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Imperial College MRes in Neurotechnology
by Kozlov, Andriy May 21, 2020

May 21, 2020

Imperial College MRes in Neurotechnology Neurotechnology is the use of insights and tools from mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering to investigate neural function and treat dysfunction. Brain-related illnesses affect more than two billion people worldwide, and the numbers are growing. Reducing this burden is a major challenge for society. The MRes Neurotechnology<http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/mres-n…> is a one-year full-time programme which will provide you with technical knowledge, expertise and transferable skills in this exciting area. Our MRes will prepare you for an innovative research career at the interface between neuroscience and engineering, in academia, industry, or elsewhere. The programme comprises lectures, practical work and workshops in the first term, followed by full-time work on a research project<http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/mres-n…>. In addition, you will attend regular seminars and a journal club throughout the year. Your research project will normally be supervised by a multidisciplinary team of at least two Imperial College London<https://www.imperial.ac.uk> supervisors who will bring technical and neuroscience expertise to the project. Careers The MRes Neurotechnology provides unique training at the interface between neuroscience and engineering, enhancing your skills in research, analysis and scientific presentation and developing your ability to work in a multidisciplinary team. Our programme provides a solid foundation in research for those continuing with a neurotechnology career, whether through a PhD or working in industry. How to apply Please visit our webpage<http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/mres-n…> for full details of the course and how to apply, including entry requirements and projects available for 2020 entry<http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/mres-n…>. The deadline for applications is 15 June, but applications are considered on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply now. ******************** Thank you. Best wishes, Andrei Kozlov (Director of the MRes in Neurotechnology)

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DEPSCoR funding opportunity for tenured/tenure-track faculty in select US states/territories
by GREENWALD, HAL S DR-04 USAF AFMC AFOSR/RTA May 20, 2020

May 20, 2020

The Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) is a capacity building program that is designed to strengthen the research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized states/territories. Eligible applicants are full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members at institutions of higher education in the following US states/territories: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Applicants must never have served as the PI on a prior DoD-funded award. Applicants must select a co-PI/collaborator who is a tenured or tenure-track faculty member at an institution of higher education in a DEPSCoR-eligible state/territory and has served as the PI on a DoD-funded research award active between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2020. Awarded grants may be for up to $200,000 per year for three years. Topic areas: Air Force Office of Scientific Research: 1. Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience 2. Space Science 3. Agile Science of Test and Evaluation 4. Materials with Extreme Properties Army Research Office: 5. Propulsion and Energetics 6. Computational Architectures and Visualization 7. Optoelectronics 8. Probability and Statistics 9. Molecular Structure and Dynamics 10. Social and Behavioral Science 11. Biotronics Office of Naval Research: 12. Aerospace Structures and Materials 13. Ocean Acoustics 14. Machine Learning, Reasoning, and Intelligence 15. Power Electronics & Electromagnetism, Adaptive & Machinery Controls and Advanced Machinery Systems For complete details, please see the funding opportunity announcement at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326765. White papers are due by 21 September 2020. Hal S. Greenwald, Ph.D. Program Officer, Cognitive & Computational Neuroscience Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR/RTA) 875 N. Randolph St. Arlington, VA 22203-1768 (703) 588-8441

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PhD position Deep Learning for MRI-based addiction research
by Fabian Eitel May 20, 2020

May 20, 2020

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PostDoc in Reinforcement Learning for Intensive Care Treatment (including Covid-19) @ Imperial College London
by Faisal, Aldo A May 20, 2020

May 20, 2020

Dear All, We are looking for a Post-Doctoral research fellow to join our machine learning effort to establish the computational foundations for an “AI clinician” (Komorowksi et Faisal, 2018, Nature Medicine; Li et Faisal, 2020, ICLR AI4Health). While a “fully autonomous doctor” is far more ambitious (and perhaps undesirable) than self-driving cars (Topol, 2019, Nature Medicine), our goal is to link our work in the established foundations of clinical decision recommendation systems and evaluate our developments in a meaningful clinical setting. This vision in turn requires the development of novel RL techniques, which are at the heart of this fellowship, such as causal inference in RL and explainable RL (XRL). We have previously shown that RL and Bayesian Optimization can be applied for learning optimal interventions in closed loop (Bohte et al, 2013, Lorenz et al, 2016). We work on methods allowing us to train RL agents interactively (off-policy policy estimation) on historical data of medical interventions (“actions”) and patient responses to them (“state”). We want to build on our groundwork drawing on causal inference, deep- and kernel-based machine learning (Liu et al, 2018, NeurIPS; Parbhoo et al, 2018, PLOS1; Peng et al, 2018, AMIA) and explainable RL (Shafti et al, IROS, 2019) for the emerging domain of RL for medical interventions. Crucially, we believe that Machine Learning for medical intervention may have a larger impact on health than diagnostics, as treatment is where medicine really starts helping people. Crucially, we are working on both the theory and application for RL in healthcare and have as a team already the necessary regulatory approvals for clinical evaluations in our university hospitals are in place and already recruited clinical staff and hospital IT teams. Moreover, as our domain application is the optimal treatment of patient intensive care units, the PostDoc will have the opportunity to join the fight against Covid-19 to save lives by better understanding. Our lab is leading the data science effort for the UK national service evaluation in critical care (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/artificial-intelligence/research/covid/covid-icu/) and is thus working on data from ICUs across an entire country to identify optimal treatment policies. Advert here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/description/ENG01259/research-associate https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BZP190/research-associate Applications can be received after the advertised deadline (which will be also extended due to Covid-19). Please do reach out to me to find out more. kind regards Aldo -- Aldo Faisal Director, Centre in AI for Healthcare – https://ai4health.io Reader in Neurotechnology -- https://FaisalLab.org Data Science Institute, Dept. of Computing & Dept. of Bioengineering Imperial College London

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PhD scholarship on spiking network computational models at Barcelona
by Xavier Otazu May 18, 2020

May 18, 2020

The Neurocomputation and Biological Vision Team (NeuroBiT) (<http://www.cvc.uab.es/neurobit> ) offer a PhD scholarship to work in a highly multidisciplinary project which includes computational modelling of primary visual cortex and psychophysical experimentation of colour perception and its relationship to visual migraines. The Research will take place at the Computer Vision Centre <http://www.cvc.uab.es> (http://www.cvc.uab.es) of the Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona, which is consistently ranked among the top Spanish Universities <https://www.uab.cat/web/about-the-uab/the-uab/the-uab-in-the-rankings-13456…> (https://www.uab.cat/web/about-the-uab/the-uab/the-uab-in-the-rankings-13456…) The centre is located in a campus outside the vibrant city of Barcelona and has a strong tradition of multidisciplinary research in computational colour vision with their own psychophysical laboratory, living labs facilities and several computer clusters. The candidate will be part of the NeuroComputation and Biological Vision Team (NeuroBiT <http://www.cvc.uab.es/neurobit/> ), a recently-formed multidisciplinary research group which combines perceptual and computational approaches with visual neuroscience. We offer regular meetings with other PhD students, international contacts and the possibility of internship/cooperation with other experimental/theoretical labs. The successful candidate is likely to obtain several high-impact publications. The student research topic will be one of the following (to discuss with the candidate): 1) The development of recurrent multilayer spiking networks to reproduce the biological architecture of the primary visual cortex and several of its physiological properties, aiming at reproducing the results of psychophysical studies in colour perception and clinical studies on migraines. 2) Use of STDP (Spike Time Dependent Plasticity) for the definition of biologically plausible deep learning computational architectures (i.e. SNN –Spiking Neural Networks-). The duration of the position is 4 years (48 months). We expect the position to start on september/october 2020 (i.e. eventual visa issues should be solved beforehand!). The total annual stipend of the grant is around €15.000 gross, which include the cost of registration fees for the official doctorate program. Conditions: The candidate must * hold a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) qualification of at least 300 ECTS credits or a university-awarded Master degree or equivalent in the natural sciences/engineering at the time of signing the contract. * have experience in programming with Python and/or Matlab (C, C++, Unix environment and computer cluster experience are also valued) * have knowledge of / interest in the human visual system, visual perception and statistics * proficiency in English and Spanish * have excellent skills in analytical thinking, perceptiveness, commitment, self-organization, teamwork, and communication Any previous experience in the subject of computational modelling will also be a bonus. How to apply: Please send your CV and a short statement (500 words) connecting your previous work with the topics of this grant to xotazu(a)cvc.uab.es <mailto:xotazu@cvc.uab.es> and a copy of the official academic transcript (including GPA). We encourage candidates with strong skills in programming who are interested to work in a highly multidisciplinary project and environment (computer science, neuroscience, psychophysics), to apply. Candidates should have a degree in a related subject (Neuroscience, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, etc.).

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PhD position in computational neuroscience and robotics
by Xavier Hinaut May 15, 2020

May 15, 2020

A PhD position is available at the Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest center and the Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease in Bordeaux, France. What: PhD position in computational neuroscience and robotics Where: Inria, Bordeaux, France When: October 2020 (3 years duration) Who: Xavier Hinaut & Frédéric Alexandre Application deadline: May 22th (22/05/2020) How to apply: https://jobs.inria.fr/public/classic/en/offres/2020-02637 Title of the PhD topic ================= NewSpeak: Neuro-computational models of language comprehension and production grounded in robots Keywords ================= Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Reservoir Computing, Developmental Language Learning, Neuro-Robotics, Multimodal Language Grounding, Computational Neuroscience, Reinforcement Learning Candidate profile ================= - Good background in maths and computer science; - A strong interest for neuroscience and the physiological processes underlying learning; - Python programming with experience in scientific libraries Numpy/Scipy (or similar coding language: matlab, etc.); - Experience in machine learning or data mining is a preferred; - Independence and ability to manage a project; - Good English reading/speaking skills. Proposed research ================= We target to embody models into robots that will developmentally ground language. The grounding of semantics should come from the robot experiencing the world through its interactions with humans and the physical world. The goals are (1) to test hypotheses with biologically plausible language learning models with the Nao robot, (2) to extend the current model with unsupervised training and by reinforcement learning, and (3) to propose a new kind of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for developmental language learning conditioned by grounded modalities such as vision. In order to model how a sentence can be processed, word by word (Hinaut & Dominey 2013) or even phoneme by phoneme (Hinaut 2018), the use of recurrent (artificial) neural networks, such as Reservoir Computing, offers interesting advantages. In particular the possibility to compare the dynamics of the model with data from neuroscience experiments (EEG, fMRI, ...). This paradigm allows to learn with few learning examples, and offers negligible runtime for human-robot interactions. The use of linguistic models with robots is not only useful to validate the models in real conditions, it also allows to test other hypotheses, notably on the anchoring of the language or the emergence of symbols. This involves finding out how a learning agent can link and categorise physical stimuli (vision, hearing, proprioception, etc.) to make the correspondence with symbols (Harnard 1990), or even to make these symbols emerge from stimuli coming from sensors (Taniguchi et al. 2016). We aim that a robot could process language from morphemes to sentences, similarly as a child, in order to better model how children acquire language. One aim is to obtain symbolic representations that are a composition of multimodal grounded representations. We will experiment how the newly developed language model will be able to learn to understand utterances by exploring which meanings the morphemes, words, ... can have based on other modalities of the robot (e.g. vision, proprioception). Starting from preliminary results (Juven & Hinaut 2020), we will first consider merging the representations from vision with a pre-trained CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). Then, reinforcement learning experiments will explore how the robot can learn the meaning of sentences: first by doing random actions for any user utterance, and then bootstrap from the user’s feedback. We will use a concrete corpus of sentences based on actions a robot can do (Hinaut & Twiefel 2019). We will implement several variants of language models: (1) extension of the reservoir computing model linked with grounded CNN, (2) adapt such model to the GAN paradigm in order to couple language comprehension and production in a self-learning generative mechanism (thus creating more biologically plausible GANs), (3) explore unsupervised (cross-situational learning) and reinforcement learning with these models. In parallel, we will adapt models features and behaviours to the ones observed in language acquisition experiments in psychology, and neural evidences in neuro-linguistic studies. In particular, we will explore how the models could shed light on language developmental impairments. We will run models in simulated humanoid robots and in a Nao robot. More information ============ More information is available on the application web page: https://jobs.inria.fr/public/classic/en/offres/2020-02637 Questions can be asked by email to Xavier Hinaut (xavier.hinaut(a)inria.fr) Xavier Hinaut Inria Researcher (CR) Mnemosyne team, Inria LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives +33 5 33 51 48 01 www.xavierhinaut.com

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Postdoc position in the Mainen lab at Champalimaud
by Luca Mazzucato May 14, 2020

May 14, 2020

Systems Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellow The Champalimaud Foundation, a private, non-profit research institution, is opening a call for a post-doctoral researcher, within the scope of the research project entitled "Neural mechanism of value based decision making of staying or leaving - Deciding when to initiate locomotion to move to the next reward location." This position involves data analysis/modeling of foraging behavior and self-initiated movements in rodents, related to a Systems Neuroscience experiment addressing the following question. When interacting with a complex environment, animals generate naturalistic behavior in the form of action sequences. To analyze and classify such behavior from video recordings is a computationally demanding task, requiring development of specific software pipelines adapted for big data structures using deep learning methods and state space models. This project aims at creating such a pipeline for analyzing videos of mouse behavior previously collected in the Mainen Lab at the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Portugal. In the experiment, animals performed certain action sequences, with variable onsets timing, leading to a water reward. Optogenetics photostimulation of inhibitory neurons in secondary motor regions was also performed during selected action sequences. Behavior during this task was recorded with two high speed, high resolution cameras pointing at the animal's face and front limbs. The large size of the datasets generated in this experiment (~1 Tb per animal, for 10 animals) requires an extensive effort to classify behavioral motifs. In the second part of the project, behavioral motifs will be related to large scale recordings of neural activity from Neuropixel probes. The fellow will investigate the relationship between neural activity and behavior using state space models and mechanistic models based on recurrent neural networks. The fellow will integrate a dynamic team of researchers as part of an international collaboration between the Mainen Lab <https://mainenlab.org/> at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown and the Mazzucato Lab <https://www.mazzulab.com/> at University of Oregon. National, foreign and stateless candidates can develop the proposed work remotely where team interaction is supported by online platforms (e.g. slack, zoom, etc). *References:* Recanatesi, S. et al., biorxiv (2020). Vertechi, P. et al., Neuron (2020). Murakami, M. et al., Neuron (2017). Murakami, M. et al., Nat. Neuro (2014). Essential qualifications: PhD in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Biology, Experimental Psychology, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or other areas relevant to neurophysiology and animal behavior; Proficiency in Python and Matlab programming language and familiarity with object oriented programming; Familiarity with Deep Learning software (TensorFlow); Familiarity with data analysis of biological experiments; Ability to work independently and troubleshoot technical issues; Good capacity and value for teamwork and communication skills; Fluency in English. REMUNERATION The monthly remuneration to be attributed is the 33rd level of the single remuneration table (TRU), approved by Portaria nº 1553-C/2008, of December 31st, starting at a base gross salary of 2,128.34 Euros. SELECTION PROCESS Applications will be accepted until June 15th, 2020 or until a qualified candidate is hired. Candidates must submit a single document (maximum 4 pages; paper or PDF file) that contains a motivation letter and the Curriculum Vitae, both written in English. Email applications must be addressed to careers(a)research.fchampalimaud.org and include “CPD2020-LOCODECISION” in the subject line. The selected candidate must submit proof of her/his PhD or Doctoral Degree within 10 days following notification of the preliminary results. More information about Diplomas recognition may be found in the Euraxess portal <http://www.euraxess.pt/portugal/information-assistance/recognition-diplomas> . All candidates who formalize their application incorrectly or who fail to provide the requirements imposed by this tender are excluded from admission. In case of doubt, the panel is entitled to request further documentation to support candidate statements. Notification of Results: The highest scoring candidate will be notified by email or telephone. All other candidates will be notified solely by email. Non-discrimination and equal access policy: The Champalimaud Foundation actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right, on basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions, and trade union membership.

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Call for 22 PhD positions in BioRobotics at the BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
by Calogero Maria Oddo May 13, 2020

May 13, 2020

************************************* 22 PhD positions in BIOROBOTICS open! https://www.santannapisa.it/sites/default/files/flyer_phd_biorobotica_2020_…. ************************************* The PhD Program in BioRobotics is a three-year course managed by the BioRobotics Institute (http://sssa.bioroboticsinstitute.it) in the Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI, at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, in Pisa (Italy). The PhD in BioRobotics is one of the largest doctoral schools worldwide in biomedical engineering and robotics, with about 100 PhD students enrolled. All positions are fully funded by Sant'Anna and the Italian Institute of Technology.The number of positions awarded could be expanded with additional fellowships that may be available before the start of the PhD course in October 2020. The students are educated in a stimulating and multidisciplinary environment, both through high-level courses and through demanding, creative and original research work. PhD projects are carried out in very well equipped, state-of-the-art laboratories (in such fields as micro-engineering, biomedical engineering, biomimetic and soft robotics, rehabilitation technologies, surgical robotics and neural engineering, robot companions) and through individual and team work performed under the supervision of a full-time faculty. ADMISSION: Students are admitted to the PhD Program following a successful entrance examination. Eligible applicants must hold a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree or equivalent. Undergraduate students may also apply if they graduate within Oct. 31, 2020. START: Oct. 1, 2020 CALL details: https://www.santannapisa.it/en/admissions/call-admission-phd-biorobotics-3 APPLY at: www.santannapisa.it/en/education/phd-biorobotics DEADLINE: June 3, 2020 CONTACT: PhDBiorobotics(a)santannapisa.it Best regards, Calogero Oddo, on behalf of the PhD Board -- Calogero M. Oddo PhD BioRobotics, MSc and BSc Electronic Engineering Associate Professor of Bioengineering https://www.santannapisa.it/en/calogero-maria-oddo Vice-Coordinator of the PhD programme in BioRobotics Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy https://www.santannapisa.it/en/education/phd-biorobotics Head of the Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory, Neuro-robotics Area, The BioRobotics Institute Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (PI), Italy Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy http://www.santannapisa.it/en/neuro-robotic-touch-laboratory Department of Excellence in Robotics & AI Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33 - 56127 Pisa, Italy https://www.santannapisa.it/en/robotics-ai IEEE Senior Member, Founding Vice-Chair of the Italian Chapter of the IEEE Sensors Council (2018-20) http://sites.ieee.org/italy-sensors/about-ieee Office: +39050883067; Mobile: +393316992273; email:calogero.oddo@santannapisa.it -- Questa e-mail è stata controllata per individuare virus con Avast antivirus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Visiting Assistant Professor Position in Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University
by William L. Kath May 13, 2020

May 13, 2020

Visiting Assistant Professorship in Applied Mathematics The Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University invites applications for the position of Visiting Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics. This is a one-year, non-tenure-track position with the possibility of renewal for a second year. Duties involve teaching and research in applied mathematics with a focus on applications in engineering and/or the sciences. More information about this position can be found at: https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/applied-math/open-positions.html The Department seeks outstanding candidates who have received a Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics, engineering, physics or another applied math-related discipline, or who expect to do so by July 2020, and who aspire to engage in independent and interdisciplinary research and teaching. The starting date is September 1, 2020. The application package should include a cover letter, curriculum vita, statement of research accomplishments and interests, statement of teaching experience and philosophy, and if available a representative manuscript (published, submitted or in preparation). The application should be submitted online at: https://facultysearch.mccormick.northwestern.edu/apply/index/MTAz In addition, the applicant should arrange for at least two, but no more than three letters of recommendation addressing both research and teaching qualifications. Recommendation letters will be automatically solicited from the letter writers by email after the names are entered in the online application system. Questions may be directed to Meelee Ahn Park at meelee.park(a)northwestern.edu <mailto:meelee.park@northwestern.edu> (Subject line: Visiting Assistant Professor Search). To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by May 15th, 2020, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States. Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics Northwestern University 2145 Sheridan Road, Room M426 Evanston, IL 60208-3125, USA esam(a)northwestern.edu <mailto:esam@northwestern.edu> Phone: (847) 491-3345 -- William L. Kath Co-Director, NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology Professor, Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-3125 Phone: 847-491-8784 Fax: 847-491-2178

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International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Brain Science 2020 in Tokyo
by Kenji Doya May 12, 2020

May 12, 2020

We are pleased to announce a symposium that brings together researchers in the forefront of AI and neuroscience. Application for poster presentation is open till June 1st and general registration will start from July 1st, 2020. ******** International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Brain Science Date: October 10-12 (Sat-Mon), 2020 Venue: Ito Hall, The University of Tokyo, Japan Web site: http://www.brain-ai.jp/symposium2020/ Program (it may be held online depending on the COVID-19 situation) • Saturday, October 10th (from 1pm) Keynote: Josh Tenenbaum (MIT) Session 1: Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning Yann LeCun (NYU, Facebook), Yutaka Matsuo (U Tokyo), Doina Precup (McGill U) David Silver (DeepMind), Masashi Sugiyama (RIKEN AIP/U Tokyo IRCN) • Sunday, October 11th Session 2: World Model Learning and Inference Ila Fiete (MIT), Karl Friston (UCL), Yukie Nagai (U Tokyo IRCN) Maneesh Sahani (Gatsby Unit), Tadahiro Taniguchi (Ritsumeikan U) Poster Session Session 3: Metacognition and Metalearning Matthew Botvinick (DeepMind), Ryota Kanai (ARAYA), Angela Langdon (Princeton U) Hiroyuki Nakahara (RIKEN CBS), Xiao-Jing Wang (NYU) • Monday, October 12th Session 4: AI for Neuroscience and Neuromorphic Technologies Jim DiCarlo (MIT), Yukiyaku Kamitani (Kyoto U), Rosalyn Moran (King’s College London) Terry Sejnowski (Salk Institute), Hidehiko Takahashi (Tokyo MDU) Session 5: Social Impact and Neuro-AI Ethics Anne Churchland (CSHL), Kenji Doya (OIST), Arisa Ema (U Tokyo IFI) Hiroaki Kitano (SONY CSL), Stuart Russell (UC Berkeley) Poster Registration: May 11th - June 1st (review result notified by June 20) General Registration: July 1st - 31st (or when the capacity is reached) Please check the web site: http://www.brain-ai.jp/symposium2020/ Sponsor: KAKENHI Project on Artificial Intelligence and Brain Science (http://www.brain-ai.jp) Co-sponsors: RIKEN AIP (https://aip.riken.jp/?lang=en) U Tokyo IFI (https://ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/) U Tokyo IRCN (https://ircn.jp/en/) Contact: ncus(a)oist.jp ---- Kenji Doya <doya(a)oist.jp> Neural Computation Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan Phone: +81-98-966-8594; Fax: +81-98-966-2891 https://groups.oist.jp/ncu

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Dual-award PhD in Neuromorphic Olfaction (UH/WSU)
by Michael Schmuker May 12, 2020

May 12, 2020

We’re looking for an outstanding candidate to enter a Dual-PhD programme on Neuromorphic Olfaction. The successful candidate will pursue a PhD in the BioMachineLearning lab at the University of Hertfordshire (UK), and the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICSC), at Western Sydney University, Australia. The successful candidate will develop event-based algorithms for Neuromorphic olfaction, in close collaboration with Neuromorphic hardware developers and computational neuroscientists. In this unique opportunity, the candidate is eligible to obtain a PhD award from both universities, UH and WSU. It’s a fully funded programme that covers also travel expenses between UH and WSU. Interested? Get in touch! More info: https://biomachinelearning.net/positions <https://biomachinelearning.net/positions> — Dr Michael Schmuker AFHEA Reader in Data Science Biocomputation Group University of Hertfordshire https://biomachinelearning.net <https://biomachinelearning.net/>

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[jobs] Postdoctoral position in: Cognition for safety and ergonomics for human-robot interaction in manufacturing workspaces - [ Postdoc ]
by Francesco Rea May 10, 2020

May 10, 2020

The COgNiTive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Research Line at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa - Center for Human Technologies, is opening one postdoctoral position focusing on the assessment of engagement with safety and ergonomic work, design of proactive measures and counter measures for safety preservation, optimization of ergonomics, design of software infrastructure for social interaction and safety-ergonomic preservation. The research activities will be carried out under the supervision of Dr. Alessandra Sciutti and Dr. Francesco Rea (Participant Manager within the Steering Board -SB). The selected candidate will work with a multidisciplinary consortium of participant to the awarded project APRIL (H2020, n. G.A. 870142). APRIL project aims at implementing and deploying market oriented, low cost and multipurpose robots that supports semiautomatic tasks in manufacturing production lines and handle flexible or deformable materials in industries of any size or domain. The candidate will work with different robotic platforms for human-robot interaction in manufacturing context selected together with the consortium and with different sensorial setups specifically designed to assess the gaze pattern, reaction time, working movements, fatigue level in workers. https://www.iit.it/careers/openings/opening/1198-postdoctoral-position-in-c… The activity will be carried out within the implementation of the APRIL project in a fully equipped laboratory, including motion capture and eye-tracking devices, and in a team with a variety of competences ranging from robotics to designing of experimental studies on humans. The research for this Postdoctoral position will involve: * Sensing of human working conditions for social, safe and ergonomic based activities on human-robot collaboration * Design of control systems for Safety in human-robot collaboration * Development of a system improving human-robot social collaboration in manufacturing context * Development of a system improving ergonomics and mitigating health and safety risks The first goal of the research is redesigning cognition for safety and ergonomics for human-robot collaboration in manufacturing workspaces. The second goal of technological implications is to support the design of new multipurpose robotics for manipulation of deformable materials in manufacturing processes. The successful candidate will be offered a salary commensurate to experience and skills. Interested applicants should submit CV, list of publications, name and contacts of 2 referees and a statement of research interest to jobpost.78417(a)iit.it<mailto:jobpost.78417@iit.it> by May 20, 2020 quoting Postdoctoral position in "Cognition for safety and ergonomics for human-robot interaction in manufacturing workspaces - CB 78417" in the subject line.

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Research Assistant (Research Associate)
by Artur Luczak May 9, 2020

May 9, 2020

Research Assistant (Research Associate) at the University of Lethbridge. Our lab seeks a highly motivated individual with a strong computational background to work at the interface of neuroscience and machine learning. We are especially interested in the application of deep neural networks to improve our understanding of neuronal data, and the application of recent neuroscience findings to improve the performance of deep neural networks. In our lab we also record the activity of hundreds of neurons in normal and epileptic animals, and the successful candidate is welcome to participate in those projects. Preferred candidate should have strong background in modeling neurons and networks, and should be very familiar with models of synaptic plasticity (e.g. BCM). Our lab at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience in the University of Lethbridge is located in the sunniest area of Canada and next to scenic Rocky Mountains. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. For more information please visit our website at: http://lethbridgebraindynamics.com/artur_luczak. Duties and responsibilities: - Conduct research and literature reviews, in related topics for use in scholarly publications. - Compile research results and assist professors in the analysis of results and the preparation of journal articles or papers. - Analyze data using statistics, programming techniques and artificial neural networks. - Develop analytical methods in biologically plausible artificial neural networks. - Participate in scientific discussion groups and seminars. All duties and responsibilities shall be carried out under the supervision of Prof. Artur Luczak. Skills & Qualifications: - Master degree’s in neuroscience, physics, computer science or related topics. - 3 years of related research work experience. - Having strong background in modeling neurons and networks, and should be very familiar with models of synaptic plasticity. - Familiarity with epilepsy is an asset - Highly experienced in programming with Python and Matlab. - Ability to work with data, applying machine learning methods and deep learning. - Working with computer clusters and cloud computing. - Excellent communication and team work skills. Working Conditions: Work in an office with a computer provided. Hours of Work: Full-time, 30-32 hours per week. Salary: $21.63 /hour Duration: one year with the opportunity for extension Language requirements: English Benefits: Standard benefits including Extended Health, Dental, EFAP, Life Insurance and Long Term Disability. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Professor Artur Luczak (Luczak(a)uleth.ca) with a copy of their CV and a cover letter. Address: University of Lethbridge. 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta T1M 1R6, Canada

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Call for papers MLCN at MICCAI 2020
by MLCN Workshop May 8, 2020

May 8, 2020

*Please find below the call for papers for the International Workshop of Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging (MLCN) on 4 October 2020 at MICCAI 2020 in Lima, Peru. We welcome contributions on novel machine learning methods and their applications to clinical neuroimaging data.* The submission deadline is *30 June 2020*, and all MLCN accepted papers will be eligible for the best paper award of 500 USD. For more information, please visit https://mlcnws.com/. Best wishes, The MLCN 2020 committee Christos Davatzikos Andre Marquand Jonas Richiardi Emma Robinson Ahmed Abdulkadir Cher Bass Mohamad Habes Seyed Mostafa Kia Jane Maryam Rondina Chantal Tax Hongzhi Wang Thomas Wolfers International Workshop on Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging 4 October 2020 in Lima, Peru The International Workshop of Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging ( https://mlcnws.com/) a satellite event of MICCAI (https://miccai2020.org) calls for original papers in the field of clinical neuroimaging data analysis with machine learning. The two tracks of the workshop include methodological innovations as well as clinical applications. This highly interdisciplinary topic provides an excellent platform to connect researchers of varying disciplines and to collectively advance the field in multiple directions. For the machine learning track, we seek contributions with substantial methodological novelty in analyzing high-dimensional, longitudinal, and heterogeneous neuroimaging data using stable, scalable, and interpretable machine learning models. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: - Spatio-temporal brain data analysis - Structural data analysis - Graph theory and complex network analysis - Longitudinal data analysis - Model stability and interpretability - Model scalability in large neuroimaging datasets - Multi-source data integration and multi-view learning - Multi-site data analysis, from preprocessing to modeling - Domain adaptation, data harmonization, and transfer learning in neuroimaging - Unsupervised methods for stratifying brain disorders - Deep learning in clinical neuroimaging - Model uncertainty in clinical predictions - ... In the clinical neuroimaging track, we seek contributions that explore how the application of advanced machine learning methods help us to move towards precision medicine for complex brain disorders. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: - Biomarker discovery - Refinement of nosology and diagnostics - Biological validation of clinical syndromes - Treatment outcome prediction - Course prediction - Analysis of wearable sensors - Neurogenetics and brain imaging genetics - Mechanistic modeling - Brain aging - ... Submission Process: The workshop seeks high quality, original, and unpublished work that addresses one or more challenges described above. Papers should be submitted electronically in Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LCNS) style (see https://www.miccai2020.org/en/PAPER-SUBMISSION-GUIDELINE.html#manuscript-fo… for detailed author guidelines) using the CMT system at https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/MLCN2020. The page limit is 8-pages (text, figures, and tables) plus up to 2-pages of references. We review the submissions in a double-blind process. Please make sure that your submission is anonymous. Accepted papers will be published in a joint proceeding with the MICCAI 2020 conference. Best Paper Award: This year, all MLCN accepted papers will be eligible for the best paper award. The recipient of the award will be chosen by the MLCN scientific committee based on the scientific quality and novelty of contributions. The winner will be announced at the end of the workshop and will receive 500 USD honorarium. Important Dates: - Paper submission deadline: June 30th, 2020 - Notification of Acceptance: July 24th, 2020 - Camera-ready Submission: July 31st, 2020 - Workshop Date: 4 October 2020

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PhD position at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland)
by Milekovic Tomislav May 7, 2020

May 7, 2020

PhD position in the lab of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) A computational approach to personalize and optimize clinical treatments for restoring locomotion to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury Location: The laboratory of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, is looking to fill a fully funded PhD position. The qualified candidate will benefit from joining a very dynamic and multidisciplinary group working at the interface of computational neuroscience, neuroengineering, prosthetics and biology. EPFL provides state-of-the-art facilities and is one of the leading technical universities worldwide. In addition, PhD salaries at EPFL rank the highest in the world. Description: A therapy based on epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord can restore the ability to walk to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury. EES does this by recruiting sensory axons within dorsal spinal roots that enter the spinal cord between the vertebrae. Yet, clinically available electrode arrays used to deliver the EES were not designed to target individual spinal roots. Data driven design of the electrode arrays has the potential to substantially improve the specificity of spinal EES and, therefore, dramatically improve the recovery of people with spinal cord injury. The efficacy of EES could be further enhanced through computational algorithms capable of designing EES protocols that fully utilize the interaction between the electrode array and patient's anatomy. These two developments are critical for deployment of the EES-based therapy to clinics around the world to help millions of people suffering from spinal cord injury. We have created a computational pipeline capable of creating detailed computational models of individual persons' spinal columns from MRI scans and fMRI recordings. These hybrid models are composed of 3D finite element models (FEM) to characterize the electric current and potential in the spinal cord of individuals, and various abstractions of compartmental cable models and network models of spinal cord neuronal populations and their connections to calculate the effects of EES on the spinal networks and, in turn, the activation of muscles. This computational approach has the potential to optimize the efficacy of EES on a personalized basis, lead to novel superior electrode array designs, and further our understanding of the mechanisms by which spinal cord controls movement. The successful candidate will work to automatize our computational pipeline in order to make the described approaches useful in applied clinical practice. They will work on the development of efficient and robust computer vision algorithms to automatically segment medical imaging datasets. They will also further develop our computational pipeline to enable automatic definition of personalized EES stimulation protocols. Furthermore, they will implement a computational framework around our pipeline that can perform a large-scale and diverse sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. This framework will be critical to enhance the efficacy and explore possible novel applications of spinal cord EES. Prerequisites: - Master's Degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Microengineering, Electrical Engineering or related - Proficiency in Python, Matlab and C++ - Experience with Finite Element Models, compartmental cable models, neurobiomechanical models and Machine Learning Contact: Applications including a CV and a cover letter should be sent to andreas.rowald(a)epfl.ch

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Fully-funded PhD Positions in Biomedical Imaging Computing, Lehigh University, USA
by Yu Zhang May 7, 2020

May 7, 2020

*Fully-funded PhD Positions in Biomedical Imaging Computing, Lehigh University, USA* The Biomedical Imaging and Computation Laboratory (BIC Lab) at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, USA) is currently accepting applications for PhD positions in biomedical imaging computing. *Position description: *The research project will focus on developing and applying a variety of machine learning/deep learning methods for biomedical imaging analysis and prediction. The successful applicants will contribute to research and development in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven neural biomarker discovery using advanced neuroimaging techniques (e.g., MRI and EEG) for precision medicine of brain diseases. *Qualifications: *Successful applicants will have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, or other related fields, and strong motivation to do high-quality research in novel biomedical imaging computing with machine learning. Additionally, strong quantitative skills and a programming background (Matlab and/or Python) are important. Previous research experiences in related fields and scientific publications in journals/conferences are preferred. *Lehigh University: *Lehigh University is a premier research university in the United States, consistently ranked in the top tier of national research universities each year. It is a coeducational, nondenominational, private university that offers a distinctive academic environment for undergraduate and graduate students from across the globe. Located in Pennsylvania’s scenic Lehigh Valley, the campus is situated on 1,600 acres in close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. The application materials will be reviewed immediately once received. The expected starting time is Fall 2020 or Spring 2021. Interested candidates should send a cover letter describing your research interests, CV (including undergraduate GPA and ranking, transcripts if applicable), and contact information of three references to Dr. Yu Zhang at yzhangsu(a)stanford.edu and zhangyubrain(a)gmail.com. Check here for detailed admission requirements (e.g., GRE and TOEFL scores) https://engineering.lehigh.edu/bioe/graduate/bioengineering-admissions-guid… -- Yu Zhang, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Bioengineering, Lehigh University Research Fellow Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University Webpage: http://yuzhangresearch.weebly.com/ Email: yzhangsu(a)stanford.edu

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Neuromatch 2.0 – an online unconference in neuroscience, May 25-27, 2020
by Grace Lindsay May 7, 2020

May 7, 2020

Announcing Neuromatch 2.0 – an online unconference in neuroscience, May 25-27, 2020. After a successful two-day conference in March, Neuromatch is back for three days this May! This fully online computational neuroscience conference will include invited and submitted talks, a virtual poster session, panels, debates, group discussion, and “mind-matching” events. In partnership with the IEEE Brain Initiative, one day of the conference will focus on neural data analysis. In partnership with eLife, Neuromatch will also feature talks and discussion with early career researchers. Registration and talk/poster submissions are due May 20th. For instructions on how to submit, please see: https://neuromatch.io/instructions/ For more information and to register for the conference, visit our site: https://neuromatch.io/ If you want to participate in the “mind-matching” or group discussion events (where you’ll be algorithmically paired with other scientists based on mutual research interests), don’t forget to include example abstracts so we know your interests! Confirmed Speakers: - Eve Marder (Brandeis University) - Jenny Bizley (UCL) - Richard Naud (U of Ottawa) - Yael Niv (Princeton) - Jakob Macke (TU of Munich) - Asya Rolls (Technion) - Joseph Raimondo (U of Cape Town) - Dan Yamins (Stanford) - Demba Ba (Harvard) - Ilana Witten (Princeton) - Eugenia Chiappe (Champalimaud) - Byron Yu (CMU) - Adrienne Fairhall (U of Washington) - Polina Anikeeva (MIT) Sincerely, Neuromatch 2.0 organizers Dan Goodman (Imperial) Konrad Kording (UPenn) Brad Wyble (Penn State) Titipat Achakulvisut (UPenn) Tim Vogels (Oxford) Chris Rozell (Georgia Tech) Yiota Poirazi (IMBB/FORTH) Grace Lindsay (UCL)

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Two Post-doc opportunities in machine learning for neurological conditions
by Andre Altmann May 7, 2020

May 7, 2020

Dear Comp-Neuro Community, If you like the challenge of developing novel computational and mathematical solutions to real-world medical challenges, then you will love working with us in the UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing (CMIC) [1] in London, UK. We are looking for two excellent postdoctoral researchers to join the UCL POND[2] team's well-established, supportive, expanding team of computational scientists in developing state-of-the-art data-driven solutions for neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. In this field we lead international initiatives such as EuroPOND[3], TADPOLE Challenge[4], and the new E-DADS consortium[5]. Importantly, we ensure impact by collaborating closely with clinical scientists on our doorstep in London and our network of collaborators across the globe. *Deadline for applications is 25th May*. For details on the roles and to apply: http://pond.cs.ucl.ac.uk/vacancies Best wishes, Andre Altmann Links: [1] https://www.ucl.ac.uk/medical-image-computing/ [2] http://pond.cs.ucl.ac.uk/ [3] http://europond.eu/ [4] https://tadpole.grand-challenge.org/ [5] https://e-dads.github.io/

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Announcement: Online Seminar Series on Consciousness
by Xerxes D. Arsiwalla May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020

Dear Comp-Neuro Community, Hope you are all doing well in these difficult times! This is to announce a new online seminar series on consciousness that will include regular weekly or bi-weekly talks until the end of 2020 by well known researchers in the field. As in the previous years, part of the seminar will be devoted to discussing new ideas, visions and recent results. This time, we would like to put more emphasis on critically assessing the use of mathematics in studying consciousness. How exactly do mathematical approaches integrate with and depend on neuroscientific and philosophical research? Do they allow to go beyond what non-formal approaches can do? If so, how? To answer these and similar questions, we will host talks, discussion sessions, background lectures and tutorials. Our overall goals in doing so are: - To review the various mathematical approaches that are being used in consciousness science. - To discuss the underlying visions and the current progress of each. - To assess the merits and drawbacks of the mathematical method as a whole in this context. - To develop a rigorous understanding of how precisely mathematics can be used to address the problem of consciousness. - To identify key questions that a mathematical science of consciousness should address. - To help establish a comprehensive methodology of mathematical consciousness research, which is intimately tied to both empirical and conceptual research in neuroscience, philosophy and related disciplines. A partial and developing list of confirmed speakers include: - Karl Friston, University College London - David Balduzzi, DeepMind Google - Chen Song, Cardiff University - Anil Seth, Sackler Center for Consciousness Science, Sussex - Ryota Kanai, Araya Artificial Intelligence, Tokyo - Jenann Ismael, Columbia University in New York - Jennifer Windt, Monash University - Erik Hoel, Allen Discovery Centre - Andrew Haun, Center for Sleep and Consciousness, UW-Madison - Rafi Malach, Weizmann Institute of Science - Catherine Tallon-Baundry, École normale supérieure - Nao Tsuchiya, Consciousness tLab, Melbourne - Liad Mudrik, Tel Aviv University - William Seager, University of Toronto - Selen Atasoy, University of Oxford - Jeffrey Yoshimi, University of California Merced As in the previous events, we hope to create an open-minded and non-dogmatic atmosphere. This is one reason why we would like to cordially invite you all to join the seminar. To do so, simply visit the seminar's website (https://seminar.math-consciousness.org) click on the tab "Join" and follow the explanations there. Further information about the seminar is given in the tab "Details" and will be announced to those who have joined soon. We hope to see many of you online in the next couple of months! Stay safe! The organizers Johannes Kleiner (Munich) Joanna Szczotka (Sussex and Krakow) Xerxes D. Arsiwalla (Barcelona) Sean Tull (Oxford) Robin Lorenz (Oxford)

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Fully funded 4-year PhD Position at IIT - Computational approaches to study the neural code
by Stefano Panzeri May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020

Fully funded 4-year PhD Position at IIT - Computational approaches to study the neural code We are seeking candidates for a fully funded 4-year PhD position at the Italian Institute of Technology’s in the lab directed by Stefano Panzeri ( https://www.iit.it/people/stefano-panzeri) We are particularly interested in candidates that wish to work in a project in collaboration with the experimental neurophysiology laboratory of Giuliano Iurilli (https://www.iit.it/people/giuliano-iurilli) We are interested in using mathematical models of neural networks and information theoretic and machine learning analytical tools to understand the principles of neural coding by using as a model the olfactory system. For recent representative publications of Panzeri and Iurilli on relevant topics please see: Chong et al, in press, preprint available at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/841916v1 van Vugt B, et al, (2018) Science: DOI: 10.1126/science.aar7186 Runyan C. A., et al (2017) Nature: 548: 92-96 Panzeri, S, et al (2017) Neuron 93: 491-507 Iurilli, G. and Datta, R.S. (2017) Neuron 93 , 1180-1197 Safaai, H. et al (2015) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 112(41): 12834–12839 The ideal candidate should have a strong background in numerate sciences, and have a strong propensity for interdisciplinary research. No extensive previous experience in neuroscience is needed. However, a keen interest in understanding the brain is essential. The deadline for the formal application is set to May 27th 2019, but interested candidates are invited me to contact us informally by email ( stefano.panzeri(a)iit.it and Giuliano.urilli(a)iit.it ) as soon as possible, and *no later than May 11th 2020,* by attaching their CV and briefly explaining their interest in this position, to initiate discussion about potential PhD projects of interest. Yours truly, Stefano Panzeri

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PhD position in theoretical and experimental neuroscience
by Nicolas P. Rougier May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020

PhD position in theoretical and experimental neuroscience Application deadline: 30/05/2020 What: PhD position in theoretical and experimental neuroscience Where: Bordeaux, France When: September 2020 (3 years duration) Who: Nicolas Rougier (Inria) & Arthur Leblois (CNRS) A PhD position is available at the Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest center and the Institute of Neurodegenerative Disease in Bordeaux, France. Candidate profile ================= The future PhD candidate must have a strong experience at both the theoretical and experimental level. In particular, the following qualities and skills will be highly valued, if not required: * Solid bases in maths and/or physics; * Previous experience in experimental neuroscience; * Programming experience (Python or similar coding language); * Experience in machine learning or data mining is a plus; * Independence and ability to manage a project; * Good English reading/speaking skills. How to apply ============ Please send your application (CV, letter of motivation, and the names and email addresses of one or two persons who can provide recommendation letters) to Dr. Nicolas Rougier (nicolas.rougier(a)inria.fr) and Arthur Leblois (arthur.leblois(a)univ-bordeaux.fr) before the 30th of May 2020. Proposed research ================= Temporally precise movement patterns underlie many motor skills and innate actions, yet the origin of temporal control in motor behaviors remains unclear. While cortical motor regions traditionally have been viewed as encoding features of motor gestures, these models do not address how sequences of motor gestures are produced or appropriately timed. Recently, a number of studies have suggested that, beyond just representing features of motor output, motor regions may have intrinsic oscillatory dynamics or sequential dynamics to act as their own pattern generators. However, in the order of milliseconds, the neural and anatomical correlates of time processing are still largely unknown because the dominant model, which is based on internal clock fails at giving account on experimental data. Understanding the neural dynamics underlying the acquisition and performance of complex sensorimotor tasks has been hindered by the complexity of the underlying brain networks in common animal models used in neuroscience (e.g. rodents or primates). In particular, the complex interactions between cortical areas (primary and secondary motor cortex in rodents, motor, premotor and supplementary motor areas in primates) related to many different sensorimotor associations and motor skills is daunting. Conversely, in birds, the sensorimotor skill of song production and its learning has a dedicated set of interconnected brain nuclei known as the “song system”, making them an outstanding model to study the neural mechanisms of vocal learning and more generally, of sensorimotor learning. Songbirds indeed rely on learned vocalizations to communicate during courtship or aggressive behaviours. Just as speech learning in humans, vocal learning in young birds requires the coordination of vocal muscles to reproduce previously experienced adult vocalizations. Song learning is also limited to a critical period during development and heavily relies on auditory feedback. The proposed research lies at the interface of neurophysiology, cognitive science, applied mathematics, and theoretical physics. The concepts and methods that will be used will draw on single neuron physiology, electrophysiological studies in behaving animals, statistical mechanics, dynamical system theory, and stochastic differential equations. To this end, we will combine a theoretical approach (development of a mathematical model of the timing system) and an experimental one (chronic neural recording in awake birds, behavioural manipulations). Therefore, a collaboration with a team of physiologists at the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, and in particular with Arthur Leblois who has a long-established expertise in the neural mechanisms underlying vocal learning in songbirds. The model will be designed under the supervision of Nicolas Rougier who has extensive experience in computational modelling. Predictions of the model will then be tested experimentally by measuring neuronal activity in the brain areas controlling song timing in songbirds under the supervision of Arthur Leblois. Chronic electrophysiological recordings in singing birds are routinely performed in the lab of Arthur Leblois, and will be implemented in a protocol allowing the induction of plasticity in the duration of song syllables in young adult birds over short periods of time.

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NEST Conference 2020 goes virtual — Call for Contributions
by Hans Ekkehard Plesser May 4, 2020

May 4, 2020

Dear all, The NEST Initiative is excited to invite everyone interested in Neural Simulation Technology and the NEST Simulator to the NEST Conference 2020. The NEST Conference provides an opportunity for the NEST Community to meet, exchange success stories, swap advice, learn about current developments in and around NEST spiking network simulation and its application. This year's conference will take place as a virtual conference on Monday/Tuesday 29/30 June 2020. We are now inviting contributions to the conference, including plenary talks, "posters" and breakout sessions on specific topics. Important dates 01 June 2020 — Deadline for submission of contributions 08 June 2020 — Notification of acceptance 10 June 2020 — Deadline for NEST Initiative Membership applications (registration is free for members in 2020) 22 June 2020 — Registration deadline 29 June 2020 — NEST Conference 2020 starts For more information on how to submit your contribution, register and participate, please visit the conference website https://nest-simulator.org/conference We are looking forward to seeing you all in June! Hans Ekkehard Plesser, Susanne Kunkel, Dennis Terhorst, Anne Elfgen & many more När du skickar e-post till Karolinska Institutet (KI) innebär detta att KI kommer att behandla dina personuppgifter. Här finns information om hur KI behandlar personuppgifter<https://ki.se/medarbetare/integritetsskyddspolicy>. Sending email to Karolinska Institutet (KI) will result in KI processing your personal data. You can read more about KI’s processing of personal data here<https://ki.se/en/staff/data-protection-policy>. _______________________________________________ Neuroinfo mailing list Neuroinfo(a)incf.org<mailto:Neuroinfo@incf.org> https://lists.incf.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/neuroinfo

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Associate Lecturer (Education-focused) at the University of St Andrews
by Thomas Otto April 30, 2020

April 30, 2020

Please see the vacancy for a position as Associate Lecturer (Education-focused) at the University of St Andrews. This is a full-time, permanent post, which will primarily focus on delivery of Neuroscience content. Please share with interested colleagues, the advertisement can be found at: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/7074/0/267435/889/associ… -- Dr. Thomas Otto University of St Andrews School of Psychology and Neuroscience St Mary’s Quad, South Street, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland Phone: +44 (0)1334 462091 http://lclab.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/

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Fully-funded PhD position at the Vision Institute, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
by angelo.arleo＠inserm.fr April 30, 2020

April 30, 2020

Fully-funded PhD position at the Vision Institute, Sorbonne University, Paris, France Job description Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD position to develop clinical endpoints of daily-life activity for low vision patients in order to assess visual restoration. The therapeutic benefits of vision restoration are usually evaluated in clinical studies using conventional functional measures such as visual field and contrast sensitivity. However, these tests are not sufficient to characterize the impact of a visual pathology on patients’ quality of life and autonomy. This project will set forth a set of benchmark measures to evaluate a range of daily life functions (locomotion, spatial orientation, posture, balance, reading) in real or virtual conditions. The main goal is to identify behavioral biomarkers of the benefit of vision restoration solutions (namely optogenetic therapy and retinal implants) in visually impaired patients. The PhD candidate will work hand-in-hand with clinicians of the National Hospital Center for Ophthalmology of the Quinze-Vingts and with researchers of the Vision Institute as well as the Streetlab company. The project will be carried out under the supervision of Dr. Colas Authié and Dr. Angelo Arleo. Requirements & eligibility criteria Applicants should have a quantitative background (engineering, computer science, physics, applied mathematics), and a keen interest in behavioral neuroscience. The ideal candidate should have expertise in virtual reality, motor control, and biometric data analysis. Experience in low-vision or knowledge on machine learning and programming languages (Matlab, C or Python) are a plus. Knowledge of French is important (but not mandatory). Proficiency in oral and written English is required. Successful candidates are expected to work in an interdisciplinary environment with engineers, neuroscientists, and clinicians. Applicants must be in the first four years of their research career and they must not have lived in France more than 12 months during the last 3 years. Benefits The position is funded by the Marie Curie ITN project ENTRAIN-VISION and it will start in fall 2020. It corresponds to a full PhD appointment (36 months) with competitive salary and working conditions, monthly mobility allowance, and family allowance (if family obligations). It also provides continuing education, secondments in the private sector, training modules, and transferable skills courses. Working environment The Vision Institute is one of the top international centers for integrated research on vision and eye diseases. It is located at the heart of Paris, on the campus of the National Hospital Center for Ophthalmology of the Quinze-Vingts. The Vision Institute includes multidisciplinary research laboratories, which share state-of-the-art platforms for human and animal experimentation. It also harbors a Clinical Investigation Center, which fosters translational research. The Streetlab provides a panel of unique platforms (reproducing virtual and real immersive environments) and standardized evaluation solutions to measure autonomy, mobility, and quality of life of visually impaired people. How to apply Applicants should apply to the ENTRAIN-VISION consortium (www.entrain-vision.eu <http://www.entrain-vision.eu/>) by May 29th, 2020. For further inquiries, please contact Colas Authié (colas.authie(a)streetlab-vision.com <mailto:colas.authie@streetlab-vision.com>) and/or Angelo Arleo (angelo.arleo(a)inserm.fr <mailto:angelo.arleo@inserm.fr>). *************************************** Angelo ARLEO FONTAINE, PhD Director of Research CNRS Head of the Aging in Vision and Action Lab, Director of the Chair Silversight, Institute of Vision, CNRS - INSERM - Sorbonne University, 17, rue Moreau F-75012 Paris, France Phone: +33 (0)1 53 46 26 52 Mobile: +33 (0)6 46 84 09 56 Email: angelo.arleo(a)inserm.fr Website: www.aging-vision-action.fr

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PhD Positions in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Hertfordshire
by Volker Steuber April 30, 2020

April 30, 2020

PhD Positions in Computational Neuroscience Biocomputation Research Group Centre for Computer Science and Informatics Research University of Hertfordshire UK Applications are invited for PhD positions in the Biocomputation Research Group at the University of Hertfordshire. Projects involve the development and simulation of models of neurons and neuronal networks to study information processing in the brain and /or the application of machine learning techniques for the analysis of neural data. A description of our research interests and a list of publications can be found on our webpage (http://biocomputation.herts.ac.uk/). Applicants should have excellent computational and numerical skills and a very good first degree in computer science, biology, maths, physics, neuroscience, or a related discipline. 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. Research in Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire has been recognised as excellent in the latest Research Excellence Framework Assessment, with 50% of the research submitted rated as internationally excellent or world leading. The Centre for Computer Science and Informatics Research provides a very stimulating environment, offering a large number of specialised and interdisciplinary seminars as well as general training and researcher development opportunities. The University is situated in Hatfield, in the green belt just north of London. Please contact Dr Volker Steuber for informal enquiries. Application forms are available under http://www.herts.ac.uk/apply/schools-of-study/computer-science/our-research… and should be returned to [https://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/image/0016/203434/uhsociallogo.png]<http://www.herts.ac.uk/apply/schools-of-study/computer-science/our-research…> The PhD Programme in Computer Science<http://www.herts.ac.uk/apply/schools-of-study/computer-science/our-research…> See a list of exciting research topics www.herts.ac.uk Lynette Spelman and Emma Thorogood Research Student Administrators University of Hertfordshire College Lane Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB tel: +44 (0)1707 286083 doctoralcollegeadmissions(a)herts.ac.uk The short-listing process will begin on 1 July 2019.

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Postdoctoral Position in Computational Neuroscience, Barcelona
by Alex Roxin April 30, 2020

April 30, 2020

The Computational Neuroscience Group at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica in Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to model dynamics, plasticity and learning in hippocampal circuits. The goal is to understand how sensory-driven activity in areas CA3 and CA1 during spatial exploration leads to memory formation in rodents. The work involves network modelling as well as the analysis of in-vivo electrophysiological and calcium imaging data provided by experimental collaborators. The ideal candidate has a strong technical background, such as in Computational Neuroscience, Applied Mathematics, Physics or similar. To apply, please send a CV, letter of motivation and the names of two references to Alex Roxin at aroxin(a)crm.cat Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Pre-application inquiries are also welcome. -- Alex Roxin Computational Neuroscience Group Centre de Recerca Matemàtica Campus de Bellaterra, Edifici C 08193, Bellaterra (Barcelona) Spain https://sites.google.com/site/alexanderroxin/home

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Open positions at the SimLab Neuroscience, Juelich, Germany
by Abigail Morrison April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

Dear colleagues, We have two open positions available in the SimLab Neuroscience at the Juelich Supercomputing Centre, Juelich Research Centre, Germany. For the full descriptions and details of how to apply, please see the announcements on our website: Scientific Software Developer with a focus on neuroscience community engagement https://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2020-061-E… Research Scientist – Development of Neuroscience Data Transport Middleware on High-Performance Computing Systems https://www.fz-juelich.de/SharedDocs/Stellenangebote/_common/dna/2020-128-E… The deadline for applications is 10 May 2020. All the best, Abigail Morrison -- Prof. Dr. Abigail Morrison IAS-6 / INM-6 / SimLab Neuroscience Jülich Research Center & Computer Science 3 - Software Engineering RWTH Aachen http://www.fz-juelich.de/inm/inm-6 http://www.fz-juelich.de/ias/jsc/slns http://www.se-rwth.de Office: +49 2461 61-9805 Fax # : +49 2461 61-9460 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Volker Rieke Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Workshop on Machine Learning for Pharma and Healthcare Applications (PharML 2020) - Deadline 11 June 2020
by Konstantinos Sechidis April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

*** Call For Papers PharML 2020: Machine Learning for Pharma and Healthcare Applications We invite contributions from both industry and academia to share their research and experience in using artificial intelligence and machine learning methods in pharmaceutical research and development. PharML will be held at the European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML-PKDD) to take place in Ghent, Belgium, on 14th - 18th of September 2020. Submission Guidelines We invite authors to submit extended abstracts including preliminary results as well as published work. Authors should submit a paper of up to 4 pages (excluding references). Longer papers will be rejected immediately. Priority will be given to unpublished work. Authors should commit to present their work at the workshop in case it is accepted for an oral or poster presentation. All accepted abstracts will be posted on the workshop's website. - All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed, double-blinded - Abstracts should be in PDF format, following the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science style https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/springer-lecture-notes-in-computer… - Submissions should be done via the workshop EasyChair page https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=pharml2020# Topics of Interest The following list, although not exhaustive, covers some of the main topics that will be discussed in the workshop. - Learning on Graphs - Representing patients and molecules as graphs - Transfer learning and generative models - Modelling dynamic graphs - Node and link prediction on molecular graphs - Biological pathway mining for cancer biomarker discovery - Machine learning with brain graphs - Causal structure learning from real world data - Deep learning in healthcare and pharmaceutical research - Medical Imaging - Natural Language Processing - Reinforcement learning in computer-assisted procedures - Audio Processing - Time series analysis - Bayesian methods - Modelling uncertainty - Bayesian methods for classification and imputation - Bayesian networks - General machine learning methods for healthcare and pharma - Machine learning for personalized healthcare - Multimodal machine learning (e.g. combining genomics, pathology reports, clinical data to predict survival) - Remote sensing for healthcare applications - Causal inference with observational data - Subgroup discovery and targeted learning - Longitudinal and trajectory data analysis - Medical decision support Workshop Programme The workshop will feature: - Invited keynote speakers from academia (Stephan Günnemann, Technische Universität München) and industry (Fabien Gaire, Roche). - Oral presentations - A poster session The full programme will be posted on the workshop's website in due course. Important dates Submission Deadline: June 11, 2020 Notification: July 09, 2020 Camera ready: TBA Workshop date: TBA (Monday 14th or Friday 18th of September) Committees Organizing Committee - Lee Cooper (Northwestern University, USA) - Naghmeh Ghazaleh (Roche, Switzerland) - Jonas Richiardi (Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland) - Damian Roqueiro (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Diego Saldana (Roche, Switzerland) - Konstantinos Sechidis (Roche, Switzerland) Program Committee - Laura Azzimonti (IDSIA, Switzerland) - Christian Bock (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Christoph Freyre (Novartis, Switzerland) - Geoffrey Fucile (University of Basel, Switzerland) - Marius Garmhausen (Roche, Switzerland) - Elisabetta Ghisu (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Max Horn (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Elina Koletou (Roche, Switzerland) - Valeria De Luca (Novartis, Switzerland) - Matteo Manica (IBM, Switzerland) - Joseph Mellor (University of Edinburgh, UK) - Michael Mitchley (Roche, Switzerland) - Michael Moor (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Nikolaos Nikolaou (UCL, UK) - Marilena Oita, (Simply Vision, Switzerland) - Konstantinos Papangelou (University of Manchester, UK) - Laetitia Papaxanthos (Google Brain, France) - Jon Parkinson (University of Manchester, UK) - Maria Giulia Preti (EPFL, Switzerland) - Bastian Rieck (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) - Elizaveta Semenova (AstraZeneca, UK) - Grigorios Tsoumakas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) Venue Colocated with ECML-PKDD, Ghent, Belgium, on September 14-18, 2020. Contact Visit the official website of the workshop for additional details. https://sites.google.com/view/pharml2020 If you have questions, please send us an e-mail to: pharml2020(a)easychair.org

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Announcing the release of the CompNeuro-Fedora OS for Computational Neuroscientists
by Ankur Sinha April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

Hello everyone, (Apologies for the cross-posts) The NeuroFedora team is excited to announce the first release of the CompNeuro-Fedora operating system for computational neuroscientists. https://labs.fedoraproject.org/en/comp-neuro/ CompNeuro-Fedora is a Fedora Linux based Free/Open Source operating system that includes a plethora of tools for computational modelling. These tools are built from their sources as per the Fedora packaging guidelines that enforce the current best practices in software development. So, all you have to do is: - download the image, - install it to disk or a virtual machine (or run it "live"), and - get to work! This release of the ISO image is based on the popular GNOME desktop environment. For computational neuroscience, it includes: Auryn, Bionetgen, Calc: calcium-calculator, COPASI, GetDP, GENESIS, MOOSE, NEST simulator, NEURON, PyLEMS, Smoldyn; along with multiple tools used in analysis: the complete Python science stack: NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, IPython, SymPy, and Pandas, R, Julia, GNU Octave, GNUPlot, Paraview, and others. Apart from this set of tools, the NeuroFedora team also provides more neuroscience software that can be installed from the Fedora repositories. Additionally, you also have access to the *complete* set of Free/Open Source software packages available for the Fedora Linux distribution. You can read more about the CompNeuro-Fedora release here: https://neuroblog.fedoraproject.org/2020/04/28/fedora-32-computational-neur… NeuroFedora is a Free/Open Source volunteer community based initiative to support the use of Free/Open Source software in Neuroscience. The team consists wholly of volunteers who spend a few hours a week on this project. We would love to hear from you, and for you to join us. We, especially encourage students to join the community to develop their skills while contributing to NeuroFedora. You can learn more about NeuroFedora here: https://neuro.fedoraproject.org You can get in touch with the community using any of our communication channels: https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/neurofedora/communicating/ -- Thanks, Regards, Ankur Sinha (He / Him / His) | https://ankursinha.in PhD candidate in computational neuroscience at UH Biocomputation | http://biocomputation.herts.ac.uk/ Research Fellow at the Silver Lab | http://silverlab.org/ Free/Open source community volunteer at the Fedora project | https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Ankursinha Time zone: Europe/London

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Two postdoctoral positions in cellular electrophysiology and neurobiology at SISSA, Italy
by Michele Giugliano April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

Apologies for cross posting Two postdoctoral positions in cellular electrophysiology and neurobiology at SISSA, Italy Two postdoctoral positions are available immediately at the Neuroscience Area of SISSA - the International School for Advanced Studies, in the lab of Neuronal Dynamics head by Dr. Michele GIUGLIANO. Both positions are covered for up to 38 months each, on an EC-Horizon 2020 funded project called "Ionic Neuromodulation For Epilepsy Treatment (IN-FET)". (www.in-fet.eu <http://www.in-fet.eu/>) This project combines neurobiology, nanotechnologies, electrochemistry, and electronics together towards a novel breakthrough technology in brain modulation. At SISSA, we aim at experimentally validating novel routes for cellular and microcircuit stimulation or suppression, in collaboration with a consortium of partners which includes IBM Research Zurich, the University of Geneva, the University of Sheffield, and the Inter-university consortium for Nanoelectronics. We thus search for experts in in vitro electrophysiology (substrate-integrated microelectrode arrays) and patch-clamp recordings (dissociated cell cultures, acute and organotypic brain tissue slices) with a strong background in quantitative data analysis and an interest for interdisciplinary research. The deadline for the application is 28/05/2020 and the link to apply is: https://pica.cineca.it/sissa/ar-fe-neur-29-2020/ <https://pica.cineca.it/sissa/ar-fe-neur-29-2020/> More information at: https://www.sissa.it/bandi/selezione-pubblica-titoli-colloquio-conferimento… <https://www.sissa.it/bandi/selezione-pubblica-titoli-colloquio-conferimento…> For scientific inquiries, email to michele.giugliano_AT_sissa.it For administrative inquiries, email to assegniricerca_AT_sissa.it

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CFP Deadline Extension - 10th IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), Valparaiso Chile
by Pablo Vinicius Alves De Barros April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

We hope that this message finds you healthy and that you and your families are safe and well during these difficult times! Since many countries are still under heavy pressure from COVID-19 together with the fact the Southern Hemisphere is just entering winter, we have decided to reschedule the conference to the 28th to the 30th of October. The conference will be hybrid, hosting both onsite and online participants. Online participants will have a reduced fee. We have also extended the submission deadline, and already submitted papers can be modified. CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE EXTENDED: 10th IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL) (This is the follow-up of the previous ICDL-EpiRob conference series) 28th-30th October 2020, Valparaiso, Chile https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ An IEEE Computational Society-sponsored conference ==== Important Dates ==== Paper Submission Deadline: 14th June 2020 Paper Author Notification: 13th July 2020 Final Paper Version Due: 16th August 2020 Conference: 28th-30th October 2020 ==== Overview ==== The IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), previously referred to as ICDL-EpiRob, is the premier gathering of professionals dedicated to the advancement of cognitive and developmental learning. As such, ICDL is a unique conference gathering researchers from computer science, robotics, psychology and developmental studies. ICDL is a highly selective annual international conference that aims to showcase and share the very best interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research on how humans and animals develop sensing, reasoning and actions. ICDL community focusses on the understanding of how biological agents take advantage of interaction with social and physical environments to develop their cognitive capabilities. Moreover, how this knowledge can be used to improve future computing and robotic systems. We invite submissions for the conference to explore, extend, and consolidate the interdisciplinary boundaries of this exciting research field. ==== Scope and Topics ==== The primary list of topics of interest includes, but not limited to: - principles and theories of development and learning; - development of skills in biological systems and robots; - nature vs nurture, developmental stages; - models on the contributions of interaction to learning; - verbal, non-verbal and multi-modal interaction; - models on active learning; - architectures for lifelong learning; - emergence of body and affordance perception; - analysis and modelling of human motion and state; - models for prediction, planning and problem solving; - models of human-human and human-robot interaction; - emergence of verbal and non-verbal communication; - epistemological foundations and philosophical issues; - robot prototyping of human and animal skills; - ethics and trust in computational intelligence and robotics; - social learning in humans, animals, and robots. ==== Submissions ==== Authors are invited to submit original and unpublished papers of six pages with the possibility of two-extra pages at a fee. Submissions are in the IEEE conference template. Submission will be selected for either oral or poster presentation based on the reviews. Accepted and presented regular six-page paper submissions will be included in the conference proceedings published by IEEE Xplore after the conference. For more information about submissions, travel grants, social events, etc. visit the conference webpage under https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/ ICDL-EpiRob: Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics » ICDL 2020<https://cdstc.gitlab.io/icdl-2020/> cdstc.gitlab.io IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), previously known as Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics (ICDL-EpiRob). IEEE, CIS, CDSTC, Electrical and Electronic Engineers Inc., Computational Intelligence Society, Cognitive and Developmental Systems Technical Committee, Autonomous Mental Development . ICDL, IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning, 2020, 10th, Valparaíso, Chile. This page includes content related to call for papers, call for contributions, registration, submissions, attend, program, call, guidelines, computer science, robotics, psychology and developmental studies, sponsors, creative commons, license, research, about us. ==== Organizing committee ==== General Chairs: Giulio Sandini, and Javier Ruiz-del-Solar Program and Finance Chairs: Nicolás Navarro-Guerrero, and María-José Escobar Bridge Chairs: Minoru Asada, Frédéric Alexandre, and Linda Smith Publicity Chairs: Carmelo Bastos, Maya Cakmak, Angelo Cangelosi, Yukie Nagai, and Emre Ugur Publication Chairs: Pablo Barros, and Haian Wu Tutorials and Workshops Chair: Miguel Solis Travel and Registration Awards Chair: Francisco Cruz Local chairs: Mauricio Araya Webpage Chairs: Cristóbal Nettle, and Patricio Castillo Graphics: Camila Angel Alfaro Best regards from the organizing committee, ---------------------------------------- Dr. Pablo Barros Postdoctoral Researcher - CONTACT Unit Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – Center for Human Technologies Via Enrico Melen 83, Building B 16152 Genova, Italy email: pablo.alvesdebarros(a)iit.it website: https://www.pablobarros.net<http://www.pablobarros.net><https://www.p> twitter: @PBarros_br

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Invitation and call for abstracts for VCCA2020 - Computational Audiology
by Yağmur Güçlütürk April 28, 2020

April 28, 2020

Dear List, It is our pleasure to send out this Save the date and call for abstracts for the *first Virtual Conference on Computational Audiology* (VCCA) to be held on *June 19, 2020*! In these times of social distancing, we intend to use the opportunities modern communication technology offers to bring researchers from all over the world together in a virtual conference setting. What better topic than the combination of audiology — the primary sense humans use for communication — and AI/computation — an advanced means by which we try to model and make sense of the world? We have subdivided this broad topic into: - Computational models - Machine learning for audiology - AI for auditory implants - e-Audiology (connected hearing health care) - AI & Music (for hearing impaired people) Our central mission is to improve (access to) hearing healthcare for more than 450 million hearing impaired people worldwide. The target audience for this conference is young researchers that wish to present their work and ideas. We offer a podium to receive feedback from peers and to get mentored by senior researchers. The choice for a virtual conference means: - There will be no participation fee - We can more easily reach out to research groups in AI and Audiology worldwide. There is a *young scientist award* for the best contribution to encourage input from young scientists. *Format* All presentations and discussions will be recorded and together with the submitted abstracts made freely accessible via our website <https://computationalaudiology.com/>. We would like to take advantage of the virtual aspects of this conference by creating sessions that consist of a mixture of different talk and discussion formats and distribute time slots over a 24 hour period. We provide the opportunity for researchers and research groups to submit one-minute videos explaining their work, which will be placed on the conference website. We also offer the opportunity to submit links to research group websites and announcements of webinars to be placed on the conference website. Last but not least, we will encourage social interaction by providing virtual “coffee breaks” and other social activities. *Abstract submission* Abstracts of 300+/- words in length will be accepted online and must include Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions (click this link <https://computationalaudiology.com/ai-speech-recognition-apps-for-hearing-i…>, for an example). Submissions must include an e-mail address for all co-presenters/co-authors, and we strongly recommend the inclusion of a 2-minute ignite style <http://www.ignitetalks.io/> video (here on this page is a 2-minute example <https://computationalaudiology.com/vcca2020-program/> by Prof Barbour). The link to the portal to submit your abstract online will be available at https://computationalaudiology.com/vcca2020-call-for-abstracts/ on May 15, 2020. The deadline for abstract submission is *May 31* (we’ll try to upload abstract starting May 15). Notification of abstract acceptance will be *June 5.* Note: If you forward this message, please add vcca2020(a)computationalaudiology.com in cc, so that we can track who already received our invitation. *Further information* https://computationalaudiology.com/ https://computationalaudiology.com/event/virtual-conference-on-computationa… We will regularly update the conference website with new information. Feel free to send questions or suggestions to vcca2020(a)computationalaudiology.com Kind regards, *the Organizing committee* Yağmur Güçlütürk Peter van Hengel Alex Tichter Jan-Willem Wasmann -- Dr. Yağmur Güçlütürk Assistant Professor at Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Department <https://www.ru.nl/cai/>, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour <http://www.ru.nl/donders>, Radboud University <http://www.ru.nl/english>, Nijmegen, Netherlands Email: y.gucluturk(a)donders.ru.nl Telephone: +310243611175 Postal address: Postbus 9104 6500 HE Nijmegen Netherlands Visiting address: SP B 00.78A Montessorilaan 3 6525 HR Nijmegen Netherlands <https://www.google.nl/maps/place/Spinozagebouw/@51.8192802,5.8579337,17z/da…>

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[CFP] (Deadline tomorrow on Wednesday, April 29) IEEE RO-MAN 2020 Special Session on Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot
by Ker-Jiun Wang April 27, 2020

April 27, 2020

29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication(IEEE RO-MAN2020) *SPECIAL SESSION* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *(Website: **http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php* <http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php>*)* *CALL FOR PAPERS* *(Download CFP: **https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5* <https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5> *)* *Title* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *Motivation and goals* Wearable technologies that connect human with the surrounding smart environment could potentially replace the cellphone and other cumbersome tablet/laptops to become the next generation human-computer interface. It opens a new frontier of using stretchable, sticky and flexible body sensors, galvanic skin response (GSR), photoplethysmogram (PPG), inertial measurement unit (IMUs), and neurophysiological electrodes, such as EEG/EMG/ECG/EKG to measure various brain and body activity signals, and decode meaningful information for multi-modal interactions. Such dramatic shift of paradigm can be manifested in many technology development from big companies/startups, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung and Neuralink (Elon Musk), etc., to build more mobile, invisible, ubiquitous, compact computing platforms, such as smart watches, smart glasses, smart headphones, VR/AR headsets, and state-of-the-art Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), in which the devices embed various kinds of sensors and electrodes to directly/indirectly interpret human body states, intentions, emotions and/or even high level motivations from neural signals, while other “out-of-body” sensors, like cameras, could not observe. Along with the scientific and practical implementation challenges of such technology, the personal big data collection also brings a lot of social norms, privacy and ethical issues as well. In this Special Session, we want to solicit impactful paper contributions to push the boundary to the limit, in order to explore the most critical issues in applying this futuristic technology to the real-world environment. Since our human have complex behaviors, which involve multiple disciplinary explanations, the technologies that closely-interact and solve the human-related problems should also reflect such complex multidisciplinary nature. As part of purely theoretical findings, we will also create a multidisciplinary educational and discussion forum, in which we will have industrial applications, art and design, consumer electronics, embedded system and mobile computing, Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) user experience/interface (UX/UI) design, and social norm and ethical paper presentations to discuss the emotion/mind-aware data collection and the use of AI to fully release the potential of this promising technology. Hopefully our dedicated effort of organizing this Special Session focusing on Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging could make such futuristic promising technology more human-centered, with more human-like heart, mind, and soul to interact with the people, the robot, and all other smart IoT devices, to enable a seamless Human-Robot Symbiotic society. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: *List of Topics* - Affective Computing - Wearable Platform and Wearable Device Form Factor Design - Soft Robotics - AI, Big Data, IoT, Deep Learning - Machine Learning and Biosignal Processing - Brain-Computer Interface and Physiological Signal Measurement - Invasive and Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface - Wearable Computing and Embedded System, IC/SoC design - Consumer Electronics Applications - Cloud/Edge Computing - Human-Robot/Computer Interaction - Neuroprosthesis, Exoskeleton, Rehabilitation robot - Biofeedback/Neurofeedback Training - Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) User Experience/Interface Design - Human-Centered Natural Interaction Design - Social Norms and Ethical issues of Using Emotion-Aware Big Data *PAPER SUBMISSIONS* Authors are invited to submit a *6~8-page (regular) Special Session paper* via RO-Man 2020 portal in *Papercept* (https://ras.papercept.net/) using *Special Session code* (Code: gxf38). Manuscripts are in double-column IEEE format following the official IEEE Manuscript Formatting guidelines. Review will be single-blind, so please retain all authors information in the submissions. Also consider the IEEE policies for publications. The conference proceedings will be included in the *IEEE Xplore Digital Library* . *Submission link* https://ras.papercept.net/ *Submission Code* *"gxf38"* *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* *Due to COVID-19, we are now accepting "Video Live Streaming" and/or "Video Recording" presentations, so the accepted papers can be presented remotely! **The paper submission deadline has been extended to the 29th of April to provide authors of the time to produce their best work, despite the many additional challenges we are facing at the moment. We are considering alternatives to allow for remote participation to both the main conference and workshops should disruptions still occur in September. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings and uploaded to IEEE Xplore, regardless of whether a physical or virtual presentation will be given.* *IMPORTANT DATES* - *Submission deadline for full papers: April 29, 2020 (extended)* - Notifications: June 15, 2020 - Final camera ready deadline: June 30, 2020 - Conference: August 31 - September 4, 2020 *ORGANIZERS* Ker-Jiun Wang (University of Pittsburgh) Mohammad Shidujaman (Tsinghua University) Caroline Yan Zheng (Royal College of Art) Maitreyee Wairagkar (Imperial College of London) Midori Sugaya (Shibaura Institute of Technology) Zhi-Hong Mao (University of Pittsburgh) Kai-Tai Song (National Chiao Tung University) Kindest regards, *Ker-Jiun Wang, PhD* Department of Bioengineering University of Pittsburgh On Behalf of Organizing Committees of Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul

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Hiring postdoc at Georgia Tech
by Christopher Rozell April 23, 2020

April 23, 2020

A postdoctoral position at the intersection of computational neuroscience and closed-loop optogenetic stimulation is available in the lab of Christopher Rozell at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA). This BRAIN Initiative research project seeks to advance the field of closed-loop computational neuroscience by using real-time feedback stimulation during experiments to decouple recurrently connected circuit elements and make stronger causal inferences about circuit interactions. This position will have a broad opportunity to develop models and algorithms that are implemented in novel experiments using closed-loop optogenetic stimulation. We aim to provide both new scientific insight about computational in neural circuits (especially sensory coding in the thalamo-cortical circuit) as well as new approaches and algorithmic tools for the community to use in novel electrophysiology experiments. This position will work as part of a team and in close collaboration with the experimental lab of Garrett Stanley (also at Georgia Tech), and it is expected that the computational and algorithmic approaches will be implemented experimentally through close partnership with experimentalists in the Stanley Laboratory. Applicants should hold a PhD in a related discipline with a strong record of research impact, quantitative thinking and collaborative work. Experience in computational neuroscience, machine learning, feedback control, and causal inference is all advantageous. The lab is committed to the professional development of the members, making it valuable preparation for people who are interested in academic, industrial or entrepreneurial careers. The position has no mandatory teaching or administrative duties. Excellent (written and oral) communication skills in English are also required. This particular project is part of the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience program (CRCNS), providing access to a community of researchers across the country who are focused on similar types of collaborations between computational and experimental labs. Georgia Tech's campus in the heart of midtown Atlanta, which has a thriving and collaborative neuroscience community that has a particular emphasis on computational and systems neuroscience. Atlanta is also one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, boasting a wide range of opportunities for recreation and culture. Georgia Tech has competitive benefits (including comprehensive medical insurance) and is an equal opportunity employer. The ideal start would be during summer 2020, but dates beyond that may be considered depending on the fit of the candidate. The position is initially for 12 months with the possibility and expectation of renewal. Compensation will be commensurate with relevant experience. Candidates should send a CV, a statement of research experience and interests, expected date of availability, and the contact information for three references to crozell(a)gatech.edu with the subject line "CRCNS postdoc". Application review will proceed until the position is filled and should be received by April 27 for full consideration. If the current COVID19 situation will delay the ability to apply by this deadline, please send a short note indicating that you intend to apply.

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Complex Spatial Navigation- Special Issue
by Fellous, Jean-Marc - (fellous) April 23, 2020

April 23, 2020

Dear Colleagues, I am writing to let you know of the upcoming special issue of Biological Cybernetics entitled 'Complex spatial navigation in animals, computational models and neuro-inspired robots'. All articles are now available online. Apologies for any duplications. * Editorial: Complex spatial navigation in animals, computational models and neuro-inspired robots. Jean-Marc Fellous, Peter F. Dominey and Alfredo Weitzenfeld. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00832-y * From spatial navigation via visual construction to episodic memory and imagination. Michael A. Arbib. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00829-7 * A neural model of schemas and memory encoding. Tiffany Hwu and Jeffrey L. Krichmar. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-019-00808-7 * A computational model for spatial cognition combining dorsal and ventral hippocampal place field maps: multi-scale navigation. Pablo Scleidorovich, Martin Llofriu, Jean-Marc Fellous and Alfredo Weitzenfeld. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-019-00812-x * Bio-inspired multi-scale fusion. Stephen Hausler, Zetao Chen, Michael E. Hasselmo and Michael Milford. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00831-z * Modeling awake hippocampal reactivations with model-based bidirectional search. Mehdi Khamassi and Benoit Girard. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00817-x * Real-time sensory-motor integration of hippocampal place cell replay and prefrontal sequence learning in simulated and physical rat robots for novel path optimization. Nicolas Cazin, Pablo Scleidorovich, Alfredo Weitzenfeld and Peter F. Dominey. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00820-2 * Cognitive swarming in complex environments with attractor dynamics and oscillatory computing. Joseph D. Monaco, Grace M. Hwang, Kevin M. Schultz and Kechen Zhang. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00823-z * Conjunctive reward-place coding properties of dorsal distal CA1 hippocampus cells. Zhuocheng Xiao, Kevin Lin and Jean-Marc Fellous. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00830-0 * A model of path integration and representation of spatial context in the retrosplenial cortex. Mingda Ju and Philippe Gaussier. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00422-020-00833-x Jean-Marc Fellous Peter Dominey Alfredo Weitzenfeld

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Bernstein Conference 2020 goes online
by a.dorrn＠fz-juelich.de April 23, 2020

April 23, 2020

NEWS · Bernstein Conference 2020 goes online, scheduled from Sept 29 – Oct 1 · Program<https://www.bernstein-network.de/de/bernstein-conference/2020/program-online> will be adjusted in a timezone-friendly manner · Deadline for workshop proposals<https://www.bernstein-network.de/de/bernstein-conference/2020/copy_of_satel…> extended until May 15 · Detailed information on abstract submission will follow soon In the light of current developments regarding COVID-19 and the dynamics this entails, we decided to hold this year’s Bernstein Conference entirely online for the first time, keeping scientific exchange alive and fruitful. Going online is not only an emergency reaction to the current pandemic, but also a chance to seek new possibilities in order to keep scientific meetings climate-friendly and allow unrestricted participance from scientists who are challenged by traveling. We will adjust schedules and formats to allow participance from around the world while fostering the interaction, scientific debate and excellence that we all appreciate at our Bernstein Conference. <mailto:bernstein.conference@fz-juelich.de> We are excited to exploring this new format together with our community. We will inform you regularly about updates on our website www.bernstein-conference.de<https://bit.ly/BC_online> and via Twitter<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany>: #BernsteinConference<https://twitter.com/hashtag/BernsteinConference?src=hashtag_click&f=live>. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further questions: bernstein.conference(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:bernstein.conference@fz-juelich.de> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Postdoctoral Position in Human Single Unit and Intracranial EEG to Study Human Memory
by Zaghloul, Kareem (NIH/NINDS) [E] April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Hi, I would like to post the following advertisement for an available post-doc position to the comp-neuro listserv. If you could help me with that, I would appreciate it. Please let me know if you need any more information. Thank you for your help, Kareem Kareem A. Zaghloul, MD, PhD Surgical Neurology Branch National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH Bldg 10, Rm. 3D20 10 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892-1414 O: 301-594-8114 F: 301-402-0380 The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is seeking a full-time post-doctoral position focused on understanding the neural correlates of human memory. This position involves studies focused on analyzing and manipulating human intracranial electrophysiological signals, including single-unit activity, local field potentials, and electrocorticography (ECoG), captured from patients with medically refractory epilepsy and from patients receiving deep brain stimulation surgery. Post-doctoral fellows will join a laboratory aimed at understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie human episodic memory formation and decision making and at developing novel and innovative techniques to directly communicate with those circuits. We are seeking candidates that are highly creative, motivated, and independent with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, or a related field. Candidates must have a strong research background, with a record of relevant publications. Candidates will be encouraged and expected to participate in independent laboratory research, and will be expected to write scholarly manuscripts. Candidates must be able to lead and work well in a team. Candidates should have strong computational, quantitative, and/or engineering skills, with proficiency in developing custom code (Matlab, Python, etc.) for data analysis preferred. Past medical research is not required, but candidates must be willing to perform experiments in a clinical setting. Candidates will interact with clinical staff, graduate students, research fellows, and must have excellent spoken and written English skills. Applicants should submit a brief statement of research activities and interests, a current CV, and names and contact information of at least three references. Salary will be commensurate with experience and accomplishments. To arrange a meeting with the PI and to send materials required for consideration for this appointment please contact Dr. Zaghloul at: zaghloulka(a)mail.nih.gov<mailto:zaghloulka@mail.nih.gov> NIH, an agency of DHHS, is an equal opportunity employer. All employees are subject to background investigation.

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Three-year PhD in Cognitive-Computational Neuroscience at University College London in ERC project (PI Dominik Bach)
by Dominik R. Bach April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

TheInternational Max Planck Research School on Computational Methods in Psychiatry and Ageing Research <https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=3167&type=185&url=htt…>seeks applicants for a PhD fellowship to be based at University College London (UCL) under the supervision of Dr Dominik Bach (bachlab.org <https://www.findaphd.com/common/clickCount.aspx?theid=3167&type=185&url=htt…>). The fellowship is funded by the European Research Council within the project “Action selection under threat – the complex control of human defense”. The purpose of the project is to understand the cognitive-computational control of human motor behaviour under acute, immediate threat. We investigate this in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment, in which people can move to avoid various threats. In a series of behavioural and magnetoencephalography experiments, we seek to understand the algorithms that control this behaviour, and their neural implementation. The experimental research takes place at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and at the Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience at UCL. *Deadline: 20 May 2020. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in early June 2020 via Skype. ***Intake of students October 2020 (with the possibility for a later start date).** All infos on https://www.findaphd.com/phds/program/three-year-phd-in-cognitive-computati… Please circulate - apologies for multiple postings. -- ----------------------- Dominik R Bach MBBS PhD Principal Research Fellow MPCUCL & WCHN, University College London http://bachlab.org | @bachlab_cog

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Postdoc Position in cognitive neuroscience / action recognition at CIMeC, University of Trento
by Moritz Wurm April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Postdoctoral Position in cognitive neuroscience / action recognition (Moritz Wurm, CIMeC, University of Trento) A 2-year postdoc position is available in Moritz Wurm's Action Recognition and Concepts Group (https://www.cimec.unitn.it/en/929/action-recognition-and-concepts-group <https://www.cimec.unitn.it/en/929/action-recognition-and-concepts-group>) at the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Italy. The postdoctoral candidate will carry out neuroimaging experiments (MEG, with possible extension to fMRI) on action perception. The research project focuses on, but is not limited to, investigating neural representational dynamics during action recognition. Applicants should be interested in the study of higher-level vision and/or action recognition and have a Ph.D. in Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, or related discipline, a promising track record of research in cognitive neuroimaging (preferably MEG and/or fMRI), and strong programming (preferably Matlab) and analysis skills (preferably MVPA, RSA). Gross salary is 2.600 € per month (non-negotiable). Start date is in summer 2020 but is flexible. The University of Trento consistently ranks as a top Italian university in both national Research Assessment Evaluations (RAE) and University Surveys, and CIMeC has been recently ranked as the leading Cognitive Neuroscience research unit in Italy. CIMeC is an interdisciplinary and international research center and is equipped with a large variety of neuroimaging facilities, including a 3T Siemens Trio fMRI scanner, an Elekta 306 channel MEG system, and TMS, EEG, eyetracking, kinematics, and psychophysics labs. Please submit applications electronically at https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/bando/62900/center-for-mindbrain-sciences-ci… <https://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/bando/62900/center-for-mindbrain-sciences-ci…> For further information about this position, please contact Dr. Moritz Wurm at moritz.wurm(a)unitn.it <mailto:moritz.wurm@unitn.it>. -- Moritz Wurm Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto (TN), Italy moritz.wurm(a)unitn.it <mailto:moritz.wurm@unitn.it> +39 0461-28 8632 https://sites.google.com/site/moritzfwurm <https://sites.google.com/site/moritzfwurm>

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Post-doc position at Oldenburg, Germany, deadline 28 April
by Jochem Rieger April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Dear colleagues, we have an open DFG-funded post-doc position for 3+2 years for the development of data infrastructure including storage, streaming and analysis tools for reproducible science based on the BIDS standard at our Neuroimaging Unit at University of Oldenburg, Germany. The position also includes user training and workshop organization. It is therefore complemented by a full time technician position for support. The initial duration is 3 years and can be extended by another 2 years. The announcement is below. The Neuroimaging Unit hosts a 3T Siemens Prisma MRI-scanner and a 306 channel Triux MED system equipped with state or the art interaction devices. In, addition research groups at the Dept. of Psychology use fNIRS, EEG, TMS and TACS equipment. We have a prestigious DFG-funded Cluster of Excellence in Hearing Research here and the Dept. of Psychology was recently evaluated as execellent with the highest third party funding rate among psychologies in Lower Saxony. The city of Oldenburg has a high standard of living, Hamburg, Bremen and the north sea are between 30 to 90 min distance. Best regards, Jochem The Neuroimaging Unit at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Oldenburg is seeking to fill the position of a *Postdoctoral Research Associate (m/f/d) * (Salary level E13 TVL, 100%) *for the development of research data management and analyses based on the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) in the field of human neuroimaging* The position is part of a DFG funded Core Facility project and is available *as soon as possible* for a duration of three years (with the possibility to extend another two years after successful project evaluation). The position is suitable for part-time work. The Neuroimaging Unit hosts a state of the art MEG (Elekta Triux) and an MRI (Siemens Prisma 3T) and is embedded in an excellent interdisciplinary scientific environment with a strong research focus on neurosensory, neurocognitive, and health related research. The Department of Psychology was recently evaluated as the best in the state of Lower Saxony. The goal of the DFG Core Facility project is to integrate the brain imaging data structure (BIDS) standard in the data management in the Neuroimaging Unit for reproducible neuroscience and open data. The successful candidate will implement data handling and storage conforming to the BIDS standard, develop standardized data processing pipelines for reproducible data analysis, tools to enable meta-analyses, organize workshops on the topics, and participate in the development of the BIDS standard. Successful candidates are expected to have an academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in the field of computer science, engineering, neuroscience or psychology and have shown their ability to perform excellent scientific work, demonstrated by the outstanding quality of their doctorate/PhD research and an excellent publication record. Prior experience with one or more of the following is required: strong programming skills, BIDS, data management, experience with a neuroimaging modality (MRI, MEG or EEG). Fluency in English is required, German is desirable. The candidate must be a team worker and have excellent communication abilities. The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification. Please send your application including a cover letter, CV, list of potential referees, links to recent publications and copies of certificates for academic grades to Prof. Jochem Rieger, Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany; (jochem.rieger(a)uni-oldenburg.de <mailto:jochem.rieger@uni-oldenburg.de>). Electronic applications (one pdf file) are preferred. The application deadline is *28th of April 2020*. -- Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Jochem Rieger Head of Applied Neurocognitive Psychology Faculty VI Carl-von-Ossietzky University 26111 Oldenburg Germany Phone: +49(0)4417984533 Fax: +49(0)4417983865

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[meetings] [LM2020] Living Machines 2020 - COVID-19 update
by vvouloutsi＠ibecbarcelona.eu April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Dear colleagues, we are crossing uncharted territory. The outbreak of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our life, health and economy but also on how our society communicates and the scientific communities are also affected by this terrible pandemic. On the one hand, we must act in complete observance of safety and ethical practices; on the other hand, we must maintain scientific research and knowledge exchange with new lockdown-proof methods and technologies. *Living Machines deadline is extended to May 1st 2020 and going online on * 28 – 30 July 2020*. Join us!* Apologies for cross-posting but please share this announcement with your colleagues. Looking forward to seeing you online! Stay safe and take good care. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— *Extended Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors* *Living Machines. The 9th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems* To be hosted online. Further details will be announced soon. Accepted papers will be published in *Springer Lecturer Notes in Artificial Intelligence* *Submission deadline extended: May 1st, 2020* http://livingmachinesconference.eu/2020 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— *ACTIVITIES* The main conference will take the form of a *two-day single-track oral* and *poster presentation program*, *28 - 30th July 2020*, and will be hosted by the Cluster of Excellence “Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)” at the University of Freiburg, Germany (www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de<http://www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de>). The conference program will include *4 plenary lectures* from leading international researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems, and the demonstrations of state-of-the-art living machine technologies. The full conference will be preceded by up to 1 day of *Workshops* hosted by the Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg *SATELLITE EVENTS* Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to propose topics for full or 1/2 half-day *tutorials*, *symposia* or *workshops* on related themes to be hosted on the 28 of July by the Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended to cover the online costs of the meeting. There is flexibility about the content, organization, and budgeting for these events. Please contact us if you are interested in organizing a satellite event! Best, V. -- Vicky Vouloutsi, PhD Postdoc Researcher at the laboratory for Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS<https://specs-lab.com/>) mail: vvouloutsi(a)ibecbarcelona.eu<https://vvouloutsi@ibecbarcelona.eu> linkedin<https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-vouloutsi-28496133/> researchgate<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vasiliki_Vouloutsi> tel: +34 934011913 Aquest correu electrònic conté informació confidencial emparada pel secret professional. Qualsevol reproducció, distribució o divulgació del seu contingut estan estrictament prohibides. Si vostè no és el destinatari, li preguem no faci difusió ni copiï el seu contingut i ens ho notifiqui el més aviat possible a l'adreça dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu Este correo electrónico contiene información confidencial amparada por el secreto profesional. Cualquier reproducción, distribución o divulgación de su contenido están estrictamente prohibidas. Si usted no es el destinatario, le rogamos no difunda ni copie su contenido y nos lo notifique de inmediato a la dirección dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu This electronic transmission contains confidential information covered by professional secrecy. Any reproduction, distribution or disclosure of its contents is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, you are kindly requested not to disseminate nor to copy this transmission and to notify us as soon as possible by email to dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu .

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Data Science Master's programme at the University of Vienna
by Moritz Grosse-Wentrup April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Dear all, The University of Vienna offers a new Master's programme in Data Science. The programme is taught by internationally renowned scientists from an interdisciplinary range of faculties, including Computer Science, Mathematics, Business, Economics and Statistics, Historical and Cultural Studies, and Philological and Cultural Studies. All courses are taught in English. For further information on the programme, please visit https://datascience.univie.ac.at/masters/master-data-science/ To explore Vienna, consistently ranked as the most livable city in the world, visit https://www.wien.info/en The application deadline for the winter term is *April 30th*. Best regards, Moritz Grosse-Wentrup -- Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Moritz Grosse-Wentrup Research Group Neuroinformaticst Faculty of Computer Science University of Vienna Hörlgasse 6, A-1090 Wien, Austria moritz.grosse-wentrup(a)univie.ac.at +43-1-4277-79610 http://neural.engineering/

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CNS*2020 Online Meeting: abstract submission deadline approaching
by Martin Zapotocky April 21, 2020

April 21, 2020

Organization for Computational Neurosciences 2885 Sanford Ave SW #15359 Grandville, MI 49418 USA* * *Meeting Update* *29th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2020)* July 18--22, 2020 Due to the continuing restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, *the CNS*2020 Meeting in Melbourne* will be *replaced by an **online meeting of the CNS community*. For the format of the meeting and further updates, please follow https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-quick Registration for the meeting is open and *free of charge*. * The deadline for submission of abstracts* remains as follows: *April 29 *in case a *plenary oral presentation *is requested, **May 6 **in case a **poster-type presentation** is requested. Please see https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-abstract-submission The *call for workshops* currently remains open: https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-call-for-workshops We are glad to announce that the online meeting will feature *keynote presentations* by the speakers originally scheduled to appear in Melbourne: Matt Botvinick <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQulqGfCi…> Zhaoping Li <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQulswYUA…> Geoff Goodhill <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQuluw3UK…> Daniel Polani <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=WlHEp4SFVCdIhPrNLw-2BOWTkz…> Upozorneni: Neni-li v teto zprave vyslovne uvedeno jinak, ma tato E-mailova zprava nebo jeji prilohy pouze informativni charakter. Tato zprava ani jeji prilohy v zadnem ohledu ustavy AV CR, v.v.i. k nicemu nezavazuji. Text teto zpravy nebo jejich priloh neni navrhem na uzavreni smlouvy, ani prijetim pripadneho navrhu na uzavreni smlouvy, ani jinym pravnim jednanim smerujicim k uzavreni jakekoliv smlouvy a nezaklada predsmluvni odpovednost ustavu AV CR, v.v.i. Disclaimer: If not expressly stated otherwise, this e-mail message (including any attached files) is intended purely for informational purposes and does not represent a binding agreement on the part of Institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The text of this message and its attachments cannot be considered as a proposal to conclude a contract, neither the acceptance of a proposal to conclude a contract, nor any other legal act leading to concluding any contract; nor does it create any pre-contractual liability on the part of Institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

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[Conferences] CFP: IEEE RO-MAN 2020 Special Session on Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul
by Ker-Jiun Wang April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication(IEEE RO-MAN2020) *SPECIAL SESSION* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *(Website: **http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php* <http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php>*)* *CALL FOR PAPERS* *(Download CFP: **https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5* <https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5> *)* *Title* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *Motivation and goals* Wearable technologies that connect human with the surrounding smart environment could potentially replace the cellphone and other cumbersome tablet/laptops to become the next generation human-computer interface. It opens a new frontier of using stretchable, sticky and flexible body sensors, galvanic skin response (GSR), photoplethysmogram (PPG), inertial measurement unit (IMUs), and neurophysiological electrodes, such as EEG/EMG/ECG/EKG to measure various brain and body activity signals, and decode meaningful information for multi-modal interactions. Such dramatic shift of paradigm can be manifested in many technology development from big companies/startups, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung and Neuralink (Elon Musk), etc., to build more mobile, invisible, ubiquitous, compact computing platforms, such as smart watches, smart glasses, smart headphones, VR/AR headsets, and state-of-the-art Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), in which the devices embed various kinds of sensors and electrodes to directly/indirectly interpret human body states, intentions, emotions and/or even high level motivations from neural signals, while other “out-of-body” sensors, like cameras, could not observe. Along with the scientific and practical implementation challenges of such technology, the personal big data collection also brings a lot of social norms, privacy and ethical issues as well. In this Special Session, we want to solicit impactful paper contributions to push the boundary to the limit, in order to explore the most critical issues in applying this futuristic technology to the real-world environment. Since our human have complex behaviors, which involve multiple disciplinary explanations, the technologies that closely-interact and solve the human-related problems should also reflect such complex multidisciplinary nature. As part of purely theoretical findings, we will also create a multidisciplinary educational and discussion forum, in which we will have industrial applications, art and design, consumer electronics, embedded system and mobile computing, Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) user experience/interface (UX/UI) design, and social norm and ethical paper presentations to discuss the emotion/mind-aware data collection and the use of AI to fully release the potential of this promising technology. Hopefully our dedicated effort of organizing this Special Session focusing on Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging could make such futuristic promising technology more human-centered, with more human-like heart, mind, and soul to interact with the people, the robot, and all other smart IoT devices, to enable a seamless Human-Robot Symbiotic society. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: *List of Topics* - Affective Computing - Wearable Platform and Wearable Device Form Factor Design - Soft Robotics - AI, Big Data, IoT, Deep Learning - Machine Learning and Biosignal Processing - Brain-Computer Interface and Physiological Signal Measurement - Invasive and Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface - Wearable Computing and Embedded System, IC/SoC design - Consumer Electronics Applications - Cloud/Edge Computing - Human-Robot/Computer Interaction - Neuroprosthesis, Exoskeleton, Rehabilitation robot - Biofeedback/Neurofeedback Training - Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) User Experience/Interface Design - Human-Centered Natural Interaction Design - Social Norms and Ethical issues of Using Emotion-Aware Big Data *PAPER SUBMISSIONS* Authors are invited to submit a *6~8-page (regular) Special Session paper* via RO-Man 2020 portal in *Papercept* (https://ras.papercept.net/) using *Special Session code* (Code: gxf38). Manuscripts are in double-column IEEE format following the official IEEE Manuscript Formatting guidelines. Review will be single-blind, so please retain all authors information in the submissions. Also consider the IEEE policies for publications. The conference proceedings will be included in the *IEEE Xplore Digital Library* . *Submission link* https://ras.papercept.net/ *Submission Code* *"gxf38"* *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* *Due to COVID-19, we are now accepting "Video Live Streaming" and/or "Video Recording" presentations, so the accepted papers can be presented remotely! **The paper submission deadline has been extended to the 29th of April to provide authors of the time to produce their best work, despite the many additional challenges we are facing at the moment. We are considering alternatives to allow for remote participation to both the main conference and workshops should disruptions still occur in September. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings and uploaded to IEEE Xplore, regardless of whether a physical or virtual presentation will be given.* *IMPORTANT DATES* - *Submission deadline for full papers: April 29, 2020 (extended)* - Notifications: June 15, 2020 - Final camera ready deadline: June 30, 2020 - Conference: August 31 - September 4, 2020 *ORGANIZERS* Ker-Jiun Wang (University of Pittsburgh) Mohammad Shidujaman (Tsinghua University) Caroline Yan Zheng (Royal College of Art) Maitreyee Wairagkar (Imperial College of London) Midori Sugaya (Shibaura Institute of Technology) Zhi-Hong Mao (University of Pittsburgh) Kai-Tai Song (National Chiao Tung University) Kindest regards, *Ker-Jiun Wang, PhD* Department of Bioengineering University of Pittsburgh On Behalf of Organizing Committees of Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul

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PhD position at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland)
by Milekovic Tomislav April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

PhD position in the lab of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) A computational approach to personalize and optimize clinical treatments for restoring locomotion to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury Location: The laboratory of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, is looking to fill a fully funded PhD position. The qualified candidate will benefit from joining a very dynamic and multidisciplinary group working at the interface of computational neuroscience, neuroengineering, prosthetics and biology. EPFL provides state-of-the-art facilities and is one of the leading technical universities worldwide. In addition, PhD salaries at EPFL rank the highest in the world. Description: A therapy based on epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord can restore the ability to walk to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury. EES does this by recruiting sensory axons within dorsal spinal roots that enter the spinal cord between the vertebrae. Yet, clinically available electrode arrays used to deliver the EES were not designed to target individual spinal roots. Data driven design of the electrode arrays has the potential to substantially improve the specificity of spinal EES and, therefore, dramatically improve the recovery of people with spinal cord injury. The efficacy of EES could be further enhanced through computational algorithms capable of designing EES protocols that fully utilize the interaction between the electrode array and patient's anatomy. These two developments are critical for deployment of the EES-based therapy to clinics around the world to help millions of people suffering from spinal cord injury. We have created a computational pipeline capable of creating detailed computational models of individual persons' spinal columns from MRI scans and fMRI recordings. These hybrid models are composed of 3D finite element models (FEM) to characterize the electric current and potential in the spinal cord of individuals, and various abstractions of compartmental cable models and network models of spinal cord neuronal populations and their connections to calculate the effects of EES on the spinal networks and, in turn, the activation of muscles. This computational approach has the potential to optimize the efficacy of EES on a personalized basis, lead to novel superior electrode array designs, and further our understanding of the mechanisms by which spinal cord controls movement. The successful candidate will work to automatize our computational pipeline in order to make the described approaches useful in applied clinical practice. They will work on the development of efficient and robust computer vision algorithms to automatically segment medical imaging datasets. They will also further develop our computational pipeline to enable automatic definition of personalized EES stimulation protocols. Furthermore, they will implement a computational framework around our pipeline that can perform a large-scale and diverse sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. This framework will be critical to enhance the efficacy and explore possible novel applications of spinal cord EES. Prerequisites: - Master's Degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Microengineering, Electrical Engineering or related - Proficiency in Python, Matlab and C++ - Experience with Finite Element Models, compartmental cable models, neurobiomechanical models and Machine Learning Contact: Applications including a CV and a cover letter should be sent to andreas.rowald(a)epfl.ch

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Human Brain Project-funded Postdoc position on large-scale modeling of hippocampus
by Salvador Bernal April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

We are seeking extremely motivated applicants for a Human Brain Project-funded postdoc position in the laboratory of Michele Migliore (Palermo, Italy), in collaboration with the Neurosim laboratory at State University of New York Downstate (Brooklyn, USA). The project involves working with a large-scale biologically-detailed simulation of hippocampal CA1 circuit (https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/brain-simulation/hippocampus/) the EBRAINS Brain Simulation Platform (https://ebrains.eu/services/simulation/brain-simulation) and the NetPyNE modeling tool (www.netpyne.org<http://www.netpyne.org>). The position will be based in Palermo, but travel to the collaborating lab in New York will be possible. A PhD in Computational Neuroscience, Physics, Informatics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field is required. The position is funded by the EU Human Brain Project. Salary follows the National Research Council scale for pre or post-doctoral status. The ideal candidate will have a consolidated experience in Python, NEURON and large-scale biologically-detailed simulations of brain circuits. Applicants should email “michele dot migliore at cnr dot it” a PDF file containing: 1) a CV, highlighting evidence of required skills. 2) a max one-page statement of prior research experience and motivation to be considered for this position. The appointment will be for one year, and it could be extended. Best regards. ________________________________ The contents of this email message and any attachments are confidential and are intended solely for the addressee. The information may also be legally privileged. This transmission is sent in trust, for the sole purpose of delivery to the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, any use, reproduction or dissemination of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify sender by reply email or by (718) 270-HELP.

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Postdoc position Neuroinformatics/Computational Neuroscience at Radboud University (Nijmegen)
by Paul Tiesinga April 17, 2020

April 17, 2020

The FLAG-ERA project NeuronsReunited is looking for a postdoctoral research associate for a 3 year position at 0.9 fte. Each mental event or voluntary motor act involves the coordinated activity of neurons in areas of the brain far apart. Thin, branched and extremely long cellular processes called axons provide the physical substrate of these interactions. Since a few years it is possible to fully trace these long-range axons one at a time. The goal of the FlagERA research project “NeuronsReunited” is to create tools for speeding up the conversion of experimental data into digital axons, and to precisely place neurons into a digital reference brain to reveal their context. They are applied to existing and new data in mouse, and the resulting insights are incorporated into new models for brain function. The project is a collaboration between five international partners, two experimental partners (Prof. Francisco Clasca, Madrid; Prof. Egidio d’Angelo, Pavia) and three computational/theoretical partners (Prof. Paul Tiesinga, Dr. Rembrandt Bakker, Nijmegen; Prof. Michele Giugliano, Trieste; Prof. Sacha Van Albada, Jülich). As a postdoctoral research associate in Nijmegen you will design pipelines to process the raw anatomical data, create tools for the precise placement of axonal arbors in a digital reference brain and be part of the team that builds models and interprets the results. A key deliverable will be the creation of a gold standard online catalog of precisely placed neurons that future generations of neuroscientists can contribute to and compare data to. The tools make use of an existing body of work that consists of web-based applications (HBP Morphology Viewer and Scalable Brain Atlas, written in JavaScript) and interactive notebooks (Python). Besides being a member of the project team, you will also be part of the European Human Brain Project and have access to the expertise of the large neuroscience community at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior. The position will be embedded within the Donders Centre for Neuroscience (Faculty of Science), in particular in the Department of Neuroinformatics (Paul Tiesinga). The PIs in the department conduct research programs in computational neuroscience, neuroinformatics, large-ensemble electrophysiology/imaging and behavioural neuroscience in the general area of memory dynamics, sensory processing and decision making. What we expect from you • a PhD degree in a quantitative field (engineering, physics, computational neuroscience, etc); • expertise in neuroscience or interest in acquiring it; • excellent programming skills, preferably in JavaScript applications or Python-based pipelines; • experience with neuroinformatics, visualization/3d-graphics, image processing, and/or machine learning; • demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment at the forefront of science; • excellent communication skills in spoken and written English. To apply: send an email to p.tiesinga(a)science.ru.nl with cover letter, CV, research statement and names of references, preferably combined into one pdf file or look for the ad at the academic transfer website (https://www.academictransfer.com/nl/, to be posted shortly) and apply there. More information: consult the following websites, • http://www.donders.ru.nl • https://www.ru.nl/science/dcn/research/neuroinformatics/ • https://scalablebrainatlas.incf.org • https://neuroinformatics.nl/HBP/morphology-viewer • https://www.flagera.eu/flag-era-calls/jtc-2019/projects/

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An expert survey on the Futures of Neurosciences
by Jarno Tuominen April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020

Dear colleagues, We are collecting an expert survey on the futures of neurosciences, and would greatly appreciate your time and effort in partaking in this research. The questions range from your perceptions on the current and futures states of the neurosciences to some more metaphysical or epistemological assumptions and beliefs. You can reach the survey here: https://webropol.com/s/futuresneurosciences >From this link you can also volunteer for the second part of this research, consisting of an online expert panel (E-Delphi method). Best wishes, Jarno Tuominen Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology Turku Brain and Mind Center Finland Futures Research Center University of Turku, Finland

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Postdoctoral position at Blue Brain Project in Geneva
by Natalí Barros Zulaica April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020

The Blue Brain Project (BBP) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher in Computational modelling to work on human brain cortical synapses and circuits. The candidate will work in a project which goal is to digitally reconstruct and simulate a human brain cortical microcircuit at the cellular and synaptic level fo detail. The successful candidate would be responsible for: - Gathering data about brain temporal cortex from literature, open-access datasets and international laboratories with which the BBP collaborates. - Interact with experimentalists to validate model predictions. - Provide scientific guidance and expertise to engineering teams and contribute to the on-going refinement of workflows and tools to build data-driven unifying brain tissue models. - Work in collaboration with engineering teams on visualisation, high performance computing, data integration and with project managers to define objectives and timelines to achieve overarching objectives and meet aggressive deadlines. - Collaboration to the general research activities and logistic activities (safety, equipment maintenance, etc.) of the unit. Candidate's profile: - PhD in neuroscience, computational neuroscience, physics or related filed. - Experience in scientific computing programming (python, script, lumpy, hdf5, Linux, ...) - Experience in whole cell electrophysiology - Experience in synapse electrophysiology analysis and research - Experience in model validation - Interest in participating in a collaborative big project - Fluent English speaking and writing. We offer: - One year, renewable contract 100% work rate - An internationally visible project in simulation-based research in neuroscience. - A young, dynamic, inter-disciplinary, and international and modern working environment (Campus Biotech, Geneva). - Possibility to participate in outreach events in Switzerland and abroad. - Very competitive salary. More information and application submission through: https://recruiting.epfl.ch/Vacancies/1036/Description/2

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[meetings] DEADLINE 1st May, CfP - Special session - Hybrid Life III, ALife 2020
by Manuel Baltieri April 14, 2020

April 14, 2020

*** UPDATES in relation to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) *** ********** Call for Papers - NEW Deadline 1st May ********** Special session - Hybrid Life III: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> 2020 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Virtual conference 13-18th July 2020 - http://2020.alife.org/ <http://2020.alife.org/> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION: The main focus of ALife research is the study of natural systems with the goal of understanding what life is. More concretely, ALife defines ways to investigate processes that contribute to the formation and proliferation of living organisms. In this session we focus on three common approaches used to tackle this investigation, proposing ways to integrate, extend and possibly improve them. More specifically we refer to: 1) the formalisation of the necessary properties for the definition of life, 2) the implementation of artificial agents, and 3) the study of the relation between life and cognition. For this special session we propose to start from these well-established Alife methodologies, and extend them through: a unified formal language to describe and model living, as well as artificial and cognitive systems, e.g. control theory, Bayesian inference, dynamical systems theory, etc. the exploration of biological creatures enhanced by artificial systems (or artificial systems augmented with organic parts) in order to investigate the boundaries between living and nonliving organisms. This includes work from bio-inspired robotics, human augmentation, synthetic biology, etc. the evaluation of coupled biological-artificial systems that could shed light on the importance of interactions among systems for the study of living and cognitive organisms. This methodology welcomes contributions from the fields of human-agent interaction, animal-computer interaction, virtual / augmented reality systems, etc. This special session aims to invite contributions from the fields of psychology, computational neuroscience, HCI, theoretical biology, artificial intelligence, robotics and cognitive science to discuss current research on the formalisation, combination and interaction of artificial/living/cognitive systems from theoretical, modelling and implementational perspectives. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Mathematical frameworks for life and cognition (e.g. dynamical systems theory, stochastic optimal control, Bayesian inference, etc.) Cognitive robotics Autopoiesis Life-mind continuity thesis Systems biology Origins-of-life theories with relationships to artificial and cognitive systems Animal-robot interaction Bio-inspired robotics Bio-integrated robotics Human-machine interaction Augmented cognition Sensory substitution Interactive evolutionary computation Artificial perception Important Dates 1st May 2020 – Paper submission deadline TBC – Paper acceptance notification TBC – Camera-ready version 13th-18th 2020 – Artificial Life virtual conference (ALife) Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the ALife community as well as from other areas key to our proposal, specifically chosen for this review process. If you are submitting to a special session you will be given the opportunity to select it during the submission process. Submissions to special sessions follow the same format, instructions and deadlines of regular ALife papers. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, RIKEN Centre for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Hiryuki IIzuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan Olaf Witkowski, Cross Labs, Tokyo, Japan Lana Sinapayen, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> or get in touch with manuel.baltieri [at] riken.jp <http://riken.jp/>. All the best, -- Manuel Baltieri Postdoctoral Research Fellow Lab. for Neural Computation and Adaptation RIKEN CBS, Saitama, Japan www.manuelbaltieri.com <https://manuelbaltieri.com/> Twitter: @manuelbaltieri

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