- Comp-neuro - lists.cnsorg.org

BRAIN Theories postdocs to develop history dependent theories across scales.

by Fidel Santamaria

Two Postdoctoral positions to develop a framework to study history dependent activity across scales and species. The objective of this NIH BRAIN Theories project is to develop a unified theoretical framework to study history dependence across the nervous system. This is based on our previous work on using fractional order differential equations to study reaction diffusion and spiking dynamics in single neurons. In this project, we will further extend our theory to determine variability in cortical neurons, understand the effect of history dependence on network dynamics, coding, and information rates; and will apply our knowledge at the cellular level to predict and understand sensory processing in intact animals. This is an expansive project, with multiple collaborations. The fitting candidates will have the opportunity to interact with laboratories at McGill University, in Canada; Max Planck Institute for Dynamics & Self Organization, in Germany; and the Allen Brain Institute. Your theoretical background could be in dynamical systems, applied math, or computational neuroscience. Having knowledge of fractional order differential equations is a plus, but not required. Technically, you need to know Matlab. Knowledge of python and NEURON are a plus. You have to have a fundamental knowledge of neuroscience or demonstrate a willingness to catch up. The laboratory has all the necessary resources, from high end CPU/GPU servers, to local clusters, and access to the largest supercomputers and cloud services through the Texas Advanced Computer Center and the Chameleon Cloud. The laboratory also offers an interdisciplinary environment where experiments in cerebellar research are combined with computational and theoretical approaches. We just acquired a new multi-photon microscope with spatial light modulation capabilities that will allow us to interrogate the cerebellum in ways not possible before. San Antonio is one of the best places to live in the US. It is one of the most affordable large cities in the country, the weather is mild for most of the year, and you can afford to have a nice life. If interested, send a cover page, CV, and list of three references to fidel.santamaria(a)utsa.edu -- Fidel Santamaria, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biology One UTSA circle University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249 Office: (210) 458-6910 Lab: (210) 458-6982 Fax: (210) 458-5658 Office/Lab Location: BSB 1.03.30 http://www.utsa.edu/santamarialab/index.htm

June 12, 2019

Official PGENESIS 2.4 release and GENESIS 2.4 Update

by Dave Beeman

I would like to announce the Official Release of PGENESIS 2.4 along with a significant update to GENESIS 2.4. GENESIS is implemented with an object-oriented design that groups related object and command definitions into separately compiled libraries. Parallel GENESIS (PGENESIS) adds a library with a "postmaster" object to the usual usual GENESIS objects and commands. This allows a GENESIS simulation (e. g. a large network model) to be split into many MPI processes that communicate through the postmaster. The November 2014 release of GENESIS 2.4 was intended to be the last packaged GENESIS 2 distribution for download from the GENESIS web site (http://genesis-sim.org/GENESIS) As GENESIS is user-supported, rather than centrally developed, updates to GENESIS and PGENESIS are now obtained from the Repository for Continued Development of the GENESIS 2.4 Neural Simulator (https://github.com/genesis-sim/genesis-2.4) The object-oriented design and organization not only fosters the community development of neural models, but of the simulator itself. This new mutually-developed release of PGENESIS is such an example. As users have continued to contribute new libraries and improvements, there has been an increased use and extension of GENESIS and PGENESIS for its original purpose of realistically modeling cortical networks of multicompartmental neurons on parallel computers. Recent updates to GENESIS and a merge of the GENESIS/PGENESIS development branch from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have addressed a number of issues in order to increase its scalability for modeling very large networks on high performance computing resources, allowing for models of millions of neurons. These improvements have made it necessary for a new release of a combined package of the May 2019 GENESIS 2.4 Update and the PGENESIS 2.4 Official Release. Information about this release and downloads are available from the GENESIS web site (http://genesis-sim.org/GENESIS) The official release of PGENESIS 2.4 is much improved from the December 2014 preliminary release. Updates of GENESIS since the 2014 release allow the fast "hsolve" solver to be used with new synaptic plasticity models and measurements of cortical field potentials. The efficient delivery of spike events when hsolve is used with large network models results in increases in simulation speed by factors of 10 to 20. This release of PGENESIS 2.4 is also now available for running large-scale network simulations on supercomputers at the Neuroscience Gateway Portal (NSG). For further information, see the https://www.nsgportal.org web page. Dave Beeman

June 10, 2019

Neuromechanics workshop at Bernstein 2019

by Charlotte Le Mouel

We are pleased to announce the "Neuromechanics in humans and other animals" workshop at the Bernstein Conference for Computational Neuroscience 2019. The workshop will take place in Berlin over two half-days, the afternoon of Tuesday 17th September, from 14h to 18h30, and the morning of Wednesday 18th September, from 8h30 to 12h30. The workshop program is attached. The list of speakers is: Prof. Friedl de Groote, KU Leuven, Belgium Prof. Ann Hallemans, University of Antwerp, Belgium Prof. Jaap van Dieën, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Prof. Marcus Gruber, University of Konstanz, Germany Prof. Heiko Wagner, University of Münster, Germany Dr. Anne Koelewijn, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg , Germany Dr. Susanne Lipfert, TU München, Germany Dr. Emanuel Andrada, University of Jena, Germany Registration costs for the workshop are 60 until 9th July / 80 until 30th August/ 100 on site. Further information on the conference is available here: http://bernstein-conference.de/ All the best, Dr. Charlotte Le Mouel and Dr. Alexander Spröwitz Dynamic Locomotion Group, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

June 7, 2019

Bernstein Conference 2019 - deadlines approaching

by Bernstein Communication

BERNSTEIN CONFERENCE 2019, September 17-20 in Berlin The deadline for abstracts aimed as contributed talks and posters is approaching! ************************************************************** Deadline for abstracts aimed as contributed talks and posters: June 13, 2019 Deadline for abstracts aimed as posters only: July 03, 2019 ************************************************************** ABSTRACT SUBMISSION We are inviting the submission of abstracts from all relevant areas. Authors of most accepted abstracts will get the chance for a poster presentation, a small number of abstracts will be selected for contributed talks during the main conference. For abstract submission and more information please visit: bernstein-conference.de/2019/abstracts SELECTION OF CONTRIBUTED TALKS: The contributed talks will be selected in a (double-)blind review process. Please design your abstract accordingly and ensure that no author or affiliation identifiers are included. Cite all relevant prior work (including your own) only in the passive voice or in the third person (for example, “It has been shown that… [1]” or "They have shown that... [1]”), do not use the words “my” or “our”, and do not include references to funding sources. Abstracts that have not been properly anonymized cannot be considered for contributed talks. Submission of an abstract does not replace conference registration (intercongress.de/cgi-bin/regform_79106.exe?company=79106&event=1969&language=1&Entry=9). For more information on the conference, please visit: bernstein-conference.de -- Dr. Claudia Duppé/ Dr. Nikola Schwarzer Press and Public Relations Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) phone: (+49) 0761 203 96787 mail: bernstein.communication(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:bernstein.communication@fz-juelich.de> web: www.bernstein-network.de<http://www.bernstein-network.de/de/start_page> ______________________________________ Twitter: NNCN_Germany<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany?lang=de> YouTube: Bernstein TV<https://www.youtube.com/user/BernsteinNetwork> Facebook: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.facebook.com/BernsteinNetwork/> LinkedIn: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 7, 2019

postdoc position at UCL: decision neuroscience, computational psychiatry

by Hauser, Tobias

The Developmental Computational Psychiatry lab, based at University College London (www.devcompsy.org<http://www.devcompsy.org>) is offering a postdoc position to work in decision neuroscience and computational psychiatry (esp. OCD). We are looking someone with a strong background in computational modelling, neuroimaging and/or psychiatry. The postdoc will be joining a young and interdisciplinary lab that works at the intersection of computational neuroscience, psychiatry, pharmacology and cognitive development. This means that the position offers the freedom to pursue own projects under Tobias' supervision. The position is based at the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research and the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at UCL. This is a unique environment with access to cutting-edge neuroimaging facilities (3 & 7T fMRI, MEG, etc.) and is embedded in the very collaborative, world-class UCL computational neuroscience community. Potential candidates may contact Tobias directly to talk about the position and potential projects in person. This position is funded by Wellcome Trust. Application deadline is 15 June 2019. More details and application submission here: https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?SID=amNvZGU9MTgwNzQ0NiZ2dF90… Best, Tobias --- Dr Tobias U. Hauser Sir Henry Dale Fellow, Principal Investigator Developmental Computational Psychiatry lab Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging University College London 10-12 Russell Square London WC1B 5EH +44 207 679 5264 (internal: 45264) t.hauser(a)ucl.ac.uk<mailto:t.hauser@ucl.ac.uk> www.tobiasuhauser.com<http://www.tobiasuhauser.com/> www.devcompsy.org<http://www.devcompsy.org>

June 7, 2019

Research Fellow Position in Seizure Prediction

by Levin Kuhlmann

We have a Research Fellow opening through a collaboration between the University of Melbourne and Monash University for someone to develop and crowdsource machine learning and data science approaches to solving seizure prediction. Seizure prediction will enable the generation of warnings so a person with epilepsy can move to safety, or activation of electrical stimulation or drug delivery to prevent seizures. Our team leverages unique long-term human brain activity data to find novel, clinically relevant solutions to seizure prediction, and publishes these findings in the highest impact neurology journals (Lancet Neurology, Nature Reviews Neurology, Nature Neuroscience, Brain, PNAS). The appointed research fellow is expected to successfully contribute to and drive innovative research activities to help make seizure prediction a viable option to support patients with epilepsy. The successful candidate will hold a PhD or equivalent qualification complemented with experience in machine learning, data science, signal processing, dynamical systems theory, time series analysis and/or cloud computing. Applications close: 2nd July 2019 To apply visit: https://careers.pageuppeople.com/422/ci/en/job/900082/research-fellow-seizu…

June 7, 2019

Open PhD position in Juelich, Germany: An approach to tracking the provenance of data acquisition and analysis in neuroscience

by Martina Reske

The Helmholtz School for Data Science in Life, Earth and Energy offers a PhD position in neuroscience! See here for more information on the specific position: https://www.hds-lee.de/fileadmin/user_upload/HDS_LEE/open_positions/An_appr… Kind regards, Martina -- Dr. Martina Reske Scientific Coordinator Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-6) Computational and Systems Neuroscience & Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6) Theoretical Neuroscience Jülich Research Centre and JARA Jülich, Germany Work +49.2461.611916 Work Cell +49.151.26156918 Fax +49.2461.619460 www.csn.fz-juelich.de Office hours: TU & FR 9.00-17, WE & TH 9.00-13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 6, 2019

Calling all python programmers!

by Marina

Check out this unique job opportunity at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and apply to be part of a diverse team of neuroscientists and engineers working to understand how experience influences neural processing. Python fluency and a desire to work as part of a team are key qualifications. Apply here: Job posting on Indeed <https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=964ae8a153d09354&q=allen+institute&l=Seat…> *Software Engineer I – Software tools for behavioral neuroscience * The Allen Institute for Brain Science seeks a Software Engineer to be an essential member of a scientific team investigating how neural circuits represent visual categories and how this coding is modified by experience, expectation, and motivation. The datasets created as part of this project will be publicly released as an open data resource for the community, in line with the Allen Institute’s core principles of big science, open science & team science. The primary role of this Software Engineer will be to work closely with neuroscientists and engineers to develop and maintain software tools for conducting and analyzing experiments designed to measure brain activity during behavior. This will require developing an in depth understanding of the scientific motivation and rationale of these studies in order to effectively translate scientific requirements into code. Accordingly, experience with or interest in neuroscience is highly valued. As part of a highly collaborative environment with an existing software ecosystem, good communication and enthusiasm for working with and learning from others is essential to this role. This position will serve as a bridge between scientific and engineering teams by contributing to early development alongside scientists, then helping to translate that development work into a highly standardized production environment. This will involve making use of existing tools and building extensions that can be used for new avenues of research. Responsibilities of this position include designing and writing stimulus control software, testing and troubleshooting code for running experiments and interacting with experimental hardware, building visualization tools to observe data acquisition in real time, writing tests, validation functions, and documentation to ensure that code is robust and results are accurate, attending meetings to discuss scientific goals and task requirements, and facilitating cross team coordination. *RESPONSIBILITIES* - Collaborate with diverse scientific and technical teams - Contribute to the design and creation of open data resources - Work with scientists and software engineers to transform complex requirements into software - Develop code to control and interact with hardware for running experiments - Implement behavior task logic in code using existing or new codebases - Understand and utilize internal databases for data management - Create and analyze visual stimuli such as images or 3D rendered objects - Write, test and troubleshoot scripts for running behavior experiments - Write unit tests and validation functions to ensure that software is working according to specifications - Write well documented code, refactor and document existing code - Manage scientific analysis codebase, address GitHub issues, maintain documentation - Build visualization tools to evaluate data quality and scientific results - Transfer knowledge of scientific code to the Process Engineering team for production implementation - Enjoys solving problems - Strong communication skills - Desire to work as part of a team in a collaborative environment - Dedicated team player *REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS* - Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical discipline, such as computer science, computational neuroscience, data science, or biomedical engineering - Proficient in Python - Strong programming ability for scientific computing - Experience with Python tools for scientific computing (numpy, scipy, pandas, scikit-learn, scikit-image, etc) - Working knowledge of Git for version control and collaborative coding - Experience writing unit tests, debugging code, using profiling tools *DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS* - 1+ years of relevant experience in a team oriented software development environment - 1+ years of experience with scientific computing - Experience with systems or behavioral neuroscience - Experience refactoring existing code bases to improve maintainability. - Experience with relational (e.g. postgres, SQL) and/or distributed (e.g. MongoDB) databases - Experience with scientific data visualization - Experience with image or signal processing - Experience with hardware interfaces, graphical user interfaces - Experience meeting aggressive timelines and deliverables - Experience pursuing research projects in collaborative fashion

June 5, 2019

postdoctoral position

by Daniel Ferris

A postdoctoral researcher position studying human locomotion is available in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Ferris ( https://faculty.eng.ufl.edu/human-neuromechanics-laboratory) This position is for an initial one-year appointment, and has the potential to be renewed for an additional three years based on performance and funding availability. Dr. Ferris has a long history of training professionals who have entered and succeeded in both academic and industry positions. The postdoctoral research will work on a currently funded NIH project (U01 AG061389) designed to identify neural correlates of mobility impairments in older adults. Research will involve using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to track changes in electrocortical dynamics in older adults in a longitudinal study. Subjects will walk on a range of terrain surfaces to determine how they compensate for surfaces that challenge their stability. We will determine whether poorer walking performance is associated with the Compensation Related Utilization of Neural Circuits Hypothesis (CRUNCH). CRUNCH is a well-supported model of brain activity patterns that are seen when older individuals perform tasks of increasing complexity. CRUNCH describes the over-recruitment of frontoparietal brain networks that older adults exhibit in comparison to young adults, even at low levels of task complexity. CRUNCH also describes the limited reserve resources available in the older brain. These factors cause older adults to quickly reach a ceiling in brain resources when performing tasks of increasing complexity. *Attributes of UF and Gainesville*: The BME Department is housed in a state-of-the art building that is located in the medical school and steps from engineering. The University of Florida is one of only a few comprehensive universities, having medical, veterinary, dental, nursing, public health, and engineering disciplines all co-localized on the same, contiguous campus. UF is a highly collaborative environment that provides researchers with many opportunities for learning (e.g., top seminar programs, excellent core research facilities) and research collaborations. Gainesville is located in the northern region of Florida, within 1-1.5 hours of each coast, and just 1.5-2 hours to Orlando and Tampa. It is a small to medium-sized city with a low cost of living, excellent public and private schools, and southern hospitality. While Gainesville is widely recognized as the home of the Gators, it is quickly becoming known as a center for innovation and a place with a lifestyle that’s comfortable for families, yet attractive for young professionals. In 2013 the financial website NerdWallet deemed Gainesville the #1 fastest growing US city ( http://www.eng.ufl.edu/careers/why-gainesville) The J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering is one of only a few departments in the nation to be co-localized with a top-ranked medical school, veterinary school and dental school. The department is housed in a new state-of-the-art building (completed in 2010) that is co-located with the medical school and steps from engineering. Biomedical Engineering at UF partners with many local research centers and institutes including the McKnight Brain Institute, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center. *Minimum Qualifications*: Applicants must have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, kinesiology or a related biomedical science area. Applicants must have experience with manuscript preparation and submission. Experience with Matlab, EEGLAB, EEG, and motion analysis is desirable. *Salary:* minimum is $48,000 annually *Days to post:* Position is open until filled. *Special Instructions to applicants:* In addition to applying online to Careers at UF (https://jobs.ufl.edu/) Applicants should send a CV, a brief statement of interest, and contact information for two references to Dr. Ferris at dferris(a)bme.ufl.edu. Review of applications will start immediately and continue until the position is filled. -- Daniel P. Ferris, Ph.D. Editor-In-Chief, IEEE-TNSRE editortnsre(a)gmail.com

June 5, 2019

Two PhDs and two Post-doc positions in Neuro-inspired Deep Learning with T. Serre & R. VanRullen

by Rufin VanRullen

Two PhDs and two Post-doc positions in Neuro-inspired Deep Learning with T. Serre & R. VanRullen [Apologies for cross-postings] We are seeking talented and motivated students and post-docs for a number of open positions, in a collaborative effort between the labs of Thomas Serre (Brown University/Toulouse) and Rufin VanRullen (Toulouse). The positions will be based in Toulouse (France), with numerous opportunities to travel, in particular for visits to and close collaborations with the Serre lab at Brown University (USA). The successful candidates will become involved in a number of projects, depending on their particular interests, and will also have the opportunity to develop independent projects. Applicants for the PhD positions should hold a Masters degree or equivalent. Applicants for the post-doc positions should hold a PhD, or expect to receive their PhD shortly. Candidates must have a strong background in computer vision and/or computational neuroscience and/or machine learning. Excellent python programming skills and Tensorflow/PyTorch experience are required. Additionally, applicants at the post-doc level should ideally have a track record of relevant publications at top venues (e.g., NIPS, ICML, CVPR, ICCV, ICLR, etc.). Exceptional candidates with a primary degree in Neuroscience and strong programming/quantitative abilities will also be considered. The fellows will be located in a state-of-the-art facility within the new ANITI (Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute) research center in Toulouse, France. They will be part of the AI Research Chairs held by Thomas Serre ("Reverse-engineering the brain") and Rufin VanRullen ("Deep Learning with semantic, cognitive and biological constraints"). They will also benefit from a lively local community of Deep Learning researchers: the Toulouse Interdisciplinary Deep Learning "TIdDLe" group (https://tiddle-group.github.io) Perks include: competitive salaries, clement weather, high quality of life, vibrant research environment. To apply, send a CV, a short (<1 page) explanation of research interests, and the name of 3 potential referees to thomas_serre(a)brown.edu and rufin.vanrullen(a)cnrs.fr The positions start in Fall 2019 (later start dates can be negotiated), the application procedure is and will remain open until all positions are filled. For more information about ongoing research projects in our labs, consult: http://serre-lab.clps.brown.edu/ and http://cerco.ups-tlse.fr/~rufin/ Some relevant papers: D. Linsley, J. Kim, & T. Serre. Sample-efficient image segmentation through recurrence. ArXiv 2019. https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.11356 D. Linsley, J. Kim, V. Veerabadran, C. Windolf & T. Serre. Learning long-range spatial dependencies with horizontal gated-recurrent units. Neural Information Processing Systems, 2018. https://neurips.cc/Conferences/2018/Schedule?showEvent=11042 D. Linsley, D. Schiebler, S. Eberhardt & T. Serre. Learning what and where to attend. International Conference on Learning Representations, 2019. https://openreview.net/forum?id=BJgLg3R9KQ VanRullen, R., Reddy, L. (2019). Reconstructing Faces from fMRI Patterns using Deep Generative Neural Networks. Nat Comm Biol. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0438-y VanRullen, R. (2017). Perception Science in the age of Deep Neural Networks. Front. Psychology 8:142. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00142/full McLelland, D. & VanRullen, R. (2016). Theta-Gamma Coding Meets Communication-through-Coherence: Neuronal Oscillatory Multiplexing Theories Reconciled. PLoS Comput Biol 12(10), e1005162. https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005…

June 5, 2019

Post-doctoral position in neural circuitry underlying sensory perception

by Pedro Lagomarsino de Leon Roig

We invite applications for two postdoctoral positions focusing on the application of causal optogenetic approaches to dissect the neural circuits underlying sensory perception. The applicants should have a strong background in neurophysiology, circuit neuroscience, or behavioral neuroscience and be highly independent with a strong propensity for interdisciplinary research. Previous experience with electrophysiological recordings, two-photon GCaMP imaging, optogenetics or behavioral analysis is desirable. Candidates must hold a PhD in neuroscience, physics, bio-engineering or a related discipline and be highly motivated and creative individuals who want to work in a dynamic, multi-disciplinary research environment and who are willing to interact with both experimental and theoretical neuroscientists. Research activities will be carried out in the Optical Approaches to Brain Function Laboratory, supervised by Dr. Fellin. For reference to recent work please see Forli et al. Cell Reports 2018, Zucca et al. eLife 2017; Bovetti and Fellin, J. Neurosci. Methods 2015; Beltramo et al., Nat. Neurosci. 2013. Applications (full CV, two recommendation letters, and statement of research interest) should be sent by email to Dr. Tommaso Fellin ( tommaso.fellin(a)iit.it)

June 5, 2019

Post-doc Position in Open-Ended Deep Reinforcement Learning

by Jochen Triesch

We have an opening for a post-doc position in my lab (http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/en/neuro/triesch) at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) to study Open-Ended Deep Reinforcement Learning in simulated robots. We study systems that effectively learn to control their bodies and their environment by defining their own learning goals, practicing the skills for achieving these goals and setting themselves progressively harder goals. The work will be performed in the context of the European GOAL-Robots project (http://www.goal-robots.eu) For a quick overview of the project, check out this video: https://youtu.be/sordZmyp8u8. The focus of this post-doc position will be on simulated humanoids learning visually guided object interaction. We are seeking an outstanding and highly motivated post-doc for this project. Applicants should have obtained a PhD in Machine Learning, Robotics, or a closely related field. The ideal candidate will have excellent programming and analytic skills and a broad knowledge of machine learning, robotics, and vision. An interest in cognitive development in human infants is a plus. The Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (https://fias.institute/en/) is a research institution dedicated to fundamental theoretical research in various areas of science. The city of Frankfurt is the hub of one of the most vibrant metropolitan areas in Europe. It boasts a rich culture and arts community and repeatedly earns high rankings in worldwide surveys of quality of living. Applications should be sent as a single pdf file to triesch(a)fias.uni-frankfurt.de. Please include a brief statement of research interests, CV, and contact information for at least two references. The position can be filled immediately and applications will be reviewed on a continuing basis. The initial appointment will be for one year. -- Prof. Dr. Jochen Triesch Johanna Quandt Research Professor Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~triesch/ Tel: +49 (0)69 798-47531 Fax: +49 (0)69 798-47611

June 4, 2019

one postdoc position on testing models of mood and meta-cognition through large scale mobile platform - UPF & Telefonica Alpha (Barcelona)

by Alexandre Hyafil

One fully funded postdoc position is available under the supervision of Rubén Moreno Bote and Alexandre Hyafil jointly between University Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and the innovation facility Alpha powered by Telefonica, both in Barcelona, Spain. The position involves part time at the Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience group at the *Center for Brain and Cognition* (UPF)( https://www.upf.edu/web/ruben-moreno-bote) and at Alpha (www.alpha.company/) Alpha was established by Telefonica in January 2016 to address some of the biggest problems in society by conceiving and delivering radical solutions and breakthrough technology. The candidate will use psychophysics tasks on a large-scale mobile platform with >5k users to track the dynamics of meta-cognition and mood across various days. Candidates should have a PhD and expertise in Computational Neuroscience, Cognitive neuroscience or Cognitive psychology. Ideally he/she should have ample experience with psychophysics and sophisticated data analysis / machine learning techniques. The candidate will benefit from the stimulating environment of Barcelona area in Theoretical and Systems Neuroscience. Our lab forms part of a larger network of neuroscience labs in Barcelona. Candidates, please send a CV, letter of motivation and contact emails for references to alexandre.hyafil(a)upf.edu. Informal enquiries are recommended. Gross salary: 36 k€/year. Deadline: until the position is filled. Starting date: as soon as possible. Initial appointment is for one year.

June 4, 2019

Independent Research Fellow in Neural Data Science (UK)

by Mark Humphries

The University of Nottingham is investing in a major new research capacity in computational neuroscience. As part of this investment, we seek applications for a 2-year independent fellowship in Neural Data Science. The position is ideal for researchers with a clear vision to start their own research programme in a supportive, multi-disciplinary environment. We seek candidates positioned to join us in advancing the field of neural data science. This newly emerging discipline develops and uses the full gamut of modern computational techniques on neural data, to answer scientific questions about the brain. Candidates should be able to demonstrate a track record of quality research, and be able to independently manage their research. The Fellow will be attached to the Humphries's lab (https://www.humphries-lab.org/) for mentoring and scientific guidance, but work independently. For more on neural data science, see our guide: https://medium.com/the-spike/a-neural-data-science-how-and-why-d7e3969086f2 For full details of the role and to apply: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/jobs/currentvacancies/ref/SCI168019 Please send informal enquiries to Professor Mark Humphries: mark.humphries(a)nottingham.ac.uk 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.

June 3, 2019

Full-Time Research Assistant (RA)/ Lab Manager at Max Planck Institute, Research Group of Lucia Melloni

by Lucia Melloni

We are hiring! Come join us as a Research Assistant/Lab Manager We are looking for a passionate and talented Lab Manager to join the research group of Lucia Melloni at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (Frankfurt am Main, Germany). Our lab is interested in understanding why we perceive and remember the way we do, and specifically why we are conscious. To tackle those questions we use a range of methods including psychophysics, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and invasive recordings in epilepsy patients. The lab manager is expected to provide support for research activities carried out in the lab but also to pursue research projects of his/her own. The position is particularly suited for a recent graduate from a Neuroscience, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Computer Science or related program who is seeking to work in an innovative research environment in preparation for graduate school. A two-year commitment is expected; the anticipated start date is August 2019 or soon after. Interested applicants are welcome to email Lucia Melloni directly for enquiries regarding the position (lucia.melloni(a)ae.mpg <mailto:lucia.melloni@ae.mpg>.de). Please submit your application, including a CV and a cover letter describing your background, experience and motivation - preferably in pdf format, and the names of two references that have previously agreed to be contacted no later than June 24, 2019, to: job(a)ae.mpg.de <mailto:job@ae.mpg.de> and lucia.melloni(a)ae.mpg.de <mailto:lucia.melloni@ae.mpg.de> with the subject Lab Manager L.Melloni For the full job description please see here <https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/jobs/lab-manager-neuroscience-fmd.ht…>: https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/jobs/lab-manager-neuroscience-fmd.ht… <https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/jobs/lab-manager-neuroscience-fmd.ht…>

June 1, 2019

6th ESI Systems Neuroscience Conference "The recurrent cortex: feedback, dynamics, and dimensionality". Registration + Abstract submission are now open

by MFES, events

6th ESI Systems Neuroscience Conference "The recurrent cortex: feedback, dynamics, and dimensionality" 5-6 September 2019 Frankfurt am Main, Germany =========================================== The Ernst Strüngmann Institute Systems Neuroscience Conference (ESI SyNC) 2019 will take place this year on September 5th and 6th at the Ernst Strüngmann Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. This year's theme is 'The recurrent cortex: feedback, dynamics, and dimensionality'. The conference will feature eleven internationally renowned speakers who will give talks on neural feedback, signal dimensionality, and temporal dynamics. Ample time for both formal and informal discussion has been included in the schedule. There will also be a poster session for which we welcome submissions. Confirmed speakers =========================================== Sacha van Albada Alessandra Angelucci Carina Curto Peter Dayan Thomas Fraps Nikolaus Kriegeskorte Jakob Macke Tatyana Sharpee Fred Wolf Rafael Yuste Li Zhaoping Registration and abstract submission are now open! =========================================== For more information and to register for the conference or submit a poster presentation, please visit: www.esi-frankfurt.de/esisync/<http://www.esi-frankfurt.de/esisync/> Or contact: esi-sync(a)esi-frankfurt.de<mailto:esi-sync@esi-frankfurt.de> Limited spaces are available, so early registration is encouraged. Best Regards, The ESI SyNC 2019 organizing team: Wolf Singer Pascal Fries Renata Vajda William Barnes Christini Katsanevaki Katharine Shapcott Cem Uran Yiling Yang

May 31, 2019

Threshold Networks conference - Nottingham

by Stephen Coombes

Threshold Networks July 22 - 24, 2019 Nottingham, UK https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-sci/maths-sci/threshold-network… <https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.notti…> This workshop will bring together a community of people interested in both networks and dynamics, with an eye to both mathematical tractability and applications to biology, engineering, physics, and the social sciences. The emphasis will be on ‘thresholds’ in their broadest sense as exemplified by node dynamics or interactions that are described by simple, yet possibly non-smooth or discontinuous switch-like processes. The workshop will cover both theory and applications. The meeting will have no parallel sessions, and it is expected to involve around 60 participants (with 11 main speakers) and contributed poster presentations. Speakers: Chris Bick, University of Exeter, UK Mario Di Bernardo, University of Bristol, UK Ginestra Bianconi, Queen Mary University of London, UK Jonathan Crofts, Nottingham Trent University, UK Des Higham, University of Strathclyde, UK Renaud Lambiotte, University of Oxford, UK Naoki Masuda, University of Bristol, UK Peter Mucha, University of North Carolina, USA Sarah Muldoon, University at Buffalo, USA Yamir Moreno, University of Zaragoza, Spain Mason Porter, UCLA, USA We are accepting abstracts for poster presentations at ThresholdNetworks2019(a)nottingham.ac.uk <mailto:ThresholdNetworks2019@nottingham.ac.uk> The registration fee for the conference is 100.00 GBP. A “Tutorial Day” (covering key concepts in dynamical systems and network science) will also take place prior to the meeting (on July 21). Some financial assistance may be available to assist graduate students who attend both the training workshop and the conference. Further details of this meeting and how to register may be found at https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/conference/fac-sci/maths-sci/threshold-network… <https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.notti…> Scientific Organisers Yi Ming Lai, Rüdiger Thul, and Stephen Coombes, University of Nottingham Mason A. Porter, UCLA Enquiries should be sent to: ThresholdNetworks2019(a)nottingham.ac.uk <mailto:ThresholdNetworks2019@nottingham.ac.uk> 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.

May 30, 2019

Call for abstracts: RSS2019 Workshop "Pervasively Neuro-Dynamic Robotics"

by Yulia Sandamirskaya

Dear Colleagues, we are excited to invite you to attend the Workshop “Pervasively Neuro-Dynamic Robotics: Do insights from neuroscience, cognitive science, and neuromorphic engineering lead to a radically new vision?”: https://www.ini.rub.de/rss2019-workshop/ <https://www.ini.rub.de/rss2019-workshop/> The workshop will be held on June 23 (afternoon) 2019 in Freiburg, Germany, as part of the Robotics Science and Systems (RSS) 2019 conference: http://www.roboticsconference.org <http://www.roboticsconference.org/> We invite submissions of 1-2 page abtracts describing recent work on neuronal and cognitive architectures than emphasize autonomy of behavior generation. The selected abstracts will be invited to be presented as a Demo showing autonomous generation of behavior and/or Poster showing a recent example of a neuronal cognitive architecture You can submit your abstract by email to ysandamirskaya(a)ini.uzh.ch <mailto:ysandamirskaya@ini.uzh.ch> . Please, make sure that your submission contains your institutional address. If you like, you can attach a photo, which we will upload on the Workshop's webpage. Deadline for submission: 8. June 2019! Decisions will be announce on June 10. We are looking forward to your submissions and our discussions during the workshop! Yulia Sandamirskaya and Gregor Schöner — Workshop organisers — — Dr. Yulia Sandamirskaya Institute of Neuroinformatics (INI) UZH / ETH Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich E-mail: ysandamirskaya(a)ini.uzh.ch <mailto:ysandamirskaya@ini.uzh.ch> Tel: +41 44 63 53045 www.sandamirskaya.eu <http://www.sandamirskaya.eu/> https://neurotechai.eu <https://neurotechai.eu/>

May 30, 2019

Multiple postdoc positions uOttawa

by Richard Naud

Multiple postdoc positions uOttawa Theoretical neuroscience, nonlinear/statistical physics, cellular electrophysiology and imaging, computational neuroscience University of Ottawa Multiple theoretical, computational and experimental neuroscience postdoctoral positions are available immediately at the Centre for Neural Dynamics of the University of Ottawa. Position 1: Theoretical neuroscience and nonlinear/statistical physics focusing on the dynamics of a population of core recurrent neurons within the hippocampus and their role in temporal and spatial memory. The candidate will be involved in collaborations between Profs. Len Maler, André Longtin and Jean-Claude Béïque. Position 2: Experimental and computational neuroscience focusing on dendritic integration. Expertise in cellular electrophysiology and/or computational neuroscience is an asset. The candidate will be involved in collaborations between Profs. Richard Naud and Jean-Claude Béïque. Position 3: Computational and experimental neuroscience focusing on dendritic integration and recurrent circuitry. Expertise in cellular electrophysiology and/or computational neuroscience is an asset. The candidate will be involved in collaborations between Profs. André Longtin, Richard Naud, Jean-Claude Béïque and Len Maler. The researcher will join uOttawa’s Brain and Mind Research Institute’s Center for Neural Dynamics. uOttawa’s Neuroscience community is fast expanding, highly dynamic and offers a rich array of collaborative opportunities. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is a green, multi-cultural city that offers the highest standard of living in the country and is second worldwide for quality of life (Numbeo index, 2015). The city has many parks including the UNESCO World Heritage Rideau Canal, and is surrounded by an extensive greenbelt and the vast Gatineau Park twenty minutes away. This bilingual, safe and culturally-rich city lies along the border between the provinces of Ontario and Québec, is a few hours of driving away from Montréal and Toronto and served by an international airport. Each position is for one year with automatic renewal for a second year following satisfactory progress, and a possible extension to a third year. Interested candidates should submit their CV and a brief statement of research interests to alongtin(a)uottawa.ca<mailto:alongtin@uottawa.ca> . The successful candidate would be a salaried employee of the University with a competitive remuneration and benefits package. Jean-Claude Béïque André Longtin Len Maler Richard Naud

May 29, 2019

IBRO-SIMONS COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IMBIZO 2020 #isiCNI2020

by Antrobus, Alexander

We would like to draw your attention to the fourth IBRO-SIMONS COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IMBIZO #isiCNI2020 5 - 26 January 2020, Muizenberg Beach, Cape Town, South Africa http://imbizo.africa/ Application deadline: 30th June 2019 The #isiCNI2020 is a southern hemisphere summer school aiming to promote computational neuroscience in Africa. It will bring together international and local students under the tutelage of the world's leading experts in the field. Like its international sister courses, this three-week summer school aims to teach central ideas, methods, and practices of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. Mornings will be devoted to lectures on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. The rest of the day will be spent working on research projects under the close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Individual research projects will focus on the modelling of neurons, neural systems, behaviour, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data, and the development of theories to explain experimental observations. Who should apply? This course is aimed at Masters and early-PhD level students though Honours or advanced undergraduates may also apply. Postdoctoral students who can motivate why the course would benefit them are also encouraged to apply, Students should have sufficient quantitative skills, (e.g. a background in mathematics, physics, computer science, statistics, engineering or related field). Some knowledge of neural biology will be useful but not essential. Experimental neuroscience students are encouraged to apply, but should ensure that they have a reasonable level of quantitative proficiency (i.e. at least second-year level mathematics or statistics and have done at least one course in computer programming). Please distribute this information as widely as you can. Essential details * Fee (which covers tuition, lodging, and meals): 1100 EUR Thanks to out generous sponsors, significant financial assistance is available to reduce and waiver fees for students, particlualry for African applicants. We also hope to provide some travel bursaries for interrnational students. If you are in need of financial assistance to attend the Imbizo, please state so clearly in the relevant section of your application. * Application deadline: 30th June 2019 * Notification of results: late August 2019 Information and application https://imbizo.africa/<http://isicni.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/> Questions? isicn.imbizo(a)gmail.com<mailto:isicn.imbizo@gmail.com> What is an Imbizo? \ɪmˈbiːzɒ\ | Xhosa - Zulu A gathering of the people to share knowledge. INVITED FACULTY Dora Angelaki - Baylor College of Medicine Demba Ba - Harvard University Adrienne Fairhall - Washington University Ila Fiete - University of Texas Peter Latham - University College London Timothy Lillicrap - Google DeepMind Blake Richards - University of Toronto Joseph Raimondo - University of Cape Town Srikanth Ramaswamy - EPFL Lausanne Athanassia Papoutsi - IMBB-FORTH Thomas Tagoe - University of Ghana Andrew Trevelyan - Newcastle University Misha Tsodyks - Weiszmann Institute of Science Tim Vogels - University of Oxford Byron Yu - Carnegie Mellon University Organisers Christopher Currin (University of Cape Town, South Africa) Emma Vaughan (Conference Managemant Centre) DIRECTORS Peter Latham (Gatsby Unit for Computational Neuroscience, UCL, UK) Joseph Raimondo (University of Cape Town, South Africa) Tim Vogels (University of Oxford, UK) Sponsors The isiCNI is made possible by the generous support from the Simons Foundation (https://www.simonsfoundation.org<https://www.simonsfoundation.org/>) and the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) (http://ibro.info<http://ibro.info/>) Organizational Affiliates University of Cape Town, University College London, University of Oxford, TReND in Africa<http://trendinafrica.org/>, CNCB<http://www.cncb.ox.ac.uk/>, Gatsby Foundation<http://www.gatsby.org.uk/>, IBRO African Center for Advanced Training in Neurosciences at UCT

May 29, 2019

PhD positions in Neuromorphic olfaction

by Michael Schmuker

PhD positions in Neuromorphic machine learning, AI and robotics for chemical sensing Biocomputation Group University of Hertfordshire UK We are seeking candidates who want to join an international team of researchers with the goal to push the boundaries of chemical discovery. We use machine learning, AI and robotics to develop new methods for chemical sensing (electronic noses), gas-based navigation in robots, and knowledge discovery in chemical space. Our group leverages a new kind of computing hardware, so called neuromorphic systems, to translate processes from the brain into algorithms for efficient computing. We take inspiration from neuroscience to develop massively parallel, event-based, and power-efficient algorithms for machine learning, inference and control. Possible project topics include: * Bio-inspired signal processing and pattern recognition for chemical sensing, * Gas-based navigation for robots, * Deep learning for fragrance and aroma discovery, * Computing on neuromorphic hardware. Candidates with diverse skill profile are most welcome, e.g. with a background in: * Machine learning and AI, or * Neuroscience and neural computation, or * Signal processing and computer engineering, or * Fragrance/aroma chemistry and computational chemistry methods . Successful candidates are eligible for a research studentship award from the University (GBP 15,009 per annum bursary plus payment of the student fees). Applicants from outside the UK or EU are eligible, too. Please contact Dr Michael Schmuker for informal inquiries (m.schmuker(a)biomachinelearning.net ). Application forms and instructions how to apply are available under http://www.herts.ac.uk/apply/schools-of-study/computer-science/our-research… . The short-listing process will begin on 1 July 2019. — Dr Michael Schmuker AFHEA Reader in Data Science Biocomputation Group University of Hertfordshire https://biomachinelearning.net

May 29, 2019

Research Fellow(s), Max Planck UCL Centre London

by Fischer, Susan

Research Fellow(s) Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology MAX PLANCK UCL CENTRE FOR COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY AND AGEING At the Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, we are seeking multiple suitably qualified postdoctoral fellows for a new initiative with Telefónica Innovación Alpha. The overarching goal is to exploit computational approaches to brain and behaviour to leverage insights into core deficits that underpin behavioural change and mental well-being. The postholder will be directly involved in tech-transfer of the research results achieving an immediate real-world impact and improving mental health of the general population. Supervision will be provided by Ray Dolan, Steve Fleming, Tobias Hauser, Quentin Huys, and Robb Rutledge. Applicants must have, or be close to obtaining, a PhD in neuroscience, psychology, or a quantitative field (e.g. Computer Science, Engineering, Physics). Expertise using computational approaches in the study of reinforcement learning and decision making or expertise with machine learning techniques is essential, so is knowledge of theoretical and computational neuroscience in relation to learning and decision making. Experience in fMRI and/or MEG is desirable. Experience in smartphone-based data acquisition and in collaborating with industry and start-ups and/or in supporting tech-transfer is desirable. Positions are available as soon as possible and are funded for 2 years in the first instance. Starting salary on the UCL Grade 7 scale, £35,328 – £42,701 pa, inclusive of London Allowance, superannuable. You should apply for this post through UCL's online recruitment – www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs> where you can download a job description and person specification using ref: 1803769. If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Miss E Bertram, Personnel Manager, UCL Institute of Neurology, (email: IoN.HRAdmin(a)ucl.ac.uk<mailto:IoN.HRAdmin@ucl.ac.uk>). It would be helpful if applicants could provide a telephone number that they can be contacted on during office hours. Applicants may contact Professor Ray Dolan directly (email: r.dolan(a)ucl.ac.uk<mailto:r.dolan@ucl.ac.uk>) for further information. Closing date: 2 June 2019 ________________________________ Susan Fischer Research Coordinator (London) Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research Russell Square House 10-12 Russell Square London, WC1B 5EH Tel: +44 (0)207 679 8187 https://www.mps-ucl-centre.mpg.de/en Follow us on Twitter: @MPC_CompPsych<https://twitter.com/MPC_CompPsych>

May 29, 2019

[High Performance Computing] Become a specialist!

by Master in HPC

May 29, 2019

Wellcome Trust funded four-year PhD programme in Neural Dynamics.

by Conor Houghton

We are looking for applicants to the Neural Dynamics four-year PhD programme at the University of Bristol; this is to fill one place to join the cohort starting in September 2019. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/neural-dynamics/ <http://www.bristol.ac.uk/neural-dynamics/> We offer a generous four-year studentship stipend, PhD registration fees at the current Home/EU rate, substantial research expenses, and funds for travel to conferences or courses. We are able to waive the international fee for a successful international student. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 19 June 2019. All the best Conor Houghton

May 29, 2019

Job Openings in Neuromorphic Computing

by Peter Blouw

Applied Brain Research <https://appliedbrainresearch.com/> (ABR) is a company that develops software and builds AI applications <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL0Xs4sfQU-Q1MeTNaizzFWYv1Xz3ua7ZA&v=mua…>using neuromorphic methods and hardware. Our fifteen person team spun out of a computational neuroscience lab at the University of Waterloo, and works with world leading industrial partners and has early access to cutting edge technology to develop the next generation of AI hardware <https://vimeo.com/262517015>. We are growing. We are looking to hire for two positions: an FPGA Design Engineer <https://appliedbrainresearch.com/careers/?jobId=85z2t_rOLoOR>, and a Machine Learning Engineer <https://appliedbrainresearch.com/careers/?jobId=pyH1jqKudezj>. Further details about each position can be found by following the links above. For any general questions, feel free to contact info(a)appliedbrainresearch.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

May 28, 2019