- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

Postdoc positions available at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

by Wey, Hsiao-Ying

Research Fellow in Simultaneous PET/MR Neuroimaging Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Position We are seeking TWO postdoctoral fellows to join our team to pursue research in simultaneous PET/MR imaging in neuroscience applications. The area of research will be developing and applying novel PET/MRI methods to investigate (1) in vivo neuroreceptor dynamics and function and (2) the impacts of neurovascular function on PET radiotracer kinetics. Our research programs are highly translational spanning from animal models, first-in-human studies, to clinical applications. The appointment as a Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School research fellow will be for 2 years with possibility for extension based on performance and the availability of funding. The positions are available immediately. The successful candidate will be a highly motivated researcher with a desire to begin an independent career related to or involving neuroimaging. The position requires a Ph.D. degree in Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Neuroscience or a related field. However, we will consider candidates of any scientific background. This position requires experience in the acquisition and analysis of functional MRI and/or PET data. Extremely strong candidates with neuroscience backgrounds and minimal imaging experience are still encouraged to apply. Strong written and oral English communication skills are required. Additional Skills/Abilities/Competencies The job requires a candidate who is mature, responsible and flexible with excellent organizational and people skills. S/He must be able to work with in a fast-paced environment and should be able to problem-solve/troubleshoot, juggle and prioritize multiple tasks and seek assistance when appropriate. Application Interested applicants should send a cover letter describing research interests and experience, an updated CV, and names and contact information of three references to: Hsiao-Ying (Monica) Wey, Ph.D. (E-mail: hsiaoying.wey(a)mgh.harvard.edu) Please contain “Research Fellow Application: Your Name” in the e-mail subject line. The Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. Best, Hsiao-Ying (Monica) ------ Hsiao-Ying (Monica) Wey, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Institute for Innovation in Imaging (i3) Massachusetts General Hospital 149 Thirteenth Street, Room 10.110 Charlestown, MA 02129 Phone: (617) 724-1384 Email: hsiaoying.wey(a)mgh.harvard.edu The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed. If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Partners Compliance HelpLine at http://www.partners.org/complianceline . If the e-mail was sent to you in error but does not contain patient information, please contact the sender and properly dispose of the e-mail.

Aug. 16, 2019

Postdoc at Bristol

by Cian O'Donnell

A postdoctoral position is available in the group of Cian O'Donnell at University of Bristol, UK (https://seis.bristol.ac.uk/~co15268) You would work on understanding learning and memory using computational/mathematical modelling of synaptic plasticity, bringing in ideas from the fields of systems biology and machine learning/statistics. Local collaborators on the project will be Nick Whiteley (Mathematics; https://sites.google.com/view/nickwhiteley/) and Tom Gorochowski (Life Sciences; https://biocomputelab.github.io) You would also be joining our lively Bristol Computational Neuroscience Unit: https://bristolcnu.github.io The position is funded for up to three years by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust titled "Generalisable neural learning using noisy synapses". Ideal starting date would be Nov/Dec 2019. Application deadline is 5th Sept 2019, please apply online here: https://bit.ly/2L0LSEr Please contact me directly for informal enquiries: cian.odonnell(a)bristol.ac.uk

Aug. 15, 2019

Postdoctoral Position in Neuroimaging at Columbia University

by Ramphal, Bruce (NYSPI)

T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Available at Columbia University We are currently seeking applicants with EEG or MRI experience for a postdoctoral position in our Interdisciplinary Training in Life Course Environmental Epidemiology T32 program administered by the Department of Epidemiology. Continued funding will be available contingent on candidate making acceptable progress. Candidate should have an interest in using neuroimaging to study the effects of environmental exposures on brain structure, function, and neurodevelopment (https://www.ebblab.com) The candidate will work with investigators in the departments of psychiatry - division of child and adolescent psychiatry, environmental health sciences and epidemiology, and the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH, https://ccceh.org) The position is intended to foster a research career fusing interests in brain development and adverse environmental exposures. Possible areas of study include but are not limited to: effects of early life stress (ELS) on the neural correlates of language and bilingualism, effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke or nicotine on infant brain development and attention function, or associations between environmental exposures, mother-infant interactions, and child neurodevelopmental outcomes. The position is open now for one year of funding through 6/2020, with the possibility for continued funding with adequate progress. Please contact Dr. Amy Margolis for more information, and send CV and brief letter of interest to amy.margolis(a)nyspi.columbia.edu.

Aug. 14, 2019

Project Manager opening @ the Max Planck Institute (Frankfurt, Germany)

by Lucia Melloni

Dear all, Please help us spread the word and to reach out to potential candidates! We have an opening for a Project Manager position in my group at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. The prospective candidate will be in charge of managing a very exciting large-scale international collaboration involving 11 institutions across Europe, the US and China running an adversarial collaboration project aimed at understanding the neural foundations of consciousness. This is an ideal opportunity for someone willing to take challenges, with a keen interest in organisational and managerial aspects of science and who wants to gain insight into large scale projects including handling of subcontracts. Prior experience in an academic research institution is a big plus.This is a full-time position for 3 years with a possibility for extension. More information on the job requirements and the position can be found here: https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/jobs/project-manager-research-group-… <https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/jobs/project-manager-research-group-…> For enquiries concerning this job opportunity please contact Dr. Lucia Melloni: lucia.melloni(a)ae.mpg.de <mailto:lucia.melloni@ae.mpg.de>. Please submit your application - preferably online in a single pdf - including a CV and a cover letter describing your background, experience and motivation as well as the names of two references, who have previously agreed to be contacted, no later than September 6, 2019 to: job(a)ae.mpg.de <mailto:job@ae.mpg.de> Looking forward to the applications! Best wishes, Lucia Melloni

Aug. 14, 2019

PhD position: Machine learning to record and enhance sleep and lucid dreaming

by Martin Dresler

Hi, Arenar B.V. and the Donders Institute offer a joint PhD position combining data science/AI and wearable EEG technology with sleep/dream research. In this project, the wearable sleep EEG headband iBand+ will be further developed and applied in several experimental studies. First, we will develop automatic sleep stage detection algorithms using machine learning strategies. We will then implement closed-loop acoustic stimulation procedures to enhance sleep slow oscillations to improve deep sleep. We will further develop combined acoustic and visual stimulation procedures which will allow to enhance self-awareness during sleep (i.e. lucid dreaming) and subsequent mood in the morning. The validity and efficacy of these procedures will be tested experimentally in large longitudinal studies in naturalistic home-based settings. The successful candidate will be centrally involved in the development, will lead different research projects within this general framework; will be closely involved in daily supervision of MSc students assisting the project; and will participate in the vibrant Donders Graduate School. Job details • 4 years at Donders, extension to permanent position at Arenar possible • Deadline: 31 August 2019 • Starting date: October/November, but somewhat flexible • Salary: starting with € 40000 gross per year Candidate profile • MSc-level background in Data Science, ML, AI, computer sciences, or adjacent field; • Proficiency in Python, C, C++, statistics • Interest in sleep, lucid dreaming, meditation • The capacity to participate in a collaborative, interdisciplinary, international research environment; • Fluency in written and spoken English. Candidates who only partially meet this profile are nonetheless strongly encouraged to apply! Organization The PhD project is a collaboration between Arenar B.V. and the Donders Institute. Arenar B.V. is a Dutch technology start-up based in Nijmegen, founded in 2016 by a team of engineers/developers with a combined technical industry experience exceeding 40 years working at leading technology companies such as NXP, Philips, Texas Instruments. Work in Arenar’s small enthusiastic team offers plenty of flexibility, responsibility and lots of influence on the product development. In particular, Arenar develops the iBand+ ( http://www.ibandplus.com) and many more upcoming innovative products. The project is embedded in the infrastructure of the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, providing a unique and stimulating learning environment for young researchers, including a high-profile graduate school and in-house methodological expert courses. Sleep research is a vibrant and rapidly growing field at the Donders Institute, with several new research groups in human and animal sleep research. The project is further embedded in the Radboud University Medical Center. Radboud UMC strives to be a leading developer of sustainable, innovative and affordable healthcare to improve the health and wellbeing of people and society in the Netherlands and beyond. Application Please apply with a brief motivation letter explaining your interest and qualifications regarding the position, your prior research/work experience, a CV, and contact information of two professional references: https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/vacancies/70061-phd-candidate-machine-learning… For specific questions about this position, please contact martin.dresler(a)donders.ru.nl Cheers, Martin -- Donders Sleep & Memory Lab, Radboud University Medical Center Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN Nijmegen, Netherlands https://dreslerlab.org

Aug. 13, 2019

Call for Papers: NeurIPS2019 Workshop on Biological and Artificial Reinforcement Learning

by Sara Zannone

Call for Papers NeurIPS2019 Workshop Biological and Artificial Reinforcement Learning Workshop website: https://sites.google.com/view/biologicalandartificialrl Submission deadline: September 7, 11:59 PM Pacific Time, 2019 Contact: BiologicalArtificialRL(a)gmail.com We invite you to submit papers (up to 5 pages, excluding references and appendix) in the NeurIPS 2019 format. The focus of the work should relate to biological and/or artificial reinforcement learning. Potential topics include but are not limited to: - Benchmark tasks that can compare/contrast capabilities of artificial vs biological agents - Hierarchical RL/ skill learning - Inductive biases and priors - Representations for RL - Model-based/ Model-free learning - Lifelong learning - Intrinsic motivation/ learning in absence of extrinsic rewards - Role of memory in learning In line with the guidelines defined by the NeurIPS organising committee, we can only accept original work that is not published in the main NeurIPS conference. However, we welcome published work from other non-machine learning focused venues, particularly work that has previously appeared in Neuroscience or Cognitive Science venues such as Cosyne, RLDM, CogSci and CCN. Submission link: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/NeurIPSWSBARL2019/ For any enquiries please reach out to us at BiologicalArtificalRL(a)gmail.com . On behalf of the organizers, Raymond Chua, Feryal Behbahani, Sara Zannone, Rui Ponte Costa, Claudia Clopath, Blake Richards, Doina Precup

Aug. 13, 2019

Postdoc in neural data analysis

by Mark Humphries

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

Aug. 9, 2019

Luminous Workshop on Consciousness - University of Oxford - Call for Abstracts

by Aureli Soria Frisch

————————————————— Luminous Workshop on Consciousness ————————————————— Dear Group members, If you are interested in research about the mind, and particularly on consciousness and how to measure and alter it, please read further. In the framework of the Luminous Project (http://www.luminous-project.eu/ <http://www.luminous-project.eu/>), a workshop will take place in November at the University of Oxford, around the following axes: consciousness, its measurement and modification, computational modelling of consciousness, and the related ethical issues and dilemmas arising from these matters. Book 21st November in your agenda now. To read more, find here the main page of the event with additional details: http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/workshop-studying-measuring-and-al… <http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/workshop-studying-measuring-and-al…> A Call for Abstracts has been issued requesting for contributions, see the specific information at: http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/call-for-abstracts-workshop-studyi… <http://www.luminous-project.eu/index.php/call-for-abstracts-workshop-studyi…> Note also that the day before the workshop itself, an open public lecture on these same subjects will take place in the evening (registration details for this lecture are to be provided as they become available). Hoping to see you in Oxford, we send you in the meantime our kindest greetings, Organising Committee: Katie Warnaby & Jostein Holmgren, University of Oxford; Aureli Soria-Frisch & Eleni Kroupi, Starlab; Julia Moser & Hubert Preissl, University of Tubingen ________________________________________ Aureli Soria-Frisch (Dr.-Ing.) Director of Neuroscience Starlab Consulting Division Barcelona Offices: Av. Tibidabo, 47 bis - 08035 Barcelona - Spain tel. +34 93 254 03 70, +34 93 254 03 66, Ext -02 skype aureli.soria-frisch twitter @aurelisofr linkedin es.linkedin.com/pub/aurelisoriafrisch <http://es.linkedin.com/pub/aureli-soria-frisch/6/b93/294/>________________________________________ Starlab, Living Science http://starlab.es <http://starlab.es/> Click here <http://www.starlab.es/email_confidentiality_and_data_protection_policy> to read our e-mail confidentiality and data protection policy

Aug. 8, 2019

call for papers: NeurIPS 2019 Workshop on ‘Context and Compositionality in biological and artificial neural systems’

by Alexander Huth

(Apologies for cross-post) NeurIPS 2019 - Workshop on ‘Context and Compositionality in biological and artificial neural systems’ Vancouver Convention Center, Vancouver CANADA Fri Dec 13th or Sat Dec 14th https://context-composition.github.io <https://context-composition.github.io/> Workshop abstract: The ability to integrate semantic information across narratives is fundamental to language understanding in both biological and artificial cognitive systems. There have been enormous strides in NLP and Machine Learning to develop architectures and techniques that effectively capture these effects. We have moved away from traditional bag-of-words approaches that ignore temporal ordering to RNNs, Temporal CNNs and Transformers that incorporate contextual information at varying timescales. While these architectures have lead to SoTA performance on many difficult language understanding tasks, it is unclear what representations these networks learn and how exactly they incorporate context. Interpreting these networks, systematically analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of different elements, such as gating or attention, and reflecting on the capacity of the networks across various timescales are open and important questions. On the biological side, recent work in neuroscience suggests that areas in the brain are organized into a temporal hierarchy in which different areas are not only sensitive to specific semantic information but also to the composition of information at different timescales. Computational neuroscience has moved in the direction of leveraging deep learning to gain insights about the brain. By answering questions on the underlying mechanisms and representational interpretability of these artificial networks, we can also expand our understanding of temporal hierarchies, memory and capacity effects in the brain. In this workshop we aim to bring together researchers from machine learning, NLP, and neuroscience to explore and discuss how computational models should effectively capture the multi-timescale, context-dependent effects that seem essential for processes such as language understanding. We believe that this will not only lead to a deeper understanding of biological language systems but also better artificial systems that can leverage these insights and understand language better. Call For Papers Paper submission deadline: Mon September 9th, 2019 22:00 PM UTC Decision Notification: Sun September 29th, 2019 22:00 PM UTC Submit at: https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/CNTXTCOMP2019/ <https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/CNTXTCOMP2019/> The site will start accepting submissions on August 7th. We invite paper submissions on the following topics, or any related or relevant work: • Contextual sequence processing in the human brain • Compositional representations in the human brain • Systematic generalization in deep learning • Compositionality in human intelligence • Compositionality in natural language • Understanding composition and temporal processing in neural network models • New approaches to compositionality and temporal processing in language • Hierarchical representations of temporal information • Datasets for contextual sequence processing • Applications of compositional neural networks to real-world problems Formatting Instructions: All submissions must be in PDF format. Submissions are limited to four content pages, including all figures and tables; additional pages containing only references are allowed. You must format your submission using the NeurIPS 2019 LaTeX style file. Submissions that violate the NeurIPS style (e.g., by decreasing margins or font sizes) or page limits may be rejected without further review. All submissions should be anonymous. Accepted papers will be presented during a poster session, with spotlight oral presentations for exceptional submissions. The accepted papers will be made publicly available as non-archival reports, allowing future submissions to archival conferences or journals. The review process is double-blind. We also welcome published papers that are within the scope of the workshop (without re-formatting, if the paper is already 4 pages or shorter). Already-published papers do not need to be anonymous. They are eligible for poster sessions and will only have a very light review process. Please redirect questions and all future correspondence to shaileejain(a)utexas.edu <mailto:shaileejain@utexas.edu>. Workshop Organizing Committee Javier Turek, Alexander Huth, Shailee Jain, Christopher Honey, Tal Linzen, Leila Wehbe, Emma Strubell, Kyunghyun Cho and Alan Yuille -- ALEXANDER G. HUTH, PhD | Assistant Professor The University of Texas at Austin Departments of Computer Science & Neuroscience

Aug. 7, 2019

Open Source Brain workshop 2019: Call for presentations/demos of open datasets and tools

by Gleeson, Padraig

[Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this due to cross-posting] The 2019 Open Source Brain workshop will be held in Alghero, Sardinia on 9-11th September 2019. There are a number of presentation slots still available for attendees to present open experimental data sets/databases/tools/simulators/libraries relevant to the goals of the meeting. Full details: http://www.opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2019 Open Source Brain (http://www.opensourcebrain.org) is a platform for sharing and collaboratively developing models in computational neuroscience. Models of cells and circuits in standardised formats can be visualised, analysed and simulated through a standard web browser. A key driver for the development of this technology is to improve accessibility, scientific scrutiny, reproducibility and reuse of models of brain function. The platform is described in a recent paper in Neuron: https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(19)30444-1 The 2019 OSB Workshop will highlight the latest features of OSB and engage current and future users of the platform through invited talks, posters, hands on demonstrations, and user presentations. Since we are substantially expanding the functionality of Open Source Brain to enable sharing of standardized experimental data used to build and test the models of neurons and circuits, this year’s meeting will have two key themes: 1) Accessible sharing of cellular neuroscience data Through support for the Neurodata Without Borders (NWB) format, OSB will facilitate sharing of multiple types of experimental data used to constrain computational models, including electrophysiological recordings, Ca2+ fluorescence imaging, 2D, 3D and 4D imaging and behavioural data. Challenges, requirements and solutions to data standardization will be discussed. 2) Modelling cortical structures across scales Cortical networks are modelled at many scales from abstract representations of interacting populations (neural masses) to networks of biophysically and morphologically detailed cell models. NeuroML is being expanded to cover a greater range of these models, which will allow them to be shared and simulated on OSB, facilitating comparison of models and ideas between researchers. This ongoing work is taking place as part of the SIG on Standardised Representations of Network Structures<https://www.incf.org/activities/standards-and-best-practices/incf-special-i…>. Registration The registration fee for the meeting for 3 days will be £130. This will help cover organisation and speaker costs, meeting room hire, lunch, tea and coffee for 3 days and one workshop dinner. Please register here<https://onlinestore.ucl.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/faculty-of-life-scienc…>. Registration closes on 1st September 2019. Confirmed speakers Yazan Billeh (Allen Institute, USA) Matteo Cantarelli (MetaCell Ltd) Alex Cayco Gajic (UCL, UK & École Normale Supérieure, France) Sharon Crook (Arizona State University, USA) Jeffrey S. Diamond (NINDS, USA) Ian Duguid (University of Edinburgh, UK) Matt Earnshaw (University College London, UK) Jan Fousek (Aix Marseille Université, France) Padraig Gleeson (University College London, UK) Boris Marin (Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil) Diego Restrepo (University of Colorado, USA) Oliver Reubel (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, USA) Simon Schultz (Imperial College, UK) Angus Silver (University College London, UK) Sacha van Albada (Jülich Research Centre, Germany) For more details please see: http://www.opensourcebrain.org/docs/Help/Meetings#OSB_2019 The OSB 2019 organising committee Padraig Gleeson Matt Earnshaw Angus Silver

Aug. 7, 2019

Registration open for #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 | CAMBRIDGE | 11-13 SEPT 2019

by Máté Lengyel

<http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 | CAMBRIDGE | 11-13 SEPT 2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> Cambridge Neuroscience invites you to #ABC2019 & #MARR2019 Updated programmes now online! THE 7TH CAMBRIDGE NEUROSCIENCE SYMPOSIUM ‘ARTIFICIAL AND BIOLOGICAL COGNITION’ IS AN INTERNATIONAL MEETING, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 12-13TH 2019 AT THE WEST ROAD CONCERT HALL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. Abstract submission extended until August 16th 2019! #ABC2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> comprises seven sessions including ‘Reinforcement Learning’, ‘Navigation’, ‘Robotics’, ‘Communication’, ‘Vision’ ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Neuroethics of AI’. The programme features many distinguished national and international speakers. This is generally a very popular meeting, which attracts an international audience of up to 500 delegates. The Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley plenary lectures are a major feature within the programme. We are delighted to welcome Demis Hassabis and Catherine Dulac to Cambridge. In addition to all of the refreshment breaks there are additional fun opportunities to network at a drinks reception, followed by a Gala dinner, at Trinity College in the evening on September 12th 2019; and a drinks reception following the close of the symposium on September 13th. #Marr2019 <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/about-marr.html>: In addition, we are hosting a special satellite meeting to celebrate David Marr, one of the founding fathers of computational neuroscience, on the 50th anniversary of his thesis. Come join us at St John’s College on Wednesday 11th September 2019 for ‘David Marr, 50 years on’. We will be raising a glass to David Marr on the stunning rooftop terrace of Newnham College following the meeting. <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/abc-programme.html> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/marr-programme.html> <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/events/ABC2019/pages/registration.html> Contact: coordinator(a)neuroscience.cam.ac.uk <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CamNeuro <https://twitter.com/CamNeuro> Cambridge Neuroscience: https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/ <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> -- Dr Dervila Glynn Cambridge Neuroscience IRC Coordinator Room 402, Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1PD, United Kingdom Email: coordinator(a)neuroscience.cam.ac.uk <mailto:coordinator@neuroscience.cam.ac.uk> Phone: 00 44 (0)1223 334063 Web: http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/ <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/> Join the conversation on @CamNeuro <https://twitter.com/CamNeuro>

Aug. 6, 2019

Postdoc and PhD student position using EEG & neural networks to investigate language (Potsdam, Germany)

by Milena Rabovsky

Dear colleagues, I am looking for a Postdoc and a PhD student to join my newly established Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam (Germany) as described in more detail below, and would be very grateful if you forward this announcement to potentially interested candidates. Many thanks and best wishes, Milena Rabovsky --------------------------------------- Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam Postdoctoral and PhD student position The newly established Cognitive Neurosciences Lab at the University of Potsdam (PI Milena Rabovsky) is looking for a Postdoc to focus on neural network modeling of brain potentials during sentence comprehension and a PhD student to investigate prediction and adaptation during language comprehension using EEG. The positions are funded by an Emmy Noether grant from the German Research Foundation focused on investigating the processing of language and meaning in the brain using EEG and deep neural network models (see e.g., Rabovsky, Hansen, & McClelland, 2018, Nature Human Behaviour). Preferred starting date for both positions is November 1, 2019 (but can be discussed). Postdoc position The salary and benefits are determined by the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13 Ost, 100%). This is a temporary position initially limited to a term of 24 months (with possible extension). Project and responsibilities The goal of this project is to train a neural network model of sentence comprehension that has been successfully used to simulate language related brain potentials (Rabovsky, Hansen, & McClelland, 2018, Nature Human Behaviour) on a large-scale semantically labeled training corpus. Prospectively, the trained model will allow for (in collaborations with others in the lab) the simulation of language related brain potentials using stimulus materials from empirical experiments, and the comparison of representations in the model with representations in the brain via representational similarity analysis. Requirements - very good Master and PhD in relevant field (Cognitive Sciences, Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Machine Learning, Data Science, Computational Neuroscience, etc.) - excellent computational skills (e.g., MATLAB, Python,…) - deep learning/ deep neural network modeling skills - capacity to work independently - excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills (in English) - strong interest in several aspects of the lab’s research focus, i.e., neural network models, cognitive neurosciences, language, meaning - high motivation and commitment In addition, the ideal candidate has - experience with deep neural network language models - excellent track record in a relevant field PhD student position The salary and benefits are determined by the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13 Ost, 65%; please note that 65% of full staff member positions are the current norm for PhD student positions in Germany). This is a temporary position initially limited to a term of 36 months (with possible extension). Project and responsibilities The goal of this project is to investigate the relation between prediction errors and adaptation/ learning during language comprehension, as reflected in event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Specific tasks include designing and programming the experiments, collecting and analyzing the data (behavioral and EEG), interpretation of the results as well as presentation of the results at international conferences and publication of the results in international peer-reviewed journals. Requirements - very good Master in relevant field (Cognitive Sciences, Cognitive Neurosciences, Psychology, etc.) - experience with and interest in neuroscientific methods (preferably EEG) - solid statistical skills - good programming skills (e.e., MATLAB, Python, R,…) - excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills (in English) - strong interest in several aspects of the lab’s research focus, i.e., cognitive neurosciences, prediction, adaptation, language, meaning, event-related brain potentials - high motivation and commitment In addition, the ideal candidate has - excellent skills in advanced statistical analyses - experience in research on language, prediction and/ or implicit memory The University strives to maintain gender balance among its staff. Severely disabled applicants shall receive preference in case of equal qualifications. We expressly invite applications from people with migration backgrounds. Please send your application (including letter of motivation, CV, at least 1 [PhD position] or 2 [Postdoc position] names of potential referees, copies of academic certificates) as a single pdf file to bewerbung(a)uni-potsdam.de until August 31 for full consideration (late applications may be considered until the position is filled). Please direct informal inquiries to Milena Rabovsky at milena.rabovsky(a)gmail.com. The official ads can be downloaded here (there are some aspects that relate to German laws and may be confusing for potential international applicants - please get in touch if you have questions!) Postdoc position: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin01/projects/verwaltung/docs/Dezernat3/A… PhD student position: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin01/projects/verwaltung/docs/Dezernat3/A…

Aug. 5, 2019

Job Opening: Research Assistant Professor in Data Science and Engineering at Hong Kong Baptist University

by COMP HKBU

The Department of Computer Science at Hong Kong Baptist University, presently offering BSc, MSc, MPhil, and PhD programmes, invites outstanding applicants for the following position. *Research Assistant Professor in Data Science and Engineering (PR0059/19-20)* The Research Assistant Professor position is created and funded as part of the strategic research development initiatives in the Department. The appointee will be provided with a conducive research environment, and will work within an established group of faculty in the Department. He/she is also expected to perform group-based high-impact research and to undertake some teaching duties. Applicants should possess a PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, and demonstrate abilities to conduct high-quality research in one of the following areas: (i) data analytics and information management; (ii) data security and privacy. Initial appointment will be made on a fixed-term contract of two to three years. Re-appointment thereafter will be subject to mutual agreement. For enquiry, please contact Prof Jianliang Xu (email: xujl(a)comp.hkbu.edu.hk. More information about the Department can be found on its website ( http://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk) *Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.* *Application Procedure:* Applicants are invited to submit their applications at the HKBU e-Recruitment System (jobs.hkbu.edu.hk) with samples of publications, preferably three best ones out of their most recent publications/works. Applicants should also request two referees to send in confidential letters of reference, with *PR* number (stated above) quoted on the letters, to the Personnel Office (Email: recruit(a)hkbu.edu.hk) direct. Those who are not invited for interview four months after the closing date may consider their applications unsuccessful. All application materials including publication samples, scholarly/creative works will be disposed of after completion of the recruitment exercise. Details of the University's Personal Information Collection Statement can be found at http://pers.hkbu.edu.hk/pics. The University reserves the right not to make an appointment for the post advertised, and the appointment will be made according to the terms and conditions then applicable at the time of offer. *Closing date: 30 August 2019 (or until the position is filled)* URL: https://www.comp.hkbu.edu.hk/v1/?page=job_vacancies&id=532

Aug. 5, 2019

Lab manager position available in in the Max Planck Institute in Tuebingen Germany

by Zhaoping Li

*The Department for Sensory and Sensorimotor Systems of the **Max-Planck-Institute for Biological **Cybernetics*studies the processing of sensory information (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactoy) in the brain and the use of this information for directing body movements and making cognitive decisions. Theresearch is highly interdisciplinary, and usestheoretical and experimental approaches, including human psychophysics, and animal behavior, imaging, electrophysiology, and computational modelling. Department website:_https://www.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.de/sensory-and-sensorimotor-systems_ We are currently looking for a *Lab Manager (m/f/d) 100%* to join us at the next possible opportunity. *Responsibilities* You will support, coordinate, and/or manage * scientific equipment and purchases * IT/programming * website, wiki, and social media content * general administrative processes at the department * project planning and managing deadlines * internal and external workshops and other events *Requirements* * Completed university degree (Master’s level) in natural sciences (Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Biology or a similar field), ideally a PhD * Strong command of both English and German**(at least C1 level) * Good skills in IT/programming * The willingness and capability to learn about the research topics * Very strong management and organizational skills * Team player * Independent and responsible * A high level of resilience and professionalism *We offer:* We offer highly interesting, challenging and varied tasks; you will work closely and collaboratively with scientists, students, programmers, administrative staff, and IT support to help achieve the scientific goals of the department. A dedicated team awaits you in an international environment with regular opportunities for further education and training. The salary is paid in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVoeD Bund), according to your qualifications. This position is initially limited to two years, with the possibility of a permanent contract. The Max-Planck-Society seeks to employ more handicapped people and strongly encourages them to apply. Furthermore, we actively support the compatibility of work and family life. The Max-Planck-Society also seeks to increase the number of women in leadership positions and strongly encourages qualified women to apply. The Max-Planck-Society strives for gender equality and diversity. *Your application* Your application must contain a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, and relevant certificates. Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The position is available immediately and will be open until filled. Preference will be given to applications received by *August 31, 2019. *We look forward to receiving your online application by E-Mail in PDF format (in one file) to:_lizhaopinglab@tuebingen.mpg.de <mailto:lizhaopinglab@tuebingen.mpg.de>_, where also informal inquiries can be addressed.

Aug. 3, 2019

Postdoc position in modeling in vivo dendritic activity of cortical pyramidal neurons

by Erik De Schutter

The Computational Neuroscience Unit (https://groups.oist.jp/cnu) of Prof. Erik De Schutter at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is starting a project on modeling behaviorally relevant dendritic activity in layer 5 cortical pyramidal neurons. This will be a collaboration with Prof. Wen-Biao Gan at the New York University School of Medicine (https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/wenbiao-gan) who will provide in vivo data to constrain the models. The goal is to build quantitative models that capture how synaptic input drives dendritic calcium spiking in the apical tuft, how this activity is transmitted down the apical dendrite and changes somatic output as demonstrated, for example, in Cichon and Gan, Nature 2015. Candidates should have a PhD in (computational) neuroscience with good knowledge of dendritic physiology and experience in using the NEURON software to simulate compartmental models of neurons. Previous experience in modeling pyramidal neurons is a plus but not required. OIST is a young, fast-growing research-oriented interdisciplinary graduate university, located on the subtropical paradise island of Okinawa (https://www.visitokinawa.jp/) Despite being a newcomer in the academic world, OIST was recently ranked as #10 in the world on the Normalized Nature Index (https://www.natureindex.com/annual-tables/2019/institution/academic-normali…) It offers attractive financial and working conditions in an English language graduate university. Starting date any time before begin 2020. Send curriculum vitae, summary of research interests and experience, and the names of three referees to Prof. Erik De Schutter at erik(a)oist.jp

Aug. 3, 2019

Fwd: [Job][Postdoc]: 4yrs senior researcher position and Phd scholarship on Modelling beliefs dynamics of social media users with machine learning methodologies at University of Essex funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation)

by Dimitri Ognibene

** Apologies for cross-postings ** Dear Colleagues, I would be very grateful if you could forward this job advert to anybody who could be interested. The highlight is on machine learning for user interaction modelling. Here are some information for the positions. ** Application deadline 14th of August** To apply https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?… <https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?…> https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BTV423/senior-research-officer-in-social-media-m… <https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BTV423/senior-research-officer-in-social-media-m…> A PhD scholarship on the same topics is also out with deadline on the 30th of August Check <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs>http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/ <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/>jobs Kind regards, Dimitri *Postdoc and Phd Positions in: Modelling beliefs dynamics of social media users with machine learning methodologies at University of Essex funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation)* Project: Courage Applications are invited for a 4 years position of Senior Postdoctoral Research Officer and a PhD shcolarship on ht project “COURAGE: A Social Media Companion Safeguarding and Educating Students”. This project is an international collaboration funded by VolkswagenStiftung (Volkswagen Foundation) as part of the Artificial Intelligence and the Society of the Future funding initiative. The project partners include the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), the Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche of the National Council of Research ITD-CNR (Italy), Hochschule Ruhr West (Germany) and the Rhine-Ruhr Institute for System Innovation (Germany). The project aims to develop a Virtual Social Media Companion that educates and supports teenage school students facing the threats of social media such as discrimination and biases as well as hate speech, bullying, fake news and other toxic content. The project involves a substantial experimentation aspect in collaboration with multiple schools around Europe. It will thus provide a unique chance to perform interventions to test the validity of social interaction theories and governance methods. The Essex team will drive two strands of this work, the machine-learning-based user beliefs dynamics modelling aspect and the process of analysing visual and textual content. More specifically, we aim at developing Bayesian computational models of beliefs dynamics of social media users to support governance and educational strategies. These models will also be applied to evaluate socially relevant variables, such as trust and inclusion. We will build on and implement state-of-the-art CV, NLP & AI methods to provide measurements of sentiment, bias, hatefulness, veracity, polarization, and sensationalism of social media content. In addition, we will drive forward the state of the art in detecting hate speech and biased content. The companion will actively counteract this kind of content, balancing it with opposite perspectives and proposing specifically themed challenges adopting ideas used in games. The successful candidate will be based in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at Colchester Campus of The University of Essex. The post is available for four years with a start date from September 2019. To apply: https://vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?… <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jobs.ac.uk%2Fjob%2FBSW396%2F…> For more information: https://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs?authuser=0 <https://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/jobs?authuser=0> Applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Dimitri Ognibene <mailto:dimitri.ognibene@essex.ac.uk> (dimitri.ognibene(a)essex.ac.uk <mailto:dimitri.ognibene@essex.ac.uk>) for informal enquiries and further information on research objectives. -- Dimitri Ognibene, PhD Lecturer in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Department of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, UK http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/ <http://sites.google.com/site/dimitriognibenehomepage/> Skype: dimitri.ognibene

Aug. 1, 2019

Postdoctoral fellowships at the Neuromathematics Center in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

by Antonio Roque

*Positions for Postdoctoral Researchers* The Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics (NeuroMat), hosted by the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), is offering two post-doctoral fellowships for recent PhDs with outstanding research potential. The research will involve collaborations with experimental and theoretical groups and laboratories associated to NeuroMat. The research to be developed by the post-doc fellows shall be strictly related to ongoing research lines developed by the NeuroMat team. The project may be developed at USP (main campus, São Paulo), USP campus Ribeirão Preto or University of Campinas (UNICAMP). We seek candidates capable of developing independent research in one of the research lines below. 1. Stochastic and/or computational modeling of the brain functioning; 2. Acquisition, processing and quantitative analysis of electrophysiological data; 3. Biomedical devices for neuroscience research. Candidates to the first research line are required to have at least one of the profiles below: - A strong background in probability theory with emphasis on stochastic processes. Previous knowledge of rigorous statistical mechanics or random graphs will be favorably considered; - A strong mathematical and / or computational background and experience with computers and programming. Previous experience with development and / or simulation of neural brain models, complex networks, and parallel computing will be favorably considered. Candidates to the second research line are required to have at least one of the profiles below: - A strong background in neuroscience with previous experience in neurophysiological data acquisition, processing and analysis, and knowledge of computer programming; - A strong background in computer science with experience in the development of algorithms, software tools and data bases. Previous research experience in neuroscience or related areas will be favorably considered. Candidates to the third research line are required to have at least one of the profiles below: - A strong background in electromagnetism and biomedical engineering. Previous knowledge of transcranial magnetic stimulation or magnetic / electric field simulation will be favorably considered; - A strong background in computer science and control software development expertise. Previous experience with neuroscience and neuronavigation systems will be favorably considered. Previous experience with multidisciplinary research teams is welcome for all the above research lines. The initial appointment is for one year, with a possible extension to up to four years, conditional on research progress. The fellowship is competitive at international level, and fellows benefit from extra funds for travel and research expenses plus limited support for relocation expenses. *Application Instructions* Applicants should complete and submit the application form. The following documents and information are requested (please see the form for further details): - Summary of the CV, in the FAPESP format (see www.fapesp.br/en/6351 for instructions); - List of publications, with links to those available online; - A summary of the research plan for the next year, up to 5 pages length. It should explicitly state for which of the three above profiles the candidate is applying. It should also address its place within the framework of the NeuroMat research program. - Pointers to other research-related output, such as software, web pages. Candidates should be willing to send copies of publications, if requested; - Any further information deemed relevant to the application. In addition to the above, we require at least 2 recommendation letters. Those should be mailed by the recommenders directly to postdoc-appl(a)numec.prp.usp.br. *FAPESP requirements* a. The candidate should have concluded a doctorate less than seven years before the beginning of the PD fellowship. b. The fellowship demands full-time dedication to the research project (except under conditions outlined in resolution PR No 13/2009, 15 July 2009). c. The fellowship holder may not hold any formal or informal employment nor receive, during the term of the fellowship, a fellowship from another entity, salary or remuneration deriving from the exercise of activities of whatever nature (except under conditions outlined in the decree PR No 13/2009, 15 July 2009). For more information about the scholarships see http://www.fapesp.br/bolsas/pd. *Timetable* Candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience until August 27, 2019. Appointments are expected to start by October 1st, 2019. The initial period of the position lasts for 12 months, with possible renovations for up to four years. This opportunity is open to candidates of any nationality. The selected candidates will be awarded FAPESP Post-Doctoral fellowships in the amount of R$ 7,373.10 monthly and a research contingency fund, equivalent to 15% of the annual value of the fellowship, which should be spent in items directly related to the research activity. Check the rules of FAPESP post-doctoral fellowships at: http://www.fapesp.br/en/5427. -- Dr. Antonio C. Roque Professor Associado Departamento de Fisica FFCLRP, Universidade de Sao Paulo 14040-901 Ribeirao Preto-SP Brazil - Brasil E-mails: antonior(a)usp.br <antonior(a)ffclrp.usp.br> aroquesilva(a)gmail.com URL: www.sisne.org Tels: +55 16 3315-3768 <+55%2016%203315-3768> (sala/office); +55 16 3315-3859 <+55%2016%203315-3859> (lab) FAX: +55 16 3315-4887 <+55%2016%203315-4887>

Aug. 1, 2019

Recent research article

by Osva Velarde

Dear Colleagues, We are happy to share with you our work about the mechanisms of phase-amplitude cross frequency coupling (PAC) in models of biologically plausible neural networks. We think this work opens a new and valuable connection between theory of dynamical systems and the field of signal processing in neural networks and other biophysical systems. In particular, one of the proposed tools, the Time Locked Index (TLI), is suitable to efficiently quantify the harmonic content of experimental recordings. Hope you find this useful. Feedback is most welcome. "Bifurcation structure determines different phase-amplitude coupling patterns in the activity of biologically plausible neural networks" O M Velarde, E Urdapilleta, G Mato, and D Dellavale. NeuroImage https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116031 The paper is freely available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334582958_Bifurcation_structure_de… Source code for TLI computation:https://github.com/damian-dellavale/Time-Locked-Index With kind regards, Osvaldo Matías Velarde Departamento de Física Médica Instituto Balseiro - Centro Atómico Bariloche R8402AGP Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentinaosva_velarde@yahoo.com.arosva.m.velarde@gmail.com https://fisica.cab.cnea.gov.ar/fisicamedica/

July 31, 2019

Opening for Group Leader of Bio Data Science group

by Romuald Janik

Dear Colleagues, Starting from Fall 2019, the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland will host a 4-year interdisciplinary project Bio-Inspired Artificial Neural Networks The broad aim of the project is to put together Neuroscience and Machine Learning research and gather insight from the brain analyzed over a wide range of scales in order to develop novel machine learning architectures and algorithms. The project comprises Machine Learning, Cognitive and Physics groups and in addition three new groups will be formed: a low level neuroscience group, a Bio Data Science group and a more technical computer science group. We are looking in particular for candidates for a Group Leader of the Bio Data Science group. The main aims of the Bio Data Science group located at the Faculty of Physics is to perform extensive analyses of massive fMRI data (both in-house and publicly available), possibly also of other modalities like diffusive MRI or MEG/EEG. These analyses will be targeted at i) developing machine learning based diagnostic algorithms, ii) extracting insights from data on connectivity/dynamical properties of neuronal networks, iii) comparisons with artificial neural networks. In addition, the group is expected to closely cooperate with the Physics group of the project on testing physics motivated hypothesis and implementing machine learning architectures. Of course, the group is very much welcome to pursue also other goals related to the project "Bio-Inspired Artificial Neural Networks". The Leader of the Bio Data Science group should therefore have expertise in machine learning as well as experience/knowledge on dealing with the specific peculiarities of the fMRI datasets like preprocessing requirements/artifacts as well as general knowledge about other modalities. The position is for 3 years. Deadline for application is 23rd August. The call with details is on the website http://bionn.matinf.uj.edu.pl/. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me (romuald.janik(a)gmail.com) Best regards, Romuald Janik

July 31, 2019

Fully funded PhD position in neuroscience about cone photoreceptor signal transduction at Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris

by Juergen Reingruber

Please forward this offer among potentially interested students. Thanks. Jürgen Reingruber Topic: Development of a Mathematical Model of Signal Transduction and Adaptation in Mammalian Cone Photoreceptors Field: Computational Neuroscience, Sensory Transduction Location: Institute of Biology École Normale Supérieure, Paris Supervision: Jürgen Reingruber, IBENS Collaboration: G. Fain and A. P. Sampath from UCLA Funding: 42 months by ANR, starting earliest in October 2019 Project description: We are looking for a PhD student for an interdisciplinary project between physics, mathematics computer science and neuroscience. Cone photoreceptors are the fundamental retinal neurons underlying our daylight vision. In spite of their importance for our visual perception, a comprehensive biophysical model showing how cones convert light into an electrical signal has not yet been developed. In close partnership with our experimental collaborators from UCLA, the student will analyze new (and worldwide unique) electrophysiological recordings to develop the first molecular model for the light response in cones. He will use asymptotic analysis and simulations to obtain a precise understanding of how cones respond and adapt during daylight. He will perform simulations with molecularly modified models to study how sensory transduction is altered in a diseased photoreceptor, which is important for understanding and treatment of photoreceptor dysfunctions. More details about the project can be found here: http://www.biologie.ens.fr/~reingrub/content/PhDDescription.pdf Lab and Environment: The lab where the research will be conducted is located in the Institute of Biology at École Normale Supérieure in the Latin Quarter in Paris. The ENS is a leading multidisciplinary research center and part of the PSL university. It is located in the heart of Paris right next Collège de France, Institute Curie, EPSCI (school of engineering), Sorbonne and other universities. The lab provides high speed internet, a powerful workstation (iMac) and access to Bioclust, the IBENS computing cluster. The lab comprises PhD students and postdocs with background in physics, applied mathematics and computer science. Candidate: The candidate should have a solid background in physics, applied mathematics, computer science or equivalent. Her/he should be highly motivated and interested in neuroscience and biology. Ideally the candidate should have skills and experience in modeling, analysis of dynamical systems, stochastic processes as well as programming and running simulations using either Matlab, C/C++, Comsol or Python. To apply, please send a CV and a motivation letter to Jürgen Reingruber (reingrub(a)ens.fr) -- Jürgen Reingruber, PhD Institute of Biology (IBENS) École Normale Supérieure 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France Tel: +33 (0)1 4432 3662 Fax: +33 (0)1 4432 8887

July 31, 2019

[jobs] Postdoc on “Understanding of Visually Mediated Social Signs in Humans and Robots” at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)

by Giulio Sandini

Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Research Line at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Erzelli, Genoa, is seeking to appoint one postdoctoral position focusing on the use of the iCub humanoid robot to investigate the role of body-mediated (embodied) social signals in human-robot collaborative interaction and to identify the minimum subset of signals enabling mutual understanding in human-robot communication in realistic, application oriented, scenarios. The research activities will be carry out under the supervision of Dr. Francesco Rea and Prof. Giulio Sandini (https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/969-postdoctoral-position-in-th… ) The activity will be carried out within a Joint Lab recently established between IIT and a major produrre in the automotive sector, dedicated scientific and technical activities, including training, in the field of signs-based social communication mediated by robots. The research for this Postdoctoral position will involve: a) the development of methods and relative software to generate robot behaviors for natural mutual understanding, b) the design and implementation of novel models of immediate perception of the human partner state, and c) the design of experiments, testing and analysis/validation in human-robot interaction experiments. The first goal of the research is modelling how the robot could adapt its perception and behaviour to the individual needs of the partner during an interaction, with potential implications for communicative technology. The second goal of the research is to exploit how these models can be transferred to novel robotic designs. -- Prof. Giulio Sandini Founding Director - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Center for Human Technologies Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Unit Via Enrico Melen 83 - Building B - 16152 GENOVA Phone: +39 010 2897 227 https://www.iit.it/giulio-sandini https://www.iit.it/rbcs

July 31, 2019

Abstract submission extension to the next 15th Granada Seminar on Stochastic and Collective Effects in Neural Systems

by Prof. Dr. Joaquín J. Torres

Dear Computational Neuroscience community This is a kind reminder that the deadline for abstract submission to the next "15th Granada Seminar on Computational and Statistical Physics" that will be held in Granada Spain, next September 17-20, 2019 in the Science Faculty of the University of Granada, Spain, has been extended to the next August 31th, 2019. The Granada Seminar is a topical conference whose pedagogical power is especially channelled towards young researchers. In fact, one interesting aspect of this meeting is the opportunity given to young researchers to present their results and to discuss their problems with leading specialists. The Granada Seminar is Organized by the "Institute Carlos I for Theoretical and Computational Physics, University of Granada, and it is Sponsored by: - Institute Carlos I, for theoretical and computational physics, University of Granada: http://ic1.ugr.es/home/ - European Physical Society This year edition the main topic of the conference is "Stochastic and Collective Effects in Neural Systems" including Biological aspects, Modeling, Dynamics, Networks, Function and Applications. The aim of this meeting is to bring together scientists interested in Neural Systems and their statistical and collective effects from real experiments, theoretical and computational models to applications. Confirmed Main Speakers: Roberto Barrio, Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain): Insect movement gaits: neuron model, CPG and patterns Ginestra Bianconi, Queen Mary University of London (UK) Jesús Cortés, Ikerbasque (Spain) Lucilla de Arcangelis, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (Italy) Jose Maria Delgado, Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain): Learning as a functional state of the brain Andrea Gabrielli, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi (Italy): Brain Network Topology Maps Schizophrenia Dysfunctional Substrates Andre Longtin, University of Ottawa (Canada): Detecting and Learning in Noisy Neurons: From Dendrites to Spontaneous Movements Joaquin Marro, Universidad de Granada (Spain):Is the Mind just an assembly of Phase Transitions? Jorge F. Mejías, University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Geza Odor MTA EK-MFA (Hungary) Cyriel Pennartz, University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Predictive representations and population coding in visual and multisensory systems Dietmar Plenz, NIH National Institute of Mental Health (USA) Ander Ramos, Tecnalia (Spain) Alex Roxin, CRM Barcelona (Spain):A network model of place-cell turnover in CA1 Mavi Sánchez-Vives, Institut d'investigacions Biomèdiques (Spain) Samir Suweis, Universita di Padova (Italy): Simple (but not too simple) models to investigate complex brain dynamics Yuhai Tu, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center (USA): Optimal coding strategies in the periferal olfactory systems: Compressed sensing for an array of nonlinear olfactory receptor neurons with and without spontaneous activity Pablo Varona, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) Pau Vilimelis Aceituno Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciencies (Germany) Marius Yamakou Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (Germany) People interested to attend the conference and present their contributions please follow the link below for further information: http://ergodic.ugr.es/cp/index.php Contributions to the conference will be invited to submit an original manuscript for a forthcomming "Special Issue on Emergent Effects in Stochastic Neural Networks with Application to Learning and Information Processing", in the Elsevier Journal "Neurocomputing" (Impact Factor: 4.072, being Q1 in the ISI JCR) -- Prof. Dr. Joaquín J. Torres Department of Electromagnetism and Physics of the Matter. Institute "Carlos I" for Theoretical and Computational Physics. University of Granada.

July 30, 2019

NEURON course at SFN 2019 meeting

by Carnevale, Nicholas

Space is still available for the NEURON course that will be held at a location on the campus of the Feinberg School of Medicine in downtown Chicago, as a satellite session to the 2019 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. This course is for you if you're * a lab director trying to decide whether to add computational modeling to your research program * a grad student or postdoc who is just getting started in modeling * an established NEURON user who wants to find out about NEURON's latest features It starts with a practical introduction that reviews basic concepts, presents a workflow for building and using mechanistic models of cells and networks, and moves on to topics that include: * how to speed up simulations * how to use Python with NEURON (while still taking advantage of NEURON's GUI!) * how to model reaction-diffusion with the RxD class For more information and the registration form, see https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron/static/courses/chi2019/chi2019.html --Ted -- This message was composed in plain text and may contain plain text formatting of source code, tables, and lists. Reading it in a client that ignores "excess" whitespace characters or line breaks may destroy that formatting, making this message unreadable. Outlook does that by default; learn how to disable the "Auto Remove Line Breaks" ""feature"" at support.microsoft.com

July 29, 2019

Associate professor in theoretical neuroscience position at Donders Centre for Neuroscience, Radboud University (Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

by Paul Tiesinga

Dear colleagues Were are recruiting a new faculty in the general area of theoretical (and/or computational) neuroscience at the associate professor level. The position is based in the Neuroinformatics department at the Faculty of Science at Radboud University (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) and embedded in the Donders Institute. We are especially encouraging female candidates to apply. Detailed information about the position, as well as instructions of how to apply are found at https://www.academictransfer.com/nl/284454/associate-professor-of-theoretic… . Informal enquiries can be directed to Paul Tiesinga (p.tiesinga(a)science.ru.nl, Head of department) or Bert Kappen (b.kappen(a)donders.ru.nl, Chair of the search committee). Should you know of excellent candidates that may not have been reached by this advertisement, please feel free to forward this email to them or to forward their contact information to us at the aforementioned email addresses. Best regards, Paul Tiesinga, on behalf of the search committee.

July 29, 2019

search for neuro faculty at Northwestern University

by Sara A. Solla

The Department of Physiology at Northwestern University, where I work, seeks a full-time tenure track Investigator at the rank of Assistant, Associate or full Professor. Applications from the circuit, systems, and computational neuroscience community would be welcomed. Northwestern has a large neuroscience community consisting of over 150 faculty members, located on both Chicago and Evanston campuses, providing many opportunities for collaboration. The scientific environment is collegial, collaborative, and rich with core facilities, robust cross-disciplinary graduate training programs, and diverse expertise. Candidates should have a PhD, MD/PhD or MD degree, significant research experience, and evidence of sustainable extramural funding. Those seeking appointment at the associate or full professor level should have a record of outstanding research productivity and sustained grant support. When applying, please upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a two-page description of research accomplishments/plans, and a completed list of references form to suggest the names of individuals who could write letters of reference on your behalf. See https://www.nature.com/naturecareers/job/faculty-position-in-neuroscience-f…

July 26, 2019