charged! Accommodation in the student residence comes at no costs for participants. We are trying to arrange financial coverage for food expenses too, but this may not work. Participants however should take care of travel expenses by themselves. Program ======= • Version control with git and how to contribute to open source projects with GitHub • Best practices in data visualization • Testing and debugging scientific code • Advanced NumPy • Organizing, documenting, and distributing scientific code • Advanced scientific Python: context managers and generators • Writing parallel applications in Python • Profiling and speeding up scientific code with Cython and numba • Programming in teams Faculty ======= • Caterina Buizza, Personal Robotics Lab, Imperial College London UK • Lisa Schwetlick, Experimental and Biological Psychology, Universität Potsdam Germany • Nelle Varoquaux, CNRS, TIMC-IMAG, University Grenoble Alpes France • Nicolas P. Rougier, Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest, Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Bordeaux France • Pamela Hathway, Neural Reckoning, Imperial College London UK • Pietro Berkes, NAGRA Kudelski, Lausanne Switzerland • Rike-Benjamin Schuppner, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Germany • Tiziano Zito, Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Germany • Zbigniew Jędrzejewski-Szmek, Red Hat Inc., Warsaw Poland Organizers ========== Head of the organization for ASPP and responsible for the scientific program: • Tiziano Zito, Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Germany Local team: • Nina Turk, Photonics Research Group, INTEC, Ghent University – imec Belgium • Freya Acar, Office for Data and Information, City of Ghent Belgium • Joan Juvert Institutional organizers: • Wim Bogaerts, Photonics Research Group, INTEC, Ghent University –imec Belgium • Sven Degroeve, VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, Ghent Belgium • Jeroen Famaey, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Antwerp – iMinds Belgium • Bernard Manderick, Artificial Intelligence Lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Belgium Website: https://aspp.school Contact: info(a)aspp.school

Feb. 24, 2020

Vacancy as project assistant and lab manager

by Walter Senn

There is a position available as project assistant and joint lab manager (40-60%) at the Institute of Physiology, University of Bern, Switzerland. Job description You will coordinate the activities of the research groups Petrovici and Senn (roughly 10 people). The groups are working in the field of computational neuroscience and are developing learning algorithms for brain-inspired computing. Additionally, we are developing implementations of efficient computational paradigms in neuromorphic hardware. The groups are part of the Human Brain Project, and within this consortium need administrative and managerial support. You will support us in editing scientific publications and outreach material, organize meetings, ensure timely reporting on science and finances, and will help us in the communication on organizational and administrative issues with partners of the Human Brain Project. We offer insights into the Human Brain project, an exciting European Flagship for Research, mentoring and training, flexible working hours, a stimulating international research environment, salary according to the Swiss University standards, and a working place in the center of Bern, the beautiful capital of Switzerland and UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Qualification We are searching for highly motivated candidates with a degree in natural sciences, preferably neuroscience, (neuro)psychology, biomedical sciences, natural sciences, material science, mathematics or physics. A high level of written and spoken English is required. The ideal candidate will have managerial experience with an understanding of neuroscientific research. Application Please send your CV with an application letter and the name and contact of two references to Walter Senn (walter.senn(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:walter.senn@pyl.unibe.ch>) and Mihai Petrovici (mihai.petrovici(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:mihai.petrovici@pyl.unibe.ch>), with cc to Sabine Herzog (sabine.herzog(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:sabine.herzog@pyl.unibe.ch>). The first evaluation round will begin on March 23rd, 2020. The position will remain open until filled. With best regards Mihai Petrovici and Walter Senn

Feb. 24, 2020

Postdoc position at Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany

by Gjorgjieva, Julijana

We invite applications for a postdoctoral research position at the Computation in Neural Circuits group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany. We use mathematical and computational approaches to study how neural networks self-organize into functional units from a combination of mechanisms including synaptic, homeostatic and intrinsic plasticity. We investigate different levels from individual synaptic inputs on dendrites to large-scale networks of higher order cortex. We are especially interested in these aspects during cortical development before and shortly after birth when the brain is highly plastic, but general aspects of learning and memory, especially under naturalistic stimuli and behaviors are also of great interest. For our recent work, you can see our latest papers and preprints: http://cns.wzw.tum.de/index.php?id=pubs We collaborate with different experimental research groups in the US, UK, Netherlands and Germany and benefit from interactions with the strong neuroscience community in Frankfurt. Our applications range across animals from rodent to Drosophila and reptiles. Successful applicants can choose from a range of projects including data analysis, theoretical model development and analytical calculations, numerical simulations, and applications to rich datasets from collaborating labs. Applicants should have a strong quantitative background (in mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, or related fields) and good programming skills (Matlab, C/C++ or Python). The position can start as early as spring 2020. For more information or an informal questions, email me at gjorgjieva(a)brain.mpg.de<mailto:gjorgjieva@brain.mpg.de>. I will also be at Cosyne. To apply for this position, please email the following: 1. A curriculum vitae 2. A description of research interests, including a motivation for why you chose to apply to our group 3. A writing sample, either a manuscript, thesis or code 4. Contact details for 2-3 referees Lookin forward to your applications! ----------------------------------------- Julijana Gjorgjieva, PhD Research Group Leader Max Planck Institute for Brain Research Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, Frankfurt Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience Technical University of Munich, WZW Freising office: +49 69 850033 3600 http://cns.wzw.tum.de

Feb. 24, 2020

The Electrosensory Cocktail Party Problem - PhD position at Bernstein Center Berlin & Humboldt University (Physics Dep.) available

by Benjamin Lindner

*Weakly nonlinear interactions in an electrosensory cocktail party problem* Within the DFG priority program "Evolutionary Optimisation of Neuronal Processing", we are looking for a PhD candidate to work on the detection of weak signals in the presence of much stronger distractors, a joint project with the experimental lab of Jan Benda (University Tubingen, Germany). The 'cocktail party problem' is here regarded as a general theoretical problem and will be explored by the successful candidate by means of analytical calculations and numerical simulations of stochastic models of spiking neurons. Beyond pursuing purely theoretical approaches, the main goal of this project is to understand weakly nonlinear interactions specifically in the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish, an experimental model system of the Benda lab. In order to get an idea about similar approaches pursued in the past, have a look at some of the joint publications of the Benda lab and the Lindner group: Fisch et al. J. Neurosci. 32, 17332 (2012) Sharafi et al. J. Comp. Neurosci. 34 , 285 (2013) Grewe et al. PNAS 114 E1977 (2017) The successful candidate should have a degree in physics, mathematics or computational neuroscience (a background in neurobiology is desirable but not obligatory), programming skills (C++, Python, LaTeX, Linux), an excellent command of the English language, good communication skills, team spirit, and, last but not least, great enthusiasm for interdisciplinary projects. Funding is provided for three years, starting within the next three months. For details on the doctoral examination process at the Physics Department of Humboldt University Berlin, see https://fakultaeten.hu-berlin.de/en/mnf/wisskar/promotionen/zula. Applications, including a letter of motivation, a CV, and a list of three potential referees should be sent by email to   me benjamin.lindner(a)physik.hu-berlin.de  (cc to nikola.schrenk(a)bccn-berlin.de) The deadline for applications is March 25, 2020, however, later applications might also be considered. Kind regards, Benjamin Lindner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benjamin Lindner Professor for Theory of Complex Systems and Neurophysics Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin Philippstr. 13, Haus 2, 10115 Berlin Room: 1.17, phone: 0049(0)302093 6336 Department of Physics Humboldt University Berlin Newtonstr. 15 12489 Berlin Room: 3.408, phone: 0049(0)302093 7934 http://people.physik.hu-berlin.de/~lindner/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feb. 24, 2020

Scientific software developer position at the SimLab Neuroscience, Juelich, Germany

by Abigail Morrison

Dear colleagues, we have a scientific software developer position available in the SimLab Neuroscience, Juelich Research Centre, Germany. We are looking for candidates with a proven track record in developing scientific software who are interested in neuroscientific modelling and simulation as well as the graph analysis and visualization of neuroscience data. For a full description and details of how to apply, please see the announcement on our website: https://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2020-053-E… All the best, Abigail Morrison -- Prof. Dr. Abigail Morrison IAS-6 / INM-6 / SimLab Neuroscience Jülich Research Center & Computer Science 3 - Software Engineering RWTH Aachen http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-6 http://www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/slns http://www.se-rwth.de Office: +49 2461 61-9805 Fax # : +49 2461 61-9460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Volker Rieke Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feb. 24, 2020

Vacancies in learning methods for hierarchical cognitive processing

by Pieter Roelfsema

We have exciting opportunities for 3 PhD-student or postdocs to work on Architectures and learning methods for hierarchical cognitive processing Project description Our recent theoretical insights have allowed a preliminary understanding of how animals learn to represent and memorize the key features of sensory stimuli for the guidance of action based on reinforcement learning (Rombouts et al. PloS Comp Biol 2015; Holtmaat & Roelfsema, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2018). The present project focuses on the hierarchical learning of cognitive subroutines, which can be incorporated into larger routines, by trial and error. We aim to develop a biologically plausible learning rules that endow neural networks with the possibility to learn hierarchical task structures and learn and execute cognitive tasks. Topics of interest include - the role of learnable/flexible working memory models in learning and executing hierarchically structures routines. The project is a collaboration between in the Vision & Cognition group (Dr. Pieter Roelfsema) at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the Machine Learning Lab at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam (Dr. Sander Bohte). We expect from you: You are highly motivated, have a solid computational background, an interest in cognitive neuroscience and good programming skills. You should expect from us: The position involves a temporary appointment for 3-4 years. The first appointment is for one year with extension for the remaining period pending on an evaluation. We offer a competitive salary with excellent secondary benefits and friendly taxes, and also an extremely friendly, interactive and international working environment. Amsterdam is one of Europe's most beautiful and livable cities where almost everybody speaks and understands English, so that candidates need not be afraid of the language barrier. Environment About the NIN The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (www.nin.nl) is the country’s leading fundamental neuroscience research institute. It provides a critical mass of scientists and neuroscience technologies, together with a highly interactive, dynamic, multi-cultural environment. English is the working language of all research groups. Amsterdam is an internationally oriented city and an attractive, progressive and easy-to-integrate environment. The research groups have members from more than 27 nations with backgrounds ranging from philosophy to engineering. For more information about the Vision & Cognition groep visit our https://herseninstituut.nl/onderzoek/onderzoeksgroepen/roelfsema-groep/ About Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science and is part of the Institutes Organisation of NWO. The mission of CWI is to conduct pioneering research in mathematics and computer science, generating new knowledge in these fields and conveying it to trade, industry, and society at large. CWI is an internationally oriented institute, with 160 scientists from approximately 27 countries. The facilities are first-rate and include excellent IT support, career planning, training, and courses. CWI is located at Science Park Amsterdam that is presently developing into a major location of research in the natural sciences in The Netherlands, housing the sciences of the University of Amsterdam and of the Vrije Universiteit as well as several other national research institutes next to CWI. For more information about the CWI ML research group at CWI, please visit our https://www.cwi.nl/research/groups/networks-and-optimization/networks-and-o… Appointment We offer an exciting job at a dynamic research institute and an attractive package of fringe benefits. The position is for a period of 3 or 4 years in total for a postdoctoral researcher or PhD-student, respectively. The first appointment is for one year with an extension for the remaining period pending on an evaluation. Salary The salary will be commensurate with experience and institutional guidelines based on the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities; CAO NU). Full time monthly salary for a PhD student is € 2.325,- in the 1st year to € 2.979,- in the 4th year before taxes. The starting salary for a postdoctoral researcher depends on experience and ranges from € 3.123,- to € 4.274,-.- before taxes. A 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus are excluded. A 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus are excluded. We offer travel expenses, paid parental leave, flexible working hours, 30 days paid leave per year and help by finding a house. Starting date The position is available from April 2020. To apply Please, send your application to l.van.der.vecht(a)nin.knaw.nl including: 1. A Curriculum Vitae 2. An application letter 3. Two reference letters Evaluation of candidates will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled. We aim to fill the position between April and July 2020. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, disability, etc. Any acquisition further to this advertisement will not be appreciated.

Feb. 23, 2020

PhD positions in Interactive AI CDT

by Rui Ponte Costa

We are looking to recruit PhD students for our unique EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Interactive Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bristol, UK. The IAI Centre in a nutshell Building on Bristol’s world-leading expertise in AI, machine learning, neuroscience and human-computer interaction, the Centre for Doctoral Training in Interactive Artificial Intelligence offers PhD studentships that will train you to become a leader in human-in-the-loop and interpretable AI systems. This unique Centre is based in the School of Computer Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Engineering Mathematics. Its mission is to deliver cohorts of highly-trained PhD graduates with the skills to design and implement complex interactive AI pipelines solving societally and scientific important problems. After the taught first year, covering foundational topics in data-driven AI, knowledge-driven AI, human-AI interaction and responsible AI, you will undertake a 3-year research project, supervised by one of the 60 academics in the supervisory network and in close collaboration with one or more external partners. The Centre partners with a wide range of external organisations including Alan Turing Institute, Microsoft Research, Amazon Research, Dyson, Thales, and many others. How to apply Applicants must hold/achieve a minimum of an upper-second class honours degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics). Enhanced EPSRC studentships covering fees and living costs are available to UK / EU students (EU citizens are eligible if they have lived in the UK for at least 3 years; a small percentage of positions can also be considered for non-UK/EU candidates). For full details, contact information and on-line applications, navigate to www.bristol.ac.uk/cdt/interactive-ai<https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=4377&type=185&url=htt…>. Deadline: 2nd March 2020, 00:00 (GMT) For admission enquires please contact iai-cdt-admissions(a)bristol.ac.uk<mailto:iai-cdt-admissions@bristol.ac.uk>. For more informal inquires feel free to contact academics affiliated with the program. Best wishes, Bristol Computational Neuroscience Unit<http://bristolcnu.github.io/> SCEEM | Faculty of Engineering & Bristol Neuroscience, University of Bristol, UK

Feb. 22, 2020

Postdoc and PhD positions on Biological Deep Learning

by Walter Senn

Dear all A postdoc and two PhD positions devoted to the modeling of learning in deep cortical networks are available in our Computational Neuroscience labs at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Our research is focused on biologically realistic models of spatio-temporal processing in recurrent cortical networks and their relation to reinforcement learning, Bayesian computing, learning to learn, and neuromorphic implementations. The positions are part of the European Human Brain Project and are available from April 1st, 2020, for 3 years (extendable through other funding). We offer a stimulating environment with three research groups in theoretical and computational neuroscience, along with experimental neuroscience at the same Department of Physiology (physio.unibe.ch/gruppen.aspx <http://physio.unibe.ch/gruppen.aspx>), as well as close collaboration with other labs in neuroscience, artificial intelligence and neuromorphic engineering. Ideal candidates should have a strong background in computational neuroscience, machine learning, applied mathematics and/or physics. Please send your CV, publication list, letter of motivation and contact information for at least two references to Walter Senn (walter.senn(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:walter.senn@pyl.unibe.ch>) and Mihai Petrovici (mihai.petrovici(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:mihai.petrovici@pyl.unibe.ch>), with cc to Sabine Herzog (sabine.herzog(a)pyl.unibe.ch <mailto:sabine.herzog@pyl.unibe.ch>). The first evaluation round will begin on March 23rd, 2020. The positions will remain open until filled. With best regards, Mihai Petrovici and Walter Senn

Feb. 22, 2020

Postdoc fellowship in parallel computing and neural simulation at Chemnitz University of Technology

by Julien Vitay

Apologies for cross-posting ******************************* A PostDoc position is available at Chemnitz University of Technology in the Department of Computer Science within the Professorship of Artificial Intelligence. He or she should have a Ph.D. in computer science or related fields. Exceptionally, we can also consider Ph.D. candidates in case of extremely good qualifications. The candidate is expected to contribute to research in auto-tuning mechanisms on different hardware platforms to implement biologically inspired neural networks. Thus, a very good experience in parallel computing is absolutely required. Further, the candidate should have an interest in computational neuroscience, particularly at the implementation level of large-scale neural networks. Prior experience with neural simulation tools, e.g. ANNarchy (Vitay, Dinkelbach, Hamker, 2015), NEST or Brian, is advantageous. Good English language skills are necessary. German is initially not required. Funding is obtained from a research project “Auto-tuning for neural simulations on different parallel hardware" from the German research foundation (DFG), coordinated by Dr. Vitay and Prof. Dr. Hamker. The salary is according to German standards (E 13 TV-L). An association with the CRC 1410 Hybrid Societies (https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/hybrid-societies/) is conceivable. The position is initially until 30.06.2021, but extensions are possible. The starting date is May 2020 or soon thereafter. Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the state of Saxony and close to scenic mountains. Major cities nearby are Leipzig and Dresden with a rich tradition of music and culture. Applications should be sent by email (preferably in PDF format) to ( fred.hamker(a)informatik.tu-chemnitz.de) The deadline is on 15.03.2020, but applications will be considered until the position is filled. In addition to a CV, the candidate should provide a detailed description of his/her experience in parallel computing. References: Vitay, J., Dinkelbach, H. U., Hamker, F. H. (2015), ANNarchy: a code generation approach to neural simulations on parallel hardware, Frontiers in Neuroinformatics , 9, 19, doi:10.3389/fninf.2015.00019 -- Professur Künstliche Intelligenz Fakultät für Informatik Technische Universität Chemnitz Straße der Nationen 62 | R. 1/348 (neu: A12.348) 09111 Chemnitz Germany Tel: +49 371 531-39468 Fax: +49 371 531-839468 www.tu-chemnitz.de/~vitay

Feb. 21, 2020

Nottingham DTC in AI, PhD positions

by Mark van Rossum

Dear all Applications are invited from UK/EU students for a number of fully-funded PhD studentships in the first cohort of the Nottingham Doctoral Training Centre in Artificial Intelligence, based within the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham, starting in autumn 2020. These studentships will start on 1 October 2020 and will be four years in duration. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/jobs/currentvacancies/ref/SCI1934 A full list of topics that applicants are asked to rank in terms of interest is listed here: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/computerscience/studywithus/postgraduateresear… Deadline is very fast: 28 Feb. We might run a second round of recruitment in April/May. 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.

Feb. 20, 2020

Two postdoctoral positions Essex Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neural Engineering Laboratory

by Poli, Riccardo

Hi, The Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neural Engineering laboratory of the University of Essex is happy to announce two<https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?…> postdoctoral positions<https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?…> in the $5M project "Adaptive joint cognitive systems for complex and strategic decision making: building trust in human-machine teams through brain-computer-interface augmentation, social interaction and mutual learning". The project is supported by the Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI) programme which is jointly funded by the US Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence. The project is in partnership with the University of Oxford, the University of Southern California, the University of California Berkeley, Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The Essex part of the project covers the following areas: * Neural and behavioural correlates of metacognition, trust, conformity, errors and low-confidence judgements; Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI); decoding mental states associated with decision-making processes; signal processing and extraction of information from EEG and other physiological signals. * Behavioural, physiological and neural markers of effective group cooperation; effects of different levels and forms of social interaction on group performance; team and teamwork performance indicators; integrating team-member decisions; optimally communicating group decisions and states. * Reinforcement and interpretable machine learning; predictive uncertainty; surrogate ground truth. Duties will include: designing and implementing software for the execution of experiments with audio-visual and textual stimulation; researching and developing robust algorithms for signal processing, statistical inference and extraction of information from EEG and other physiological signals; and producing high-quality journal and conference papers and presentations. Please, feel free to contact me for any questions. I am the PI of the project. Many thanks Riccardo -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Prof Riccardo Poli E-mail: rpoli(a)essex.ac.uk<mailto:rpoli@essex.ac.uk> School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering University of Essex Telephone: (01206) 872338 Wivenhoe Park Facsimile: (01206) 872788 Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK http://csee.essex.ac.uk/staff/rpoli/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Feb. 19, 2020

Two postdoctoral positions in cellular electrophysiology and neurobiology at SISSA, Italy

by Michele Giugliano

Apologies for cross posting Two postdoctoral positions in cellular electrophysiology and neurobiology ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two postdoctoral positions are available immediately at the Neuroscience Area of SISSA - the International School for Advanced Studies, in the lab of Neuronal Dynamics head by Dr. Michele GIUGLIANO. Both positions are funded for up to 38 months each, on a newly funded EC-Horizon 2020 project called "Ionic Neuromodulation For Epilepsy Treatment (IN-FET)". This project combines neurobiology, nanotechnologies, electrochemistry, and electronics together towards a novel breakthrough technology in brain modulation. At SISSA, we aim at experimentally validating novel routes for cellular and microcircuit stimulation or suppression, in collaboration with a consortium of partners which includes IBM Research Zurich, the University of Geneva, the University of Sheffield, and the Inter-university consortium for Nanoelectronics. We thus search for experts in in vitro electrophysiology (substrate-integrated microelectrode arrays) and patch-clamp recordings (dissociated cell cultures, acute and organotypic brain tissue slices) with a strong background in quantitative data analysis and an interest for interdisciplinary research. The deadline for the application is 19/03/2020 and the link to apply is https://pica.cineca.it/sissa/ar-fe-neur-17-2020/ <https://pica.cineca.it/sissa/ar-fe-neur-17-2020/> More information at: https://www.sissa.it/bandi/selezione-pubblica-titoli-colloquio-conferimento… <https://www.sissa.it/bandi/selezione-pubblica-titoli-colloquio-conferimento…> For any scientific information, email to michele.giugliano(a)sissa.it <mailto:michele.giugliano@sissa.it> For any administrative information, email to assegniricerca(a)sissa.it <mailto:assegniricerca@sissa.it>

Feb. 19, 2020

Neural coding in high dimensional, nonlinear systems workshop in Paris

by Trang-Anh Nghiem

Dear Colleagues, We are delighted to announce that our workshop on *neural coding in high dimensional, nonlinear systems* will be held on *March 24th-25 2020*. The event is organised by the European Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience (EITN) and will take place at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) on the Île Saint-Louis in central Paris. *Conference abstract* In this workshop we address mechanisms by which brains encode information. We will discuss how neurons - leaky, stochastic channels - interact nonlinearly to entrain synchrony and resonance phenomena thereby reducing dimensionality in dynamics of the cell assemblies coding particular representations. From unconscious to conscious brain states, spontaneous neural signals increase in dimensionality. Since neural codes likely lie on low dimensional manifolds, we explore collapses in dimensionality within encoding networks as mechanisms supporting neural information specifically in conscious states. We aim to bring together researchers in neuroscience, mathematics, physics, and computer science to explore substrates promoting self-organization of neural dynamics, toward a robust understanding of neural codes important for reverse engineering next generation biomimetic computing architectures. *Confirmed speakers*- Mallory Carlu (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Damien Depannemaecker (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Alain Destexhe (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Leon Glass (McGill University) - Jennifer Goldman (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Julie Grollier (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Thales) - Hermann Haken (Universität Stuttgart) - Vincent Hakim (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris) - Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille University) - Trang-Anh Nghiem (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris) - Maris Ozols (University of Amsterdam) - Wolf Singer (Ernst Strüngmann Institute, Max Planck Society) - David Ruelle (Paris-Saclay University) - Núria Tort-Colet (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) - Sacha van Albada (Forschungszentrum Jülich) *Attendance is free but registration is mandatory due to a limited number of seats. To apply for registration, please visit the conference website*: https://neuralcoding.sciencesconf.org/. Looking forward, Best wishes, The organisers: Jennifer S. Goldman, Trang-Anh E. Nghiem, Alain Destexhe, Wolf Singer, with the support of the Paris IAS

Feb. 19, 2020

CAMP@Bangalore 2020 Course Announcement

by U.S.Bhalla

Dear Colleagues, We would like to announce CAMP@Bangalore 2020 from 29 June 2020 to 14 July 2020. CAMP (Computational Approaches to Memory and Plasticity at NCBS, Bangalore) is a 16-day summer school where students will be trained in theoretical and computational modeling, pertaining to memory and plasticity in the brain, spanning different scales of space, time and complexity. This flavor of CAMP will focus on — Hippocampus beyond Space, and Dimensionality & Manifolds. The course will have lectures, hands-on tutorials, and project work to launch students into the exciting field of computational neuroscience. The course is supported by the Simons Foundation. Students worldwide are encouraged to apply. Accommodation and food will be free for the selected students. There is no registration fee. Students are advised to obtain independent travel grants. Application deadline: 5 March 2020. Referee letters must reach by 7 March 2020 Speakers: Aaron Batista, University of Pittsburgh, USA Alessandro Treves, SISSA, Italy Collins Assisi, IISER Pune, India Kishore Kuchibhotla, Johns Hopkins University, USA Marianne Fyhn, University of Oslo, Norway Marlene Bartos, University of Freiburg, Germany Sachin Deshmukh, IISc Bangalore, India Srdjan Ostojic, ENS Paris, France Suhita Nadkarni, IISER Pune, India Taro Toyoijumi, RIKEN, Japan Torkel Hafting, University of Oslo, Norway Visit the course website http://camp.ncbs.res.in/ for more details about the course and previous CAMPs. Course Organizers: Arvind Kumar (KTH Stockholm) Rishikesh Narayanan (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) Upinder Bhalla (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore) Best, Organizers CAMP 2020 Course http://camp.ncbs.res.in/

Feb. 19, 2020

DENDRITES 2020: Call for Abstracts extended to Feb. 22nd, 2020

by Yiota Poirazi

Dear friends and colleagues, in response to multiple requests, the deadline for abstract submission to DENDRITES 2020 has been extended to February 22nd. Few spots are available for oral presentations by young students/postdocs, to be based on selected abstracts. DENDRITES 2020 EMBO Workshop on Dendritic Anatomy, Molecules and Function Heraklion, Crete, Greece 27-30 June 2020 http://meetings.embo.org/event/20-dendrites We look forward to welcoming you to Heraklion for another exciting meeting on dendrites and beyond! on behalf of the organizers, Yiota Poirazi -------- Panayiota Poirazi, Ph.D. Research Director Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385, GR 70013, Heraklion, Crete GREECE Tel: +30 2810 391139 Fax: +30 2810 391101 Εmail: poirazi(a)imbb.forth.gr Lab site: www.dendrites.gr

Feb. 19, 2020

Swartz postdoc in theoretical neuroscience at Harvard

by Blum, Kenneth I.

The Swartz Program at Harvard University seeks applicants for a postdoctoral fellow in theoretical and computational neuroscience. Based on a grant from the Swartz Foundation<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.theswartzfoundation…>, a Swartz postdoctoral fellowship is available at Harvard University with a start date in 2020. Postdocs join a vibrant group of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists at Harvard's Center for Brain Science. The Center for Brain Science includes junior and senior faculty doing research on a wide variety of topics, including neural mechanisms of rodent learning, decision-making, and sex-specific and social behaviors; reinforcement learning in rodents and humans; human motor control; behavioral and fMRI studies of human cognition; circuit mechanisms of learning and behavior in worms, larval flies, and larval zebrafish; circuit mechanisms of individual differences in flies and humans; rodent and fly olfaction; inhibitory circuit development; retinal circuits; and large-scale reconstruction of detailed brain circuitry. Interested applicants should immediately send a CV, statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to Haim Sompolinsky (haim(a)fiz.huji.ac.il<mailto:haim@fiz.huji.ac.il>), Kenneth Blum (kenneth_blum(a)harvard.edu<mailto:kenneth_blum@harvard.edu>), Sam Gershman (gershman(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:gershman@fas.harvard.edu>), or Cengiz Pehlevan (cpehlevan(a)seas.harvard.edu<mailto:cpehlevan@seas.harvard.edu>). Applications should have “Swartz Fellowship” in the subject line. Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Feb. 18, 2020

[meetings] [LM2020] Living Machines 2020 - Second call for papers

by Vicky Vouloutsi

Dear colleagues, Please find below the second call for papers, satellite events, and sponsors for the 9th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems of Living Machines, 28th-31st of July 2020. Apologies for cross-posting but please share this announcement with your colleagues. Looking forward to seeing you in Freiburg, Germany! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Second Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors* *Living Machines. The 9th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems* * 28 – 31 July 2020* To be hosted at the Botanical Garden of Freiburg and the Cluster of Excellence livMatS at the University of Freiburg, Germany Accepted papers will be published in *Springer Lecturer Notes in Artificial Intelligence* *Submission deadline: March 23, 2020* http://livingmachinesconference.eu/2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *ABOUT LIVING MACHINES 2020* The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems. *Biomimetics* is the development of novel technologies through the distillation of principles from the study of biological systems. The investigation of biomimetic systems can serve two complementary goals. First, a suitably designed and configured biomimetic artefact can be used to test theories about the natural system of interest. Second, biomimetic technologies can provide useful, elegant and efficient solutions to unsolved challenges in science and engineering. *Biohybrid* systems are formed by combining at least one biological component—an existing living system—and at least one artificial, newly-engineered component. By passing information in one or both directions, such a system forms a new hybrid bio-artificial entity. The theme of the conference also encompasses biomimetic methods for manufacture, repair, and recycling inspired by natural processes such as reproduction, digestion, morphogenesis, and metamorphosis. The following are some examples of “Living Machines” as featured at past conferences: * Biomimetic robots and their component technologies (sensors, actuators, processors) that can intelligently interact with their environments. * Biomimetic computers—neuromimetic emulations of the physiological basis for intelligent behavior. * Active biomimetic materials and structures that self-organize and self-repair or show other bio-inspired functions. * Nature-inspired designs and manufacturing processes. * Biohybrid brain-machine interfaces and neural implants. * Artificial organs and body-parts including sensory organ-chip hybrids and intelligent prostheses. * Organism-level biohybrids such as robot-animal or robot-human systems. *ACTIVITIES* The main conference will take the form of a *three-day single-track oral* and *poster presentation program*, *28th July to 31st July 2020*, and will be hosted at the Botanical Garden of Freiburg by the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Cluster of Excellence “Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)” (www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de<http://www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de/>). The conference program will include *five plenary lectures* from leading international researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems, and the demonstrations of state-of-the-art living machine technologies. The full conference will be preceded by up to two days of *Satellite Events* hosted at the University of Freiburg. *SUBMITTING TO LIVING MACHINES 2020* We invite both *full papers* and *extended abstracts* in areas related to the conference themes. All contributions will be refereed and accepted papers will appear in the Living Machines Proceedings, published in the *Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence*. Full papers (minimum 8 pages, up to 12 pages) are invited from researchers at any stage in their career and should present significant findings and advances in biomimetic or biohybrid research. More preliminary work is better suited for short paper submission (maximum 4 pages, with a maximum of ten references and no more than three self-citations). Full papers will be accepted for either oral presentation (single track) or poster presentation with a short podium preview. Extended abstracts will be accepted for poster presentations only. Authors of the best full papers will be invited to submitted extended versions of their paper for publication in a special issue of the Taylor & Francis journal *Connection Science*. *SATELLITE EVENTS* Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to propose topics for full or half-day *tutorials*, *symposia* or *workshops* on related themes to be held on 28. July at the Institute for Biology II/III of the University of Freiburg (http://www.bio.uni-freiburg.de/index-en?set_language=en) Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended to cover the costs of the meeting. There is flexibility about the content, organization, and budgeting for these events. Please contact us if you are interested in organizing a satellite event! *EXPECTED DEADLINES* March 23, 2020: Paper submission deadline May 15, 2020: Notification of acceptance May 25, 2020: Camera-ready copy July 28, 29-31, 2020 Workshops and Conference *SPONSORSHIP* Organizations wishing to sponsor the conference in any way and gain the corresponding benefits by promoting themselves and their products through conference publications, conference events, and conference publicity are encouraged to contact the organizers to discuss the terms of sponsorship and necessary arrangements. We also offer a number of attractive options for potential sponsors. *VENUE* Consistent with the Living Machines’ tradition of choosing historical venues at the crossroads between life and human sciences, this year the conference will take place at the Botanical Garden of Freiburg. Freiburg is considered the gateway to the Black Forest and thanks to its geographical location is blessed with mild weather all year round. The city is over 900 years old and known to be the sunniest city(1,740 hours of sunshine/year) in Germany. Freiburg has a beautiful historical inner city and is home to one of the oldest universities and Botanical Gardens in Germany. The Botanical Garden Freiburg will be celebrating its 400 year anniversary in 2020 and is located in the district Herdern near the Botanical Institute of the University of Freiburg. The Botanical Garden invites visitors to enjoy its wonderful greenery and learn about both plants from all around the world and plant-based biomimetics with its biomimetic educational trail. The trail highlights biomimetic inventions based on plants while providing fascinating insights into underlying biological principles. *CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE* *Thomas Speck* University of Freiburg, Germany (Local Chair) *Paul Verschure* IBEC, BIST, ICREA, CSN Foundation (Co-Chair) *Tony Prescott* University of Sheffield, CSN Foundation (Steering Committee) *Anna Mura* IBEC, BIST Barcelona, CSN Foundation (General Organization) *PROGRAM CHAIR* *Vicky Vouloutsi* IBEC, BIST, Barcelona *COMMUNICATION* *Sonja Seidel* University of Freiburg, Germany *Yulia Sandamirskaya* INI, Zurich Univ. and ETH *WORKSHOPS CHAIR* *Falk Esser* University of Freiburg, Germany *LOCAL ORGANIZERS COMMITTEE* *Thomas Speck* University of Freiburg, Germany *Falk Esser* University of Freiburg, Germany *Sonja Seidel* University of Freiburg, Germany Aquest correu electrònic conté informació confidencial emparada pel secret professional. Qualsevol reproducció, distribució o divulgació del seu contingut estan estrictament prohibides. Si vostè no és el destinatari, li preguem no faci difusió ni copiï el seu contingut i ens ho notifiqui el més aviat possible a l'adreça dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu Este correo electrónico contiene información confidencial amparada por el secreto profesional. Cualquier reproducción, distribución o divulgación de su contenido están estrictamente prohibidas. Si usted no es el destinatario, le rogamos no difunda ni copie su contenido y nos lo notifique de inmediato a la dirección dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu This electronic transmission contains confidential information covered by professional secrecy. Any reproduction, distribution or disclosure of its contents is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, you are kindly requested not to disseminate nor to copy this transmission and to notify us as soon as possible by email to dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu .

Feb. 18, 2020

PhD Studentship – Modelling cortico-subcortical oscillatory connectivity.

by Dimitris Pinotsis

PhDStudentship – Modelling cortico-subcortical oscillatory connectivity. Applicationsare invited for a 3-year funded PhD studentship in the Wellcome Centre forHuman Neuroimaging (https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/) under the supervision ofDr. Vladimir Litvak and Dr. Simon Farmer and in collaboration with theComputational Neuroscience Group (CNS, https://www.upf.edu/web/cns) led byProf. Gustavo Deco, at the Center for Brain and Cognition(https://www.upf.edu/web/cbc), Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain). The position is part of the EU-fundedInnovative Training Network euSNN (“European School of Network Neuroscience”)and available, with full-time employment, for a duration of 3 years withimmediate start. TheeuSNN Innovative Training Network integrates 16 leading European groups innetwork neuroscience and 7 companies to train students who want to pursue asuccessful career in the field of network neuroscience. The euSNN trainingprogramme offers a unique combination of experimental, analysis and modellingapproaches. Exploiting intense collaborations between experimental, theoreticaland clinical groups, euSNN links basic research on large-scale brain dynamicswith new pathophysiological approaches and clinical applications. The euSNNnetwork is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Andreas K. Engel. Further information onthe euSNN network can be found at http://eusnn.eu. Project details Deep Brain Stimulation(DBS) is an effective treatment method for a range of neurological andpsychiatric conditions. It involves placing electrodes deep in a patient’sbrain, usually in precisely targeted subcortical nuclei. DBS surgery affords aunique opportunity to study the neural activity of these nuclei via recordingof local electrical signals known as local field potentials (LFP). Our grouppioneered simultaneous recording of subcortical LFP with non-invasive wholebrain imaging using magnetoencephalography (MEG). This makes it possible to mapout cortico-subcortical oscillatory coherent networks which have characteristicfrequencies and cortical topographies for each subcortical target. Over theyears we collected data from several different subcortical nuclei andcharacterised their oscillatory networks. The aim of the proposed project is toestablish a modelling framework which could accommodate these findings and makequantitative predictions for future experiments. This will require extendingexisting models of cortical dynamics and integrating information fromadditional imaging modalities such as functional MRI and Diffusion TensorModelling (DTI). The euSNN training networkoffers exciting and unique opportunities for the student to pursue this projectincluding interactions with top experts in neuroimaging brain modelling andexposure to several different modelling frameworks and approaches that thestudent will have to master and integrate to achieve the project’s goals. Theremight also be opportunities towards the end of the project to test some of thepredictions experimentally. In addition, the student will have a chance to workon secondments with commercial companies on topics relevant to the project. Funding notes The starting date can beany date between being offered the position and 1st October 2020 andthe contract is for 36 months. The studentship includes UK/EU tuition fees anda stipend along with additional funds to cover travel and accommodation duringsecondments and network activities. Overseas fees cannot be covered. Entry requirements Applicants should have an HonoursDegree (minimum 2:1) in a quantitative discipline: Physics/Mathematics/Engineering/Computer science, strong mathematical background and interestin neuroscience. Knowledge of scientific programming languages, particularlyMatlab, background in modelling complex physical systems and a relevant Mastersqualification is desirable. Applicants should be willing to travel to attendthe network activities and spend prolonged periods of time (up to a few monthsat a time and at least 8 months in total) doing secondments outside the UK. Applicantsmust not have been residing in the UK for more than 12 months prior to thestart of the appointment. Deadline 30th April 2020. Shortlisted candidates will beinterviewed in May. How to apply: Applicants should submit 1)a CV, 2) a 1-page statement detailing why you want to do the PhD, motivation,interest and suitability for the project, 3) a copy of your strongest singlepiece of academic work (e.g. thesis, publication), and 4) contact details oftwo referees. Please ensure that each document is clearly labelled with yoursurname. Please send all documents to Kamlyn Ramkissoon k.ramkissoon(a)ucl.ac.ukby 30th April 2020.Interviews will be held in May 2020. Informal enquiries are welcome to Dr Vladimir Litvak (email: v.litvak(a)ucl.ac.uk)

Feb. 18, 2020

Postdoctoral position in functional neuroimaging

by Alessandro Gozzi

The Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (https://www.iit.it/research/lines/functional-neuroimaging) at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Rovereto (Italy) is looking for a Postdoctoral scientist interested in studying the neural basis of functional connectivity disruption in autism. Our research is aimed at identifying the general neural and cellular principles governing the assembly of brain connectivity, and its breakdown in developmental disorders such as autism. We address these questions by mapping functional connectivity alterations in people with autism and model organisms harboring autism-associated genetic etiologies. For reference to recent work relevant to this position, please see Gutierrez-Barragan et al., Current Biology (2019) and Bertero et al., Brain (2018). The successful candidate must have a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, physics, neuroinformatics or equivalent, a proven record in the analysis of functional images of the mammalian brain, plus a sound knowledge of signal processing and statistical methods applied to brain imaging. We evaluate candidates that are proactive, highly-motivated, and who are willing to interact with both experimental and computational neuroscientists. The IIT center in Rovereto is actively expanding its infrastructure for systems level neuroscience research, and is inserted both in the vibrant community of the IIT and that of CIMeC (www.cimec.unitn.it) within the University of Trento, which specializes in cognitive neuroscience. Please submit your application, including a detailed CV with a brief research statement, a cover letter and name and contacts of 2 referees, by email to alessandro.gozzi(a)iit.it, quoting "Postdoctoral position in neuroimaging - CB 78211" in the email subject. The first deadline for applications is March 20th, 2020. This position will remain open until filled. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (http://www.iit.it) is a non-profit institution created with the objective of promoting technological development and higher education in science and technology. Research at IIT is carried out in highly innovative scientific fields with state-of-the-art technology. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia is an equal opportunity employer that actively seeks diversity in the workforce. Please note that the data that you provide will be used exclusively for the purpose of professional profiles' evaluation and selection, and in order to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. Your data will be processed by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, based in Genoa, Via Morego 30, acting as Data Controller, in compliance with the rules on protection of personal data, including those related to data security. Please also note that, pursuant to articles 15 et. seq. of European Regulation no. 679/2016 (General Data Protection Regulation), you may exercise your rights at any time by contacting the Data Protection Officer (phone +39 010 71781 - email: dpo[at]iit.it) Contacts Alessandro Gozzi alessandro.gozzi(a)iit.it<mailto:alessandro.gozzi@iit.it> Twitter: Gozzi_Ale Alessandro Gozzi, PhD Senior Scientist, Group Leader Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @ UNITN Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy Tel: +39 0464 808 701

Feb. 18, 2020

Three permanent associate professor positions in data science

by Hans Ekkehard Plesser

The Faculty of Science and Technology at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences is expanding its data science activities in research and education and invites applications for Three permanent associate professor positions in data science with focus on * Machine learning for the 21st century (https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/183310/associate-professor-i…) * Data management for a data science world (https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/183306/associate-professor-i…) * Value-oriented deployment of data science (https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/183315/associate-professor-i…) Closing date for all positions is 22 March 2020. For details and to apply, please see the full announcements for the positions linked above. Background information about us, our programs and our expectations is available in https://arken.nmbu.no/~plesser/NMBU_ThreeAssocProfsDataScience_AdditionaInf… Best regards, Hans Ekkehard Plesser -- Prof. Dr. Hans Ekkehard Plesser Head, Data Science Section Faculty of Science and Technology Norwegian University of Life Sciences PO Box 5003, 1432 Aas, Norway Phone +47 6723 1560 Email hans.ekkehard.plesser(a)nmbu.no<mailto:hans.ekkehard.plesser@nmbu.no> Home http://arken.nmbu.no/~plesser

Feb. 18, 2020

Grandmother cells a failed concept? Or is Barlow right that grandmother cells exist and “can now be recorded from and studied reliably?"

by Asim Roy

Ann-Sophie Barwich recently published an article in Frontiers in Neuroscience titled “The Value of Failure in Science: The Story of Grandmother Cells in Neuroscience” (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.01121/full) where she argues for the need for failure analysis in science and, in the context of neuroscience, analyzed the grandmother cell concept as a failed one. Although I was one of the reviewers who endorsed the article for publication (publication of alternative viewpoints is essential in science), I felt that Barwich’s arguments against grandmother cells were deeply flawed. I point out these flaws in a Commentary in Frontiers in Neuroscience: “Commentary: The Value of Failure in Science: The Story of Grandmother Cells in Neuroscience:” https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00059/full I think Reddy and Thorpe’s 2014 article clears the confusion about concept cells. With Reddy and Thorpe’s characterization of concept cells, one would find no difference between concept cells and grandmother cells. And that’s essentially what I have done in the Commentary – show that concept cells and grandmother cells have identical properties. I also point out in the Commentary that it’s a false claim by Barwich (and in other prior articles that Barwich references) that concept cells can be part of a sparse population coding scheme. Given that concept cells have “meaning” on a stand-alone basis, they can’t be part of any population coding scheme. And it’s also a false claim in Barwich that grandmother cells do not use associative learning, because grandmother cells have always been characterized as “multimodal” going all the way back to Gross (2002). In addition, the neurophysiological evidence on multisensory neurons clearly point to a single-cell based abstract cognitive system in the brain, as claimed by Roy (2017). Overall, concept cell findings confirm the prediction of Barlow (2009)<https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00059/full#B1> that grandmother cells exist and “can now be recorded from and studied reliably.” YOU CAN EMAIL ME IF YOU WANT TO JOIN A DISCUSSION GROUP ON THIS TOPIC. Barlow, H. B. (2009). “Grandmother cells, symmetry, and invariance: how the term arose and what the facts suggest,” in The Cognitive Neurosciences, 4th Edn., ed M. Gazzaniga (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press), 309–320. Reddy, L., and Thorpe, S. J. (2014). Concept cells through associative learning of high-level representations. Neuron 84, 248–251. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.10.004 Roy, A. (2017). The theory of localist representation and of a purely abstract cognitive system: the evidence from cortical columns, category cells, and multisensory neurons. Front. Psychol. 8:186. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00186

Feb. 16, 2020

job post: machine learning research scientist at NIMH

by Francisco Pereira

*** HIRING: machine learning research scientist The Machine Learning Team at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD, has an open position for a machine learning research scientist. The NIMH is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders and neuroscience, and part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). *** About the NIMH Machine Learning Team Our mission is to help NIMH scientists use machine learning methods to address a diverse set of research problems in clinical and cognitive psychology and neuroscience. These range from identifying biomarkers for aiding diagnoses to creating and testing models of mental processes in healthy subjects. We work with many different data types, including very large brain imaging datasets from various imaging modalities, behavioral data, and picture and text corpora. We have excellent computational resources, both of our own (tens of GPUs for deep learning) and shared within the NIH (a cluster with hundreds of thousands of CPUs, and hundreds of GPUs). As a machine learning research group, we develop new methods and publish in the main machine learning conferences (e.g. NeurIPS and ICLR), as well as in psychology and neuroscience journals. Many of our problems require devising research approaches that combine imaging and non-imaging data, and leveraging structured knowledge resources (databases, scientific literature, etc) to generate explanations and hypotheses. You can find more about our work and publications at https://cmn.nimh.nih.gov/mlt *** About the position We are seeking candidates who are capable of combining machine learning, statistical, and domain-specific computational tools to solve practical data analysis challenges (e.g. designing experiments, generating and testing statistical hypotheses, training and interpreting predictive models, and developing novel models and methods). Additionally, candidates should be capable of visualizing and communicating findings to a broad scientific audience, as well as explaining the details of relevant methods to researchers in a variety of domains. Desirable experience that is not required, but will be considered very favorably: - neuroimaging data processing and analysis (any MRI modality, as well as MEG/EEG) - Bayesian statistical modelling - natural language processing / structured data such as EHR or questionnaires Finally, you should have demonstrable experience coding in languages currently used in data-intensive, scientific computing, such as Python, MATLAB or R. This is an ideal position for someone who wants to establish a research career in method development and applications driven by scientific and clinical needs. Given our access to a variety of collaborators and large or unique datasets, there is ample opportunity to match research interests with novel research problems. We also maintain collaborations outside of the NIH, driven by our own research interests. If you would like to be considered for this position, please send francisco.pereira(a)nih.gov a CV, with your email serving as cover letter. If you already have a research statement, please feel free to send that as well. There is no need for reference letters at this stage. Other inquiries are also welcome. Thank you for your attention and interest!

Feb. 15, 2020

Call for Applications: EADM Summer School on Learning and Decision Making

by Hrvoje Stojic

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN (until 15 March 2020)! Dates: 8-15 July, 2020 Location: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain Topic: Learning and Decision Making Eligibility to Apply: Early career researchers Further details available at: https://ldmss.org APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: https://ldmss.org#apply The 5th EADM Learning and Decision Making summer school will take place from the 8th to the 15th of July in Barcelona, Spain. It will cover a wide range of topics related to learning and decision making, including reinforcement learning, sampling biases, decisions from experience, function learning, category learning and social learning. Participants will receive advanced training and hands-on tutoring on various computational modeling approaches in learning and decision making from experts in the field and will get feedback on their latest research ideas in poster sessions. The program will also include social and group activities in the beautiful city of Barcelona. Confirmed faculty include: Mirta Galesic (Santa Fe Institute) Maarten Speekenbrink (University College London) Johannes Müller-Trede (IESE Business School) Henrik Olsson (Santa Fe Institute) G. Elliot Wimmer (University College London) Mehdi Keramati (City University) Jörg Rieskamp (University of Basel) Elizaveta Konovalova (Max Planck Institute for Human Development) Cecília Nunes (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) More coming soon! The organization team: Gael Le Mens (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) Emmanouil Konstantinidis (University of Warwick) Hrvoje Stojic (University College London) Pantelis P. Analytis (University of Southern Denmark) Mikhail Spektor (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) Feel free to send us any questions at: ldmss(a)protonmail.com or on Twitter @ldmsschool. ----------------------------- Hrvoje Stojic, PhD Postdoctoral researcher University College London Website: [https://hstojic.re/](http://hstojic.re/)

Feb. 15, 2020

[ICDL-2020] Call for Tutorials

by Miguel Solís

Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this call due to cross-posting, please help to distribute among possible interested contributors. CALL FOR TUTORIALS: 10th IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL) 7th-10th September 2020, Valparaiso, Chile Web page: https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ An IEEE Computational Society-sponsored conference ==== Important Dates ==== Tutorial Proposals Open: 15th February 2020 Tutorial Proposals Deadline: 30h April 2020 Tutorial Proposals Notification: 15th May 2020 ==== Overview ==== We invite experts in different areas to organize a tutorial. The goal of tutorials is to provide insights into specific topics through hands-on training and interactive experiences or in-depth state of the art review. Tutorial organizers have several responsibilities, including activities scheduling, publicizing and providing the content on time. ICDL will support the organization with rooms, audio-visual equipment and coffee breaks. ==== Scope and Topics ==== The main list of topics of interest includes, but not limited to: - principles and theories of development and learning; - development of skills in biological systems and robots; - nature vs nurture, developmental stages; - models on the contributions of interaction to learning; - verbal, non-verbal and multi-modal interaction; - models on active learning; - architectures for lifelong learning; - emergence of body and affordance perception; - analysis and modelling of human motion and state; - models for prediction, planning and problem solving; - models of human-human and human-robot interaction; - emergence of verbal and non-verbal communication; - epistemological foundations and philosophical issues; - robot prototyping of human and animal skills; - ethics and trust in computational intelligence and robotics; - social learning in humans, animals, and robots. ==== Submission format ==== Proposals should be maximum of two pages long following the standard IEEE conference style. Proposals should be submitted in PDF format by email to icdl2020(a)ac3e.cl with subject “[Tutorials]”. Proposals should specify the following: Title Organizers Duration (half-day or full-day) A brief description of the topics to be covered Tentative program Target audience and interested groups Website Any logistic requirements such as poster stands, computers, projector, etc. For more information about the conference, travel grants, social events, etc. visit the conference webpage under https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ ==== Organizing committee ==== General Chairs: Giulio Sandini, and Javier Ruiz-del-Solar Program and Finance Chairs: Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero, and María-José Escobar Bridge Chairs: Minoru Asada, Frédéric Alexandre, and Linda Smith Publicity Chairs: Carmelo Bastos, Maya Cakmak, Angelo Cangelosi, Yukie Nagai, and Emre Ugur Publication Chairs: Pablo Barros, and Haian Wu Tutorials and Workshops Chair: Miguel Solis Travel and Registration Awards Chair: Francisco Cruz Local chairs: Mauricio Araya Webpage Chairs: Cristóbal Nettle, and Patricio Castillo Graphics: Camila Angel Alfaro Best regards from the organizing committee,

Feb. 14, 2020