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Final Program of the Columbia Workshop on Brain Circuits, Memory and Computation, March 15-16, 2018

by Aurel A. Lazar

http://fruitflybrain.org/workshops.html <https://t.co/mY9aARlYrB> Aurel http://www.bionet.ee.columbia.edu

Jan. 30, 2018

Complex Systems in Neuroscience Conference, Pittsburgh, March 8-10, 2018

by Chengcheng Huang

Dear Colleague, We are pleased to invite you to: *Complex Systems in Neuroscience: Bridging Theory and Experiment* Pittsburgh, USA March 8-10, 2018 This conference is organized by post-doctoral scholars from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh. In this three-day conference, we will bring together theorists and experimentalists from numerous disciplines who seek to understand how properties of neural networks and individual neurons translate into brain function and behavior. In order to encourage interaction and discussion, the conference will involve a series of lectures from renowned scientists, as well as shorter presentations by junior researchers. *Speakers:* Andrea Barreiro (Southern Methodist University) Maxim Bazhenov (University of California San Diego) Paul Bressloff (University of Utah) Nicolas Brunel (Duke University) Carina Curto (Pennsylvania State University) Stefano Fusi (Columbia University) Mark Goldman (University of California Davis) Viktor Jirsa (CNRS, France) Stephanie Jones (Brown University) Juan Restrepo (University of Colorado Boulder) Tatyana Sharpee (Salk Institute) Misha Tsodyks (Weizmann Institute, Israel) The lectures will be held in Ballroom A of the University Club, 123 University Pl, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260 <https://maps.google.com/?q=123+University+Pl,+Pittsburgh,+PA,+15260&entry=g…> . Attendance is free and open to all, however, all attendees are required to register <http://www.pitt.edu/~huangc/csneuro2018/> online. For further information, please visit the conference website: http://www.pitt.edu/~huangc/csneuro2018/. This event is sponsored jointly by the Mathematics Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, and the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. Sincerely, Drs. Hannah Bos, James Hengenius, Chengcheng Huang, Ryan Phillips, Yury Sokolov, Rashid Williams-Garcia and Dan Wilson Conference Organizers Department of Mathematics University of Pittsburgh

Jan. 30, 2018

NIMH is Recruiting a Review Branch Chief

by Michele Ferrante

*Please feel free to share with folks who might have interest.* *NIMH is Recruiting a Review Branch Chief* The NIMH Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) is recruiting for the Chief, Extramural Review Branch, DEA. This position is a Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator, GS-601-15. As with many other ICs, NIMH will seek to fill this position via the Global Announcement, which opened yesterday (1/29/2018) and closes on Wednesday, 2/7/2018. USAJOBS announcement - open to FEDERAL staff <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489593400> USAJOBS announcement, open to all <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489599300> The Extramural Review Branch is responsible for planning, conducting and coordinating the scientific and technical merit review of grant applications assigned to the Institute for its review and for assuring that these reviews are of a uniformly high quality. As an expert Scientific Review Officer, the Branch Chief assumes responsibility for administering the review of applications. Utilizing scientific knowledge and expertise to perform a variety of management functions associated with review of NIMH research and research training support activities, the Branch Chief will also manage the initial scientific and administrative review of certain center or program project grant applications, as well as research project applications submitted in response to requests for applications, multicenter clinical trial applications, and/or contract proposals assigned to NIMH. Specific supervisory responsibilities include integrating and coordinating the work of professional employees who serve as Scientific Review Officers (SROs) who are charged with overseeing the work of Special Emphasis Panels and the Mental Health Services Research Committee, Program Specialists who provide organizational support for planning and analyzing review activities, and Extramural Support Assistants (ESAs) charged with providing logistical and administrative support to SROs. Please contact Meena Hiremath (meenaxi.hiremath(a)nih.gov) if you have any questions about the Branch Chief position. If you have additional questions, please email NIMHSearch(a)mail.nih.gov. Regards, Michele ----- Michele Ferrante <michele.ferrante(a)nih.gov>, PhD Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dnbbs/behavioral-science-and-int…> & Computational Psychiatry <https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dtr/adult-psychopathology-and-p…> NIMH Ph. 301-435-6782 <(301)%20435-6782> | WebEx <https://nih.webex.com/join/ferrantemnih.gov> | 6001 Executive Blvd, Rockville, MD 20852, Office # 7202

Jan. 30, 2018

NIMH Program Officer Position Announcement

by Michele Ferrante

Dear computationally-friendly colleagues, You are our strongest referral source. I am sharing with you the announcement for NIH Program Officer and ask that you share this with your colleagues that may be interested in serving as an extramural program officer (also known as Health Scientist Administrator). The NIH Global Vacancy Announcement for Health Scientist Administrator/Program Officer is now open to the public. NIMH is looking for Program Officers to fill several critical program in the NIMH extramural programs. To be considered for this position, applicants must possess an M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent experience. The links below will take interested candidates to the USAJobs link. Applications will be accepted from *January 29, 2018 - February 7, 2018* through the links below. Please share this information with those who may be interested in applying. If you have additional questions, please email NIMHsearch(a)mail.nih.gov. ************************************ *Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) Links*:* - Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-12/13/14 - DE <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489598400> - Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-12/13/14 - MP <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489591800> - Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-15 – DE <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489597400> - *Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-15 – MP <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489597400>* - Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-15 - DE <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489595200> - Supervisory Health Scientist Administrator (Program Officer) GS-601-15 – MP <https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/489592900> **DE = Delegated Examining position open to U.S. Citizens (public announcement)* **MP = Merit Promotion position open to federal employees only.* **************************************************************** Regards, Michele ----- Michele Ferrante <michele.ferrante(a)nih.gov>, PhD Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dnbbs/behavioral-science-and-int…> & Computational Psychiatry <https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dtr/adult-psychopathology-and-p…> NIMH Ph. 301-435-6782 <(301)%20435-6782> | WebEx <https://nih.webex.com/join/ferrantemnih.gov> | 6001 Executive Blvd, Rockville, MD 20852, Office # 7202

Jan. 30, 2018

Reminder: Call for Workshops - Bernstein Conference 2018

by Kerstin Schwarzwaelder

The Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience invites proposals for Satellite Workshops directly preceding the Bernstein Conference 2018 in Berlin. ************************************************************** Important Dates: Satellite Workshops: September 25 - 26, 2018 Main Bernstein Conference: September 26 - 28, 2018 Deadline for Satellite Workshop proposal submission: March 15, 2018 Notification of Workshop acceptance: April 2018 ************************************************************** Since 2013, the Bernstein Conference hosts pre-conference workshops which provide a stage to discuss topical research questions, novel scientific approaches and challenges in Computational Neuroscience and related fields. Workshops addressing controversial issues, open problems, and comparisons of competing approaches are encouraged. The format should be designed to foster debate, rather than a mere series of talks. The selection criteria for Workshop proposals will include scientific excellence, topical relevance and gender diversity. The Bernstein Conference started out as the annual meeting of the Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience and has become the largest annual single-track Computational Neuroscience conference in Europe in recent years. Satellite Workshop schedule: September 25, 2018, 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm September 26, 2018, 8:30 am - noon Workshop proposals are welcome for either half-day or full-day workshops. Workshop costs – FINANCIAL SUPPORT: All organizers and speakers of accepted workshops will receive a waiver for the workshop fee. Organizers of accepted workshops additionally receive a waiver for the main conference. Up to 10 selected workshops can receive financial support up to 1.500,00 € each. For further information about the conference, please visit the conference website http://www.bernstein-conference.de. INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSAL PREPARATION Workshop proposals must contain: 1) Workshop Title 2) Concise description of workshop topic 3) List of potential speakers indicating speaker commitment 4) Optional: a comment on how the organizers plan to achieve gender diversity among speakers Please use the Workshop Proposal Form that can be downloaded here: http://www.nncn.de/de/bernstein-conference/2018/satellite-workshops Deadline for submission of Workshop proposals: March 15, 2018 CONTACT: bernstein.network(at)fz-juelich.de We are looking forward to seeing you in Berlin! WORKSHOP SELECTION COMMITTEE: Jakob Macke (Workshop Chair) Tatjana Tchumatchenko (Workshop Vice Chair) Axel Borst Nicolas Brunel Anne Churchland Claudia Clopath Gaute Einevoll Adrienne Fairhall Gilles Laurent (Program Chair) Mate Lengyel Elad Schneidman Susanne Schreiber (Program Vice Chair) Terry Sejnowski Henning Sprekeler (Conference Host) Fred Wolf -- Dr. Kerstin Schwarzwälder Scientific Coordination / Management Officer Please note: Our email addresses have changed. Please use k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience | Bernstein Coordination Site (BCOS) Branch Office of the Forschungszentrum Jülich at the University of Freiburg Hansastr. 9A | 79104 Freiburg, Germany phone: (+49) 0761 203 9589 mail: k.schwarzwaelder(a)fz-juelich.de<mailto:k.schwarzwaelder@fz-juelich.de> web: www.nncn.de<http://www.nncn.de> Twitter: NNCN_Germany<https://twitter.com/NNCN_Germany> YouTube: Bernstein TV<https://www.youtube.com/user/BernsteinNetwork> Facebook: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.facebook.com/BernsteinNetwork/> LinkedIn: Bernstein Network Computational Neuroscience, Germany<https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/bernstein-network-computational-neuroscien…> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH 52425 Juelich Sitz der Gesellschaft: Juelich Eingetragen im Handelsregister des Amtsgerichts Dueren Nr. HR B 3498 Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrats: MinDir Dr. Karl Eugen Huthmacher Geschaeftsfuehrung: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Marquardt (Vorsitzender), Karsten Beneke (stellv. Vorsitzender), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Harald Bolt, Prof. Dr. Sebastian M. Schmidt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jan. 30, 2018

PhD AND POSTDOC POSITIONS IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE AT ENS, PARIS

by Rava A. da Silveira

*Several DOCTORAL and POSTDOCTORAL openings in the group of RAVA AZEREDO DA SILVEIRA at the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris* We will be hiring several Ph.D. students and postdocs to work on an array of projects on computation and coding in neural circuits. The projected studies range from the modeling of computations in retinal circuits, to the analysis of large sets of retinal and cortical data, to the investigations of mathematical models of coding. Some of the projects will be set in close collaboration with the experimental labs of Botond Roska (FMI, Basel) and Andreas Hierlemann (ETH, Basel); they will involve the study of mouse retina and cortex, primate retina, and human retina, and questions on the representation and transformation of sensory inputs in populations of neurons. Experience with data analysis and proficiency with numerical methods and programming, in addition to familiarity with neuroscience topics and mathematical and statistical methods, are desirable. Equally desirable are a spirit of intellectual adventure as well as drive and eagerness. The ENS, together with a number of neighboring institutions (College de France, Institut Curie, ESPCI, Paris Science et Lettres, Sorbonne Université, and Institut Pasteur), offers a rich scientific and intellectual environment, with a strong representation in computational neuroscience and related fields. Doctoral and postdoctoral salaries will be competitive, appreciably higher than standard French salaries. Depending on their projects, Ph.D. students and postdocs may wish to spend a fraction of their time in Basel, Switzerland, which features a first-rate community of researchers in experimental neuroscience. To apply, please send a letter of motivation, a statement of research interests limited to two pages, a curriculum vitae including a list of publications, and any relevant publications to rava(a)ens.fr, and arrange for three letters of recommendations to be sent to the same address. For full consideration, please apply by 1 March 2018.

Jan. 29, 2018

Register to ENCODS 2018 - FENS satellite Event

by Encods2018 Organising Committee

European Conference by Doctoral Students in FENS You still have time until January 31st to register to ENCODS 2018! Don't stay out of this unique experience for doctoral students. Please find below all the information you need to register. Dear fellow Neuroscience PhD students, We are pleased to invite you toENCODS 2018. We are a conference organised for and by doctoral students and a partner of FENS (Federation of European Neurosciences). ENCODS is a well-established international conference that started 2013 in Bordeaux and has since grown to become a leading event inspiring young scientists in the field of neuroscience. We aim to increase scientific exchange by bringing together young researchers, established scientists and visionaries. This new edition ofENCODS 2018 in Berlin, Germany is designed to move beyond the at times rigid speaker-audience concept by including a wide range of original activities to create a dynamic environment for new ideas and networking among scientists. What? ENCODS – the European Neuroscience Conference by Doctoral Students When? 5^th-6^th July 2018 Where? Berlin, Germany Who? Doctoral students from every discipline within the field of neuroscience How? Register for ENCODS 2018 at https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i… Please note that registration will open from 1^st December 2017 - 31^st January 2018. Registration fee waivers and travel grants are available, pending availability and application approval. For more information about us and our programme take a look at our poster (attached) or visit us in our social media: https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i… https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i… https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i… We look forward to seeing you there! The ENCODS 2018 Berlin Team ============================================================ ** (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i…) ** (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i…) ** (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i…) ** (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i…) Copyright © 2018 Encods2018, All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail because you were interested to participate in ENCODS2017 Our mailing address is: Encods2018 Philippstr. 13 Building 4 (Ostertaghaus) Berlin 10115 Germany Want to change how you receive these emails? You can ** update your preferences (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/profile?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&id=07…) or ** unsubscribe from this list (https://fens.us17.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=6fe5b340a4b3a8c1ae5a27047&i…) . Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…

Jan. 29, 2018

M-GATE School: Under the Surface of Memory Phenomena

by Alessandro Treves

TEX2018, the Cognitive Neuroscience summer activity at SISSA, Trieste will host this year "Under the Surface of Memory Phenomena", a school https://indico.sissa.it/e/tex2018/ organized by the M-GATE Innovative Training Network (https://www.mgate.eu/) open to other participants, from June 25 to July 3 2018. Apply now for 10-night accommodation, at cost (340 Euro), or register for self-organized participation (within space constraints), and join us also for the in-set symposium Remembering Daniel Amit, and Beyond! Deadline for applications April 2. Clever inquiries from tex(a)sissa.it -- Alessandro Treves http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html SISSA - Cognitive Neuroscience, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy +39-040-3787623 Ambassador (BlaBlaCar) +39-349-2504602

Jan. 29, 2018

Two Postdoc positions in Muenster, Germany

by Joachim Gross

The Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis at University of Muenster invites applications for a Research associate/Postdoctoral scientist (f/m) Ref.: 01689 Full-Time with 38,5 (hours/week) (Germany salary grade: E 13 TV-L, 100%) Two positions are intramurally funded and available for 2 years. We are searching for trained and highly motivated scientists holding a PhD or MD degree and having experience in electrophysiology, cognitive neuroimaging or similar disciplines. The successful candidates are expected to have a strong publication record in international peer-reviewed journals. The research project requires acquisition of MEG data and analysis of neuronal oscillations and their relationship to behaviour. Therefore, experience with MEG/EEG, programming and spectral analysis is essential. The successful applicants will join a dynamic team of both experienced and junior researchers with many national and international collaborations and a sustained record of high-quality research output. For more information please contact Prof Dr Joachim Gross, University of Muenster, Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, 48149 Münster, Germany, Email:. Joachim.Gross(at)wwu(dot)de Please send your application (including the above reference number) with all relevant information (CV, cover letter) by email (PDF-file, max. 5 MB) until 11.02.2018 to: bewerbung(at)ukmuenster(dot)de Applications of women are specifically invited. In the case of similar qualifications, competence, and specific achievements, women will be considered on preferential terms within the framework of the legal possibilities. Handicapped candidates with equivalent qualifications will be given preference. _________________________________________ Prof Dr Joachim Groß Director of Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis University of Muenster/Glasgow Phone:+49-251-8356865 [University of Glasgow: The Times Scottish University of the Year 2018]

Jan. 26, 2018

2 year post-doc position, LMU Munich, (PI / B. Bahrami )

by Deroy, Ophelia

Applications are sought for a 2-year post-doctoral researcher, to be based at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (Germany), working at the Faculty of Psychology with Dr.Bahador Bahrami Webpage : http://www.psy.lmu.de/exp/people/ma/bahrami/index.html The successful candidate will join a multi-disciplinary project involving Bahador Bahrami (UCL/LMU), Ophelia Deroy (LMU), Chris D. Frith (University of London) and Peter Latham (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL) aiming to examine the cognitive and computational bases of collective decisions under uncertainty. Requirements: The successful candidate will have (i) a strong background in quantitative methods (computational neuroscience, statistics, physics, machine learning) (ii) interest in interdisciplinary projects (iii) a PhD in physics (eg complex systems), psychology (cognitive or social), behavioural economics or neuroscience (behavioural, systems). Knowledge of experimental design, statistics and data analysis is expected. Strong command of linear algebra, probability theory, computer programming (web- based platforms (e.g. Java) and/or Python, Matlab) is highly desirable. The position is for two years,with an intermediate evaluation for satisfactory performance. The appointment will be made within the German TV-L E 13 salary scheme. If interested, please contact bbahrami(a)gmail.com for preliminary inquiries. Full advert: http://www.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/lehreinheiten/phil_of_mind/personen/…

Jan. 26, 2018

POSTDOC OFFER in Theoretical Neurosciences (FUNDED BY THE HBP : SP4 (theory))

by Romain Veltz

Dear all, We are offering a two-year postdoc position to work within the Inria MathNeuro team <https://team.inria.fr/mathneuro/> (Sophia Antipolis, France) on Mean-field descriptions or thermodynamics limits of large populations of neurons. We are particularly interested to study multiple-time scale phenomena within this framework. The position is within the SP4 (Theory) of the HBP <https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/>. Candidates should have a background in mathematics or physics. Of particular to us are familiarity of the candidate with slow-fast dynamical systems, singular perturbation theory, bifurcation theory, probability theory, and a strong interest in applying these theories to neuroscience. Ability and willingness to do programming will also be a strong point to select candidates. They will be expected to interact with other participants of SP4 as well as with some participants of SP3. Interested candidates should send a CV and a short research proposal regarding the proposed topic (maximum one page) to one of the following address: mathieu.desroches(a)inria.fr <mailto:mathieu.desroches@inria.fr>, olivier.faugeras(a)inria.fr <mailto:olivier.faugeras@inria.fr>, romain.veltz(a)inria.fr <mailto:romain.veltz@inria.fr> Deadline for applying: 28 February 2018. Expected start date: 1st June 2018. Best regards Romain Veltz MathNeuro Project Team Inria Sophia Antipolis Méditerranée 2004 Route des Lucioles-BP 93 FR-06902 Sophia Antipolis Tel: +33 4 92 38 76 90 http://romainveltz.pythonanywhere.com/

Jan. 26, 2018

Special issue "An ecological perspective on decision-making"

by Davidson, Jacob

Hi Everyone, I want to let you know about a special issue I am co-editing, in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution: An Ecological Perspective on Decision-Making: Empirical and Theoretical Studies in Natural and Natural-Like Environments<https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/7283/an-ecological-perspective-…> Abstract submission deadline: 31 May 2018 Feel free to email me if you have questions and/or think about submitting something. Call for papers This Research Topic aims to connect quantitative behavioral analysis, individual cognition and decision-making, and neural-inspired models, with ecologically-relevant behavior such as foraging, nest and mate choice, predator avoidance, social interactions, and migration. Behavior is influenced by many factors in a dynamic environment. In contrast, laboratory tasks are often designed to eliminate parameters that could influence behavior, to generate data that fit existing models. Challenges in observing and quantifying behavior in natural situations have made it difficult to develop associated theoretical models, and to relate decision mechanisms to ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. However, recent advances in data acquisition technology, computer vision, behavioral modeling, and machine learning are changing this, by facilitating the collection and efficient processing of large amounts of data to extract relevant behavior and environmental details. New theoretical tools and methods are needed to analyze and model such data and to understand animal behavior in complex, ecologically relevant settings. This topic invites submissions that use theory and experiment to investigate behavioral choices relevant to an animal’s natural environment, and to link levels of organization of behavioral processes, from the neurobiological to individual to group and system-level. To understand how natural selection has shaped animal behavior and decision-making, it is crucial to link behavior in ecologically-relevant tasks with both the underlying neurobiological mechanisms, and the environmental context. Decision making has been a major focus in the systems and cognitive neuroscience community because it bridges sensory, motor, and executive functions. Important advances have been made in understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of decision-making, using neuronal recordings of animals as they engage in laboratory tasks such as the two-alternative forced choice task, and stochastic modeling of the decision processes. However, the day-to-day decisions made by an animal can be quite different from those made in idealized lab conditions. Choices are often made sequentially ("stay-or-go") instead of between simultaneous alternatives. Behavioral responses tend to be specific to a particular environmental context. Because the outcome of behavior influences an animal's survival and reproduction, evolution shapes behavior to perform in an animal's natural environment. Thus many decision strategies can only be understood in a particular ecological context. For example, context- or state-dependent decisions may be an appropriate strategy in a changing and uncertain environment, but are sub-optimal in a static context. Moreover, since decisions are constrained by an individual's underlying neurobiological circuitry and cognitive abilities, some decision-making mechanisms are the result of evolutionary history, conserved across different species. This interdisciplinary Research Topic aims to connect theorists and experimentalists studying decision-making in ecologically-relevant contexts. This work spans the fields of ecology, neuroscience, psychology, animal behavior, behavioral economics, computer science, mathematics and physics. Topics include, but are not limited to, foraging, habitat and mate choice, social relationships, perception-based decision modeling, quantitative behavioral analysis, and evolutionary studies. Both theoretical and experimental studies are welcome, and studies that combine both are especially encouraged. Cheers, Jacob -- Dr. Jacob Davidson Postdoctoral researcher Department Collective Behaviour Max Planck Institute for Ornithology jdavidson(a)orn.mpg.de<mailto:jdavidson@orn.mpg.de>

Jan. 26, 2018

Master in Brain and Cognition, Barcelona, Spain

by Ruben Moreno Bote

Dear Comp-neuro members, The Master in Brain and Cognition being offered at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona, Spain (http://www.upf.edu/mbc/) opens the rolling application period (final deadline is June 2018). The core of the master's programme is composed of the research groups at UPF's Center for Brain and Cognition (http://cbc.upf.edu) In this email, we emphasize the possibility of participation of outstanding candidates with strong quantitative background, such as physics, mathematics or machine learning eager to learn about computational and cognitive neuroscience. Candidates with these backgrounds could perform research activity with the following experts in computational neuroscience: Gustavo Deco (http://cns.upf.edu/) Albert Compte (http://complab.fcrb.es/complab/pres) Rubén Moreno-Bote (https://portal.upf.edu/web/ruben-moreno-bote) Overall, the groups participating at the Master are directed by renowned scientists in areas such as computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistics, vision, multisensory perception, human development and comparative cognition http://cbc.upf.edu/node/498 Students will be exposed to the ongoing research projects at the Center for Brain and Cognition and will be integrated in one of its main research lines, where they will conduct original research for their final project. Please visit the Master’s web page or contact masters.dtic(a)upf.edu for further information. Scientific-related questions such as fit of quantitative backgrounds can be consulted to Rubén Moreno-Bote, ruben.moreno(a)upf.edu Best, Rubén -- Rubén Moreno Bote Serra Húnter & ICREA Academia Professor Center for Brain and Cognition & Dept. of Information and Communications Technologies University Pompeu Fabra Campus Ciutadella, Building 24, office 331 Ramon Trias Fargas, 24-27 08005 Barcelona, Spain http://www.upf.edu/pdi/ruben-moreno-bote

Jan. 25, 2018

Scientist I/II in modeling visual behavior in mice at Allen Institute

by Stefan Mihalas

We are seeking to fill a position at the level of Scientist to work on computational and neuronal models of visually guided behavior. We use mouse vision as a model system. The Allen Institute for Brain Science is engaged in a major effort to quantitatively characterize the choices, states and neuronal activity during a set of visually guided behaviors. This position will focus on constructing simple models of behavior and neuronal activity, focused on understanding the computations implemented by the visual circuits. In addition, this position will also participate in team efforts of data analysis of both the behavioral and neuronal measurements. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES * Construct models of computations during a visually guided behavior. * Analyze how activities in the simulated networks related to the observed ones. * Participate in team efforts to analyze behavioral data. * Interact with groups performing simulations at other levels of resolution and with experimental groups. * Maintain clear and accurate communication with supervisor and team members. * Publish/present findings in peer-reviewed journals/scientific conferences. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS * PhD degree in computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, applied mathematics or related field. * Strong background in scientific computing is required. * Strong publication record. * Strong background in scientific computing is required. * Experience in computational neuroscience is preferred. SCIENTIST I: 0-2 years postdoctoral experience in computational science SCIENTIST II: 3+ years postdoctoral experience in computational science PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: * Ability to meet aggressive timelines and deliverables in a collaborative environment. * Proven independent thinking and flexibility. * Strong written and verbal communication skills * Experience in pursuing research projects in collaborative fashion. Our mission at the Allen Institute for Brain Science is to accelerate the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. By implementing a team science approach on a large scale, we strive to generate useful public resources, drive technological innovations and discover fundamental brain properties through integration of experiments, modeling and theory. Stefan Mihalas Assistant Investigator Allen Institute for Brain Science www.alleninstitute.org<http://www.alleninstitute.org/> Affiliate Assistant Professor Department of Applied Mathematics University of Washington Shawn Olsen Assistant Investigator Allen Institute for Brain Science www.alleninstitute.org<http://www.alleninstitute.org/> Affiliate Assistant Professor Physiology and Biophysics University of Washington

Jan. 25, 2018

BGSMath Postdoctoral position on Dynamical Systems/Mathematical Neuroscience

by Toni Guillamon

The Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics has opened a call forone *“Banco de Santander – María de Maetzu” postdoctoral position* to work on *Dynamical Systems*. In particular, applications within *Mathematical Neuroscience* are very welcome. If the application is successful, the applicant will be hosted by the group on Mathematical Neuroscience at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), see https://mat-web.upc.edu/people/antoni.guillamon/Team/MathNeuroAtUPC.html. All the information about this position can be found at https://bgsmath.cat/event/bgsmath-banco-de-santander-postdoctoral-call-2017/ (see also an excerpt below). Please note that the deadline is *January 31st*. Interested applicants, please contact Toni Guillamon at antoni.guillamon(a)upc.edu. Best wishes, Toni Guillamon ***************************************************** Description Duration: Two-year position (full-time; 37.5 hour working week). Expected starting date is 1 September 2018. Gross salary: 26,250 euros/year. Research funds: Up to 2,000 euros/year. Medical insurance: Medical coverage for fellow and family through Spanish public health system. Requirements * PhD obtained between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2015. The official date of the degree is considered to be the defense and approval date of the PhD thesis. * In the case of applicants with disabilities, the PhD degree could have been obtained between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015. * Career breaks will be taken into account to extend the lower date limit for obtaining the PhD degree. The career breaks can be due to family care or sick leave. These breaks should have taken place between 1 January 2012 and 17 January 2018 (as stated in article 74.3.b of BOE of 7 December 2017). * A minimum of 1 year of research work experience as PhD or postdoc outside BGSMath.

Jan. 24, 2018

Reminder: Upcoming Gordon Research Conference on Neuroelectronic Interfaces

by Ulrich G. Hofmann

Dear colleagues, as the number of participants is limited and the conference is filling up fast, do not forget to apply in time for the Gordon Research Conference on Neuroelectronic Interfaces: Beyond Feasibility - Bridging the Gap in Neuroelectronic Interfaces. (https://www.grc.org/neuroelectronic-interfaces-conference/2018/ <https://www.grc.org/neuroelectronic-interfaces-conference/2018/>) from March 25th to 30th at the Hotel Galvez, Galveston, TX. The conference is dedicated with very high profile speakers and open, off-the-record discussions to tackle the reported inability of penetrating brain implants to consistently record high quality neural signals over clinically relevant time frames. Looking forward to see you there! uli hofmann Ulrich G. Hofmann, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil., Peter-Osypka-Professor Chair Gordon Research Conference on Neuroelectronic Interfaces March 25-30 2018, Galveston TX http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?id=17731 Medical Center -University of Freiburg Department of Neurosurgery Section for Neuroelectronic Systems Engesserstr. 4, 79108 Freiburg, Germany

Jan. 24, 2018

Okinawa/OIST Computational Neuroscience Course 2018: submission deadline next week

by Erik De Schutter

OKINAWA/OIST COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE COURSE 2018 Methods, Neurons, Networks and Behaviors June 25 to July 12, 2018 Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan https://groups.oist.jp/ocnc The aim of the Okinawa/OIST Computational Neuroscience Course is to provide opportunities for young researchers with theoretical backgrounds to learn the latest advances in neuroscience, and for those with experimental backgrounds to have hands-on experience in computational modeling. We invite graduate students and postgraduate researchers to participate in the course, held from June 25th through July 12th, 2018 at an oceanfront seminar house of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University. Applications are through the course web page (https://groups.oist.jp/ocnc) only; January 1 - February 3, 2018. Applicants will receive confirmation of acceptance in March. Like in preceding years, the 15th OCNC will be a comprehensive three-week course covering single neurons, networks, and behaviors with ample time for student projects. The first week will focus exclusively on methods with hands-on tutorials during the afternoons, while the second and third weeks will have lectures by international experts. The course has a strong hands-on component based on student proposed modeling or data analysis projects, which are further refined with the help of a dedicated tutor. Applicants are required to propose their project at the time of application. There is no tuition fee. The sponsor will provide lodging and meals during the course and provides partial travel support. We hope that this course will be a good opportunity for theoretical and experimental neuroscientists to meet each other and to explore the attractive nature and culture of Okinawa, the southernmost island prefecture of Japan. Invited faculty: • Maxim Bazhenov (University of California San Diego, USA) • Michael Brecht (Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Germany) • Erik De Schutter (OIST) • Kenji Doya (OIST) • Shaul Druckmann (Janelia Research Campus, USA) • Karl Friston (Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, UK) • Wulfram Gerstner (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland) • Michele Giugliano (University of Antwerp, Belgium) • Mitsuo Kawato (ATR, Japan) • Bernd Kuhn (OIST) • Kazuhisa Shibata (Nagoya University, Japan) • Olaf Sporns (Indiana University, USA) • Greg Stephens (OIST) • Tatjana Tchumatchenko (MPI for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany) • Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova (University of Exeter, UK) • Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama (OIST)

Jan. 24, 2018

PhD position for classification of affective states using EEG and eye tracking in the context of a training task.

by Yannick Roy

PhD position for classification of affective states using EEG and eye tracking in the context of a training task. Description: Faubert Lab is looking for a PhD student to work on the detection and classification of affective states with EEG and eye tracking data during pilot training tasks. The PhD student will explore both online and offline solutions as well as traditional machine learning and novel deep learning approaches. The classification of affective states using EEG and eye tracking is one component of a bigger project and, therefore, the PhD student will work with other PhD and master students all responsible for different aspects of the project. Requirements: Faubert Lab expertise is in vision and perception and we are looking for someone with programming skills coming from a technical background such as engineering or computer science. Preferably with experience in machine learning and/or deep learning. Working conditions: This project is part of an NSERC industrial collaborative research and development grant with CAE, a world leader in flight simulation and training. This is a fully funded position: $21k / year for 3 years. Please send a curriculum vitae and a letter outlining research experience and career goals to faubertlab [at] opto.umontreal.ca For more information on Faubert Lab (University of Montreal), please visit http://faubertlab.com/ We thank all applicants for applying for this position, but only those considered for an interview will be contacted. -Yannick PhD Student, Faubert Lab University of Montreal

Jan. 24, 2018

COSYNE 2018: Registration, Hotels, Cosyne tutorial session

by Tomas Hromadka

==================================================== Computational and Systems Neuroscience 2018 (Cosyne) MAIN MEETING 01 - 04 March 2018 Denver, Colorado WORKSHOPS 05 - 06 March 2018 Breckenridge, Colorado www.cosyne.org ==================================================== ---------------------------------------------------- REGISTRATION AND HOTELS ---------------------------------------------------- Online registration for Cosyne is currently open. Please note that presenting authors must register for the main meeting by 31 January 2018. Early online registration deadline 06 February 2018, 2017, 11.59PM EST Hotel booking for Cosyne is currently open. Please note that deadlines for reduced hotel rates are fast approaching. For more detailed information on Cosyne registration and accommodation, please visit Cosyne.org -> Registration and Cosyne.org -> Hotels. ---------------------------------------------------- TRAVEL DISCOUNTS ---------------------------------------------------- For details on discounts for various travel options to and from Cosyne 2018, please visit Cosyne.org -> Transportation. ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE TUTORIAL SESSION ---------------------------------------------------- This year, Cosyne is hosting its first tutorial session, sponsored by the Simons Foundation. The tutorial on "Statistical models for neural data: from GLMs to latent variables" will be given by Jonathan Pillow on 01 March 2018, before the main meeting starts. Space is limited. You can register for the tutorial when registering for the main meeting. For details on the tutorial and registration, see Cosyne.org -> Tutorial and Cosyne.org -> Registration. ---------------------------------------------------- COSYNE ---------------------------------------------------- The annual Cosyne meeting provides an inclusive forum for the exchange of empirical and theoretical approaches to problems in systems neuroscience, in order to understand how neural systems function. The MAIN MEETING is single-track. A set of invited talks is selected by the Executive Committee, and additional talks and posters are selected by the Program Committee, based on submitted abstracts. The WORKSHOPS feature in-depth discussion of current topics of interest, in a small group setting. For details on workshop proposals please see below or visit Cosyne.org -> Workshops. Cosyne topics include but are not limited to: neural coding, natural scene statistics, dendritic computation, neural basis of persistent activity, nonlinear receptive field mapping, representations of time and sequence, reward systems, decision-making, synaptic plasticity, map formation and plasticity, population coding, attention, and computation with spiking networks. We would like to foster increased participation from experimental groups as well as computational ones. Please circulate widely and encourage your students and postdocs to apply. COSYNE SPEAKERS Tim Behrens (Oxford) Josh Berke (UCSF) Tiago Branco (UCL) Jessica Cardin (Yale) Claudia Clopath (Imperial) Marlene Cohen (Pittsburgh) Iain Couzin (Max-Planck) Carina Curto (Penn State) Ann Graybiel (MIT) Vivek Jayaraman (Janelia) Mate Lengyel (Cambridge) Joni Wallis (Berkeley) Byron Yu (CMU) ORGANIZING COMMITTEE General Chairs: Ilana Witten (Princeton) and Eric Shea-Brown (U Washington) Program Chairs: Linda Wilbrecht (Berkeley) and Brent Doiron (U Pittsburgh) Workshop Chairs: Laura Busse (LMU) and Ralf Haefner (U Rochester) Undergraduate Travel Chairs: Angela Langdon (Princeton) and Robert Wilson (U Arizona) Publicity Chair: Il Memming Park (Stony Brook) Development Chair: Michael Long (NYU) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Stephanie Palmer (U Chicago) Zachary Mainen (Champalimaud) Alexandre Pouget (U Geneva) Anthony Zador (CSHL) CONTACT meeting [at] cosyne.org COSYNE MAILING LISTS Please consider adding yourself to Cosyne mailing lists (groups) to receive email updates with various Cosyne-related information and join in helpful discussions. See Cosyne.org -> Mailing lists for details.

Jan. 23, 2018

Postdoc at Harvard (Drugowitsch Lab) in computational neuroscience

by Jan Drugowitsch

Location: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Start: April 2018 or after We are looking for a highly creative and motivated postdoctoral fellow to work in the field of computational and systems neuroscience in the group of Jan Drugowitsch - Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School (http://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/people/faculty/jan-drugowitsch) The group works on questions of decision-making and navigation under uncertainty, ranging from the level of neural populations to that of behavior. In the short term, the postdoctoral fellow is expected to design and analyze behavioral and neural models of decision-making that are gauged against data from human subjects, collected by the laboratory of Dr. Wyart at École Normale Supérieure, Paris. In the long term, close interaction and collaboration with other members of the department is anticipated. Candidates should have a strong analytical background, such as in computational neuroscience, physics, mathematics, engineering, or related, and feature an interest in the role of computation in neural populations and in theoretical neuroscience in general. Experience or familiarity with related machine-learning fields is also desirable. Previous experience should include sufficient programming skills to run numerical simulations, Bayesian methods, and expertise in the analysis of dynamical systems. The position starts in or after April 2018, and is funded for several years, with an initial one-year appointment and expectation of extension given satisfactory performance. Salary depends on experience and is at levels above the NIH scale. Candidates should send a single pdf file, consisting of a 1-page motivation letter, CV, and publication list to jan_drugowitsch(a)hms.harvard.edu. Furthermore, candidates should organize two letters of reference, to be sent to the same e-mail address. The position is open until filled. Dr. Drugowitsch will be available at the Computational and Systems Neuroscience Conference (Cosyne), to take place March 1-6, for questions and further information about the opening. Harvard is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Jan Drugowitsch Assistant Professor in Neurobiology Harvard Medical School https://drugowitschlab.hms.harvard.edu/

Jan. 23, 2018

postdoc in depression DBS at Georgia Tech

by Christopher Rozell

A postdoc position at the intersection of computational neuroscience, clinical neuropsychiatry and data analysis is available working jointly with the labs of Christopher Rozell and Robert Butera at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA). This BRAIN Initiative research project seeks to develop electrophysiological biomarkers to characterize disease progression and optimize deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-resistant depression. This clinically-focused project (clinical lead is Dr. Helen Mayberg) is a collaboration with Emory University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai that is providing access to one-of-a-kind human electrophysiology data recorded by implanted DBS devices *during therapy* in an experimental trial. The role of our computational team is to develop analysis and modeling approaches to identify electrophysiological signatures that correlate with treatment response and optimize stimulation parameters. This is an opportunity to work on a challenging scientific problem with real impact on a sick patient population. Applicants should hold a PhD in a related discipline with a strong research record. Experience in advanced techniques for analyzing time-series data (e.g., signal processing and machine learning) is desirable, additional experience in computational neuroscience modeling and working with neurophysiology data is helpful . The labs are 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 required. The ideal start date is May 2018. The position is initially for 12 months with the possibility of renewal. Compensation will be commensurate with relevant experience. Georgia Tech has competitive benefits (including comprehensive medical insurance) and is an equal opportunity employer. Georgia Tech's campus in the heart of midtown Atlanta, which is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas (and entrepreneurial communities) in the United States. Atlanta boasts a wide range of opportunities for recreation, culture, and easy access to domestic and international transportation. Candidates should send a CV, a statement of research experience and interests, expected date of availability, and the contact information for three references to christopher.thomas(a)ece.gatech.edu with the subject line "Neuro DBS postdoc". Application review will proceed until the position is filled and should be received by February 19, 2018 for full consideration.

Jan. 23, 2018

Deadline extension for ICMNS 2018: February 4

by Etienne Tanre

Dear all, Under popular and friendly pressure, we have decided to extend the abstract submission deadline for ICMNS 2018 <http://icmns2018.inria.fr/>: Submissions <http://icmns2018.inria.fr/submission/> are opened until Sunday February 4, 23.59 (GMT + 1). We hope to see you in Juan les Pins in June 2018. All the best, Susanne Ditlevsen Bard Ermentrout Etienne Tanré > > ============ > FIRST CALL > ============ > > We are delighted to announce the 4th International Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience (ICMNS 2018), to be held at the Congress Center in Juan-les-Pins, on the French Riviera. > Tutorials will be held on June 10, and the main conference is June 11 - June 13. > More details are given on the conference website: > > https://icmns2018.inria.fr <https://icmns2018.inria.fr/> > > The International Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience will provide a forum for researchers to discuss current mathematical innovations emerging in neuroscience. > A major aim of the conference is to attract and train young researchers on current methods in mathematical neuroscience. > To fulfill this goal, we will hold a tutorial the day before the main meeting. > The main conference will feature a broader set of topics in mathematical neuroscience, with a focus on > (a) the use of experimental data in modeling studies; > (b) theory and models that explore hypotheses and design better experiments; > (c) rigorous mathematical models of neural systems; > (d) improved methods for analyzing complex data sets. > > Abstract Submission: > We encourage abstract submission by researchers from all areas of mathematical neuroscience. > One page abstracts will be reviewed by the Program Committee and divided into parallel talk sessions and poster sessions. > > Details will be given on the web site <https://icmns2018.inria.fr/>. > > The abstract submission <http://icmns2018.inria.fr/submission/> deadline is January 23, 2018. > > Student Awards: > We offer student awards. To apply, students must submit an abstract and include a current CV as part of their submitted document in Easychair <https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=icmns2018>. > > Program Committee > Daniele Avitabile (Univ. of Nottingham, UK) > Nicolas Brunel (Duke Univ., USA) > Carina Curto (Pennsylvania State Univ., USA) > Rodica Curtu (Univ. of Iowa, USA) > Mathieu Desroches (Inria Sophia-Antipolis, France) > Lubomir Kostal (Inst. of Physiology, Czech Republic) > Carlo Laing (Massey Univ., New Zealand) > Benjamin Lindner (Bernstein C. for Comp. Neuroscience Berlin, Germany) > Eva Löcherbach (Univ. Cergy-Pontoise, France) > André Longtin (Univ. Ottawa, Canada) > Jeff Moehlis (Univ. California Santa Barbara, USA) > Hiroya Nakao (Tokyo Instit. of Technology, Japan) > Patricia Reynaud Bouret (Univ Nice, France) > Horacio G. Rotstein (Rutgers Univ. / New Jersey Inst. of Technology, USA) > Alex Roxin (CRM Barcelona, Spain) > Laura Sacerdote (Univ. of Torino, Italia) > Delphine Salort (Univ Pierre et Marie Curie, France) > Shigeru Shinomoto (Kyoto Univ., Japan) > Wilhelm Stannat (TU Berlin, Germany) > Denis Talay (Inria Sophia-Antipolis, France) > Michèle Thieullen (Univ Pierre et Marie Curie, France) > Martin Wechselberger (Univ Sydney, Australia) > Advisory Board > Paul Bressloff (Univ. of Utah, USA) > Evelyn Buckwar (JKU Linz, Austria) > Stephen Coombes (Univ. of Nottingham, UK) > Olivier Faugeras (Inria Sophia Antipolis, France) > Julijana Gjiorgjieva (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany) > Zachary Kilpatrick (Univ. of Houston, USA) > Robert Rosenbaum (Univ. of Notre Dame, USA) > Romain Veltz (Inria Sophia Antipolis, France) > > We hope to see you in Juan les Pins this June! > > All the best, > > Susanne Ditlevsen > Bard Ermentrout > Etienne Tanré >

Jan. 23, 2018

Register for ENCODS 2018 - European Neuroscience Conference by Doctoral Students - Deadline January 31st

by Organizers ENCODS2018

We are pleased to invite you to: *ENCODS 2018* (European Neuroscience Conference by Doctoral Students) Berlin, Germany, 5-6 July 2018 We are a conference organised for and by doctoral students and a partner of FENS (Federation of European Neuroscience Societies). We aim to increase scientific exchange by bringing together young researchers, established scientists and visionaries. This new edition of ENCODS 2018 in Berlin, Germany, is designed to move beyond the sometimes rigid speaker-audience concept by including a wide range of original activities to create a dynamic environment for blossoming of ideas and networking among scientists. What? ENCODS – the European Neuroscience Conference by Doctoral Students When? 5th-6th July 2018, the days preceding the FENS Forum Where? Berlin, Germany Who? Doctoral students from every discipline within the field of neuroscience How? Register for ENCODS 2018 at http://www.fens.org/Training/ENCODS/ENCODS2018/Registration-Information/ Please note that registration is open until the *31st January 2018*. Registration fee waivers and travel grants are available, pending availability and application approval. Why? * Exciting talks: - Big neuroscience projects: Nancy Ip, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - Novel methods in neuroscience: Thomas Knöpfel, Imperial College London - Science and industry: Sakyasingha Dasgupta, Ascent Robotics, Inc. Japan - The future of health: Elisabeth Binder, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich * 16 selected student talks * Engaging workshops: - Open science, Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman, Utrecht University Library, Netherlands - The publication process, Paul Bolam, University of Oxford, UK - Experimental design, Chris Hartgerink, Tilburg University, Netherlands - Presentation skills, Anna Elena Pepe, Phoebus coaching, UK * An afternoon of Unconference, a participant-driven space for open discussion * Science & Society session: Methods of an embodied mind (supported by the Schering Stiftung, Berlin) For more information and registration, visit: http://www.fens.org/Training/ENCODS/ENCODS2018/

Jan. 23, 2018

Postdoc position in Deep Learning and Animal Behavior modellig

by david robbe

Dear Colleagues, The Turing Centre for Living Systems in Marseille seeks applicants for a postdoc position in computational neuroscience/robotics under the joint supervision of David Robbe and Christophe Eloy. Project abstract – The goal of this project is to understand, at an algorithmic level, how animals learn to develop adaptative behavior by trial-and-error interaction with their environment. We propose an interdisciplinary approach combining behavioral experiments in rats and the development of an «artificial» agent facing challenges similar to those experienced by the rats. The experimental data (already available) show that rats challenged in a time estimation task converged progressively toward a conserved embodied strategy (Rueda-Orozco and Robbe, Nature Neuroscience, 2015). Key determinants of that strategy have been isolated experimentally, by altering task rules and environment and quantifying how these alterations affect animal performance. The core of the artificial agent will be a reinforcement-learning algorithm, which will be trained through virtual experiments simulating the time estimation task. A first objective will be to parametrize algorithms such that they solve this time estimation task and to compare artificial and natural (rat) strategies. The artificial double will eventually be complemented by a robot embodying the learning algorithm. Assessment of algorithmic predictions and possible biological implementation will be tested in new experiments in which the impact of alterations of key task parameters and brain activity on animals performance will be measured. This back and forth interaction between experiments and theory will provide us with new understandings of the mechanisms underlying adaptative motor learning. Expected profile – The main task of the project will be to develop reinforcement learning algorithms and therefore we expect the candidates to have a solid background in machine learning. Since one of the objective is to build simple robots, knowledge in robotics would be an asset. The successful applicant will work in close collaboration with experimentalists and robotic engineers. We are therefore looking for an enthusiastic applicant with excellent communication skills and a track record in interdisciplinary collaborative environments. Supervisors David Robbe - Inmed, UMR 1249 - The neural bases of sensorimotor learning <http://www.inmed.fr/en/en-avenir-dynamiques-neuronales-et-fonctions-des-gan…> Christophe Eloy - IRPHE, UMR 7342 - Biomechanics, aerodynamics, soft matter and biophysics <https://www.irphe.fr/%7Eeloy/> Deadline for application: 28th February Information and submission: http://centuri-livingsystems.org/recruitment-pd2018-10/ -- David Robbe, PhD Neuronal dynamics and functions of the basal ganglia Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée (INMED) INSERM-UMR901 163, avenue de Luminy. BP13 13273 Marseille Cedex 9 France http://www.inmed.fr/avenir-dynamiques-neuronales-et-fonctions-des-ganglions… Tel: +33 4 91 82 81 99 Fax: +33 4 91 82 81 05 "It is disturbingly common for studies to include behavior as simply a hasty add-on in papers that are otherwise crammed full of multiple techniques, types of results, and even species. It is as if every paper needs to be a methodological decathlon in order to be considered important." Krakauer et al., Neuron 2017

Jan. 23, 2018

PhD Position -- Neural Circuits, Space and Memory

by Andrea Burgalossi

The lab of Andrea Burgalossi at the Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) in Tübingen is looking for a PhD student in IN-VIVO ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, SPATIAL NAVIGATION AND MEMORY (IN RODENTS) Our research focuses on the cellular basis of spatial coding in the cortico-hippocampal circuit. We employ state-of-the-art electrophysiology techniques for monitoring the activity of identified neurons in freely-behaving rodents (rats and mice). Possible projects involve the use of juxtacellular and/or extracellular recordings -in combination with optogenetics and viral-tracing methods- for recording and manipulating anatomically-defined cell types while mice perform memory tasks in ‘virtual’ or ‘real’ environments. The projects are aimed at dissecting the contribution of distinct cell types to the neural representation of space, to spatial navigation and memory functions. The candidate is required to have a strong quantitative/computational background (e.g. mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science, etc…) and excellent programming skills in MATLAB. Previous experience in electrophysiology (especially tetrode recordings) and the analysis of neural data are desirable, but not essential. Applications contaning CV and names of at least two referees should be addressed to Andrea Burgalossi (ANDREA.BURGALOSSI(a)CIN.UNI-TUEBINGEN.DE) Projects are related to these recent publications: Tang, Brecht and Burgalossi, /Nature Protocols/ (2014) 9:2369-81 Diamantaki et al., /Current Biology/ (2016) 26:536-41 Preston-Ferrer et al. /eLife/ (2016) pii: e14592 Diamantaki et al., /eLife/ (2016) pii: e20252 -- Andrea Burgalossi, PhD Cellular and Synaptic Basis of Behaviour Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN) Otfried-Müller-Straße 25 72076 Tübingen Tel: +49-(0)7071-29-88797 Fax: +49-(0)7071-29-25006 Lab web: www.burgalossilab.com CIN web: www.cin.uni-tuebingen.de

Jan. 21, 2018

Postdoctoral Position: Neural Data Analyses

by Fellous, Jean-Marc - (fellous)

The Computational and Experimental Neuroscience Laboratory (CENL, University of Arizona, Tucson) is looking for a postdoctoral fellow in Neural Data Analyses. The candidate will have access to a large database of rodent electrophysiological data (LFP, tetrodes) pertaining to 1) sleep and memory consolidation, and 2) spatial navigation in complex environments. The ideal candidate should have a strong quantitative and programming background (Matlab) and be a creative thinker able to produce new and original data visualizations and analyses. The candidate will be able to participate in experiments if desired. The project is multi-disciplinary and involves collaborations with the Univ. of South Florida, the Univ. California San Diego, The Salk Institute and Harvard Univ. Good communication skills are required. Applicant should send a cover letter (email is ok), a CV and the names/contact information of at least 2 references to Dr. Jean-Marc Fellous (fellous at email.arizona.edu) The search is ongoing and is projected to be completed by March 30th, 2018. Applications will be processed in the order they are received. More information about the laboratory can be found at: http://amygdala.psychdept.arizona.edu/lab.html The CENL and the University of Arizona are committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive work environment and women and minorities are encouraged to apply. The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

Jan. 21, 2018

Job Posting: Application Scientist at MaxWell Biosystems

by Frey Urs

Dear Colleagues, MaxWell Biosystems is seeking a permanent, full-time e-phys and MEA expert as an Application Scientist. MaxWell Biosystems is a spin-off company of ETH Zurich, Switzerland, commercializing high-resolution microelectrode array technology. Our platform helps customers in pharmaceutical industry, biotech and neuroscience to make their drug discovery and research more efficient. Place of work is Basel, Switzerland. Send your cover letter and CV to hr(a)mxwbio.com<mailto:hr@mxwbio.com> Job description Be it in pharmaceutical industry, contract research organizations or academia, all our existing and prospective customers have a scientific background. To support them and to develop novel assays using microelectrode array (MEA) technology, we are seeking a highly motivated neuroscientist and MEA expert. Your Responsibilities * Support our customers solve their research problems using our high-resolution MEAs * Actively identify, approach and communicate with prospective customers * Conduct demos and installations worldwide * Represent MaxWell Biosystems at scientific conferences, trade shows and collaborative meetings worldwide * Develop novel assays and applications using our high-resolution MEAs * Produce scientific marketing material for our website, blogs, application notes, etc. * Co-write scientific grant applications * Consolidate the market requirements and provide input to product development * Since we are a very young startup, we expect active participation in all sales and support related aspects * Work in a multidisciplinary environment Your Profile * PhD degree in neuroscience, biology, neuroengineering or related fields * Expert in electrophysiology and working experience with MEAs * Good programming skills Matlab and Python * Proven scientific track record in relevant fields * Ability and willingness to travel regularly and worldwide * Experience in spike sorting is a plus * Knowledgeable in induced-pluripotent-stem-cell technology is a plus * Fluent English language skills, other languages are a plus Are you motivated, innovative and committed to delivering first-rate performance? Have you ever wanted to work with cutting-edge technology involving both engineering and biology? Do you enjoy working in an international, multidisciplinary, and interactive team? Then we might have a position for you. Join MaxWell Biosystems in innovating the future of electrophysiology for drug discovery and basic research. We are looking forward to receiving your application documents (cover letter, resume, letter of recommendation and degrees including transcripts) by email at hr(a)mxwbio.com<mailto:hr@mxwbio.com>. -- Dr. Urs Frey | MaxWell Biosystems AG | Mattenstrasse 26 | CH-4058 Basel | Switzerland | www.mxwbio.com<http://www.mxwbio.com>

Jan. 21, 2018

Senior Research Associate – University of Bristol, UK

by Jeffrey Bowers

Senior Research Associate – University of Bristol, UK. This five year ERC-funded project entitled “Generalisation in Mind and Machine” explores how well neural networks support human-like generalisation across a range of tasks. Over the course of the grant there will be four post-doctoral fellows involved in modelling, one research assistant involved in empirical work, and two PhD students. This is one of three modelling posts that runs for three years. I am looking to hire someone with a PhD in computer science or cognitive psychology (or related field) who has experience working with neural networks. In contrast with the large community of researchers focused on improving the performance of deep networks for applied reasons, the goal of this project is to explore what neural networks tell us about how the brain works. More specifically, the team will be working on questions of generalisation in the domains of object identification, word identification, short-term memory, and games, amongst other areas. This research is related to my previous and ongoing research that explores why and when artificial neural networks learn localist "grandmother cell" representations with the goal to better understand why some neurons respond to high-level information in a highly selective manner. You can find more information about my research and download papers at: https://jeffbowers.blogs.ilrt.org/research/ This post is available from 1st May 2018 (but somewhat flexible about start date) and the closing date for applications is Thursday 15th March 2018. For informal enquiries please contact Professor Jeffrey Bowers - J.Bowers at bristol.ac.uk<https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/connectionists><mailto:J.Bowers at bristol.ac.uk<https://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/connectionists>>. For more information and to apply, please visit: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BHB793/erc-senior-research-associate

Jan. 21, 2018

CFP- Special issue on Robots and Smart Environments

by Amir Aly

*Cognitive Systems Research (CSR) Journal* CALL FOR PAPERS **Apologies for cross posting ** We are happy to call for papers for the journal special issue: "*Social Cognitive Systems in Smart Environments: Approaches for Learning, Reasoning, and Adaptation*" *Webpage: **https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cognitive-systems-research/call-for-papers/special-issue-social-cognitive-systems-in-smart-environment <https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cognitive-systems-research/call-for-paper…> * <http://cognitive-mirroring.org/en/events/hai2017_workshop/> *I. Aim and Scope * A “smart” environment incorporates intelligent systems (e.g., smart home, smart factory, smart city, smart car etc.) employing heterogeneous devices, such as: sensors, actuators, cameras, networks, and screens. Within such a smart environment, autonomous agents can take on an important mediating role between human users and the environment. This is particularly true if high-level cognitive functions and computational intelligence are employed to handle the uncertainty of the complex environment so as to allow agents to act appropriately within different contexts of interaction. Using robotic systems in smart environments opens the door to several socio-cognitive applications, such as: reducing cognitive load for individuals interacting with a smart environment, assisting the elderly and people with cognitive disabilities in mobility and daily tasks (which requires robots to learn the multimodal characteristics of human behavior and to spatially perceive the environment containing other smart objects to decide the best way to employ/manipulate them in order to successfully perform tasks), and developing a cloud-connected robot system to incrementally share knowledge between robots in different smart environments about the behavioral characteristics of human users in order to interact with them adaptively. To meet the requirements of these target applications, robots need to be able to learn how to use the capabilities of their smart environments to better address the needs of the human users. Industrial applications of such technologies include factories of the future and the digital eco-system within an autonomous car. This special issue aims to shed light on cutting edge lines of interdisciplinary research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and robotics covering basic research and applications. Recent advances and possible future research avenues on smart robots and environments would be discussed in detail in this journal special issue. *II. Potential Topics* Topics relevant to this special issue include, but are not limited to: - Cyber-physical systems in smart environments - Multimodal human robot interaction - Cognitive modeling of human behavior - Cognitive architectures and strategies for intelligent interaction with the environment - AI and machine learning approaches applied to human-robot-environment interaction - Internet of things - Ambient assisted living - Infotainment in smart vehicles - Natural user interface design - Cloud robotics - Ubiquitous computing *III. Submission* Submissions to the special issue must include original research that has not been published nor submitted to other journals. Authors should prepare their manuscript according to the "Guide for Authors" available at the journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/cognitive-systems- research/. Papers should be submitted through the EVISE system: https://www.evise.com/evise/jrnl/cogsys. Authors should select "*VSI:Smart Environments"* as the article type during the submission process. *IV. Timline (Submission portal will be open on March 1, 2018)* - Deadline for paper submission: April 30, 2018 - First notification for authors: July 31, 2018 - Deadline for revised papers submission: September 30, 2018 - Final notification for authors: November 30, 2018 - Deadline for submission of camera-ready manuscripts: January 15, 2019 *V. Guest editors* Dr. Amir Aly, Ritsumeikan University, Japan (amir.aly(a)em.ci.ritsumei.ac.jp) Dr. Shashank Pathak,Visteon Corporation, Germany ( shashank.pathak(a)visteon.com) Dr. Sean Andrist, Microsoft Research, USA (sandrist(a)microsoft.com) Prof. Armando Tacchella, University of Genoa, Italy ( armando.tacchella(a)unige.it) -- *Amir Aly, Ph.D.* Senior Researcher Emergent Systems Laboratory College of Information Science and Engineering Ritsumeikan University 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577 Japan

Jan. 20, 2018

Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience - recent articles

by Stephen Coombes

The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience publishes research articles on the mathematical modeling and analysis of all areas of neuroscience. The current list of journal articles is available at http://www.mathematical-neuroscience.com/ : Sparse Functional Identification of Complex Cells from Spike Times and the Decoding of Visual Stimuli Aurel A. Lazar, Nikul H. Ukani and Yiyin Zhou https://mathematical-neuroscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13408-… Robust Exponential Memory in Hopfield Networks Christopher J. Hillar and Ngoc M. Tran https://mathematical-neuroscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13408-… A Rate-Reduced Neuron Model for Complex Spiking Behavior Koen Dijkstra, Yuri A. Kuznetsov, Michel J. A. M. van Putten and Stephan A. van Gils https://mathematical-neuroscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13408-… The Dynamics of Neural Fields on Bounded Domains: An Interface Approach for Dirichlet Boundary Conditions Aytül Gökçe, Daniele Avitabile and Stephen Coombes https://mathematical-neuroscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13408-… Fundamental Limits of Forced Asynchronous Spiking with Integrate and Fire Dynamics Anirban Nandi, Heinz Schättler, Jason T. Ritt and ShiNung Ching https://mathematical-neuroscience.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13408-… All articles are Open Access. ------------------------------------------------------- Stephen Coombes Professor of Applied Mathematics School of Mathematical Sciences Nottingham, UK Tel: 0115 846 7836 http://www.maths.nott.ac.uk/~sc/ ------------------------------------------------------- This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete the email and attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nottingham. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored where permitted by law.

Jan. 20, 2018

University of Sussex PhD programme: 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness'

by Miguel Maravall

Dear comp-neuro colleagues, We are inviting applications for studentships in an exciting new PhD programme at the University of Sussex, 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness', for entry in September 2018. Could you please kindly distribute to potentially interested students? Thank you Best wishes Miguel Maravall The University of Sussex has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust grant to create a new Doctoral Scholarship Programme entitled 'From Sensation and Perception to Awareness'. This brings together researchers and doctoral students from across neuroscience, robotics, psychology and the arts. The ultimate aim of this research programme is to advance our understanding of the interactions between sensing, perception, and awareness in humans, animals, and machines. Our doctoral scholars will be immersed in an inter-disciplinary training environment including monthly seminars and an annual student-led conference on a topic related to the theme. A strong emphasis is placed on developing technical skills, and we will provide specialist training in areas such as programming and use of virtual and augmented reality. As part of this programme, Sussex will be providing fully-funded studentships for three cohorts of seven students. The first of these cohorts will start studying at Sussex in September 2018. Individual research projects are listed on the webpage linked below. Each successful applicant will receive a tax free stipend at Research Council rates (currently £14553 per annum), a Home/EU fee waiver and generous research and training costs. On completion of their PhD, our programme alumni will be eligible to apply for one of several 12 month postdoctoral research fellowships at Sussex, available only to completing Leverhulme DSP scholars. Application deadline is March 5th 2018. For further information, a listing of research projects and application instructions, please visit: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/internal/doctoralschool/funding/sussexleverhulme

Jan. 19, 2018

PhD Studentship in Computational and Systems Neuroscience (Final Deadline March 5th)

by Christopher Buckley

Just a reminder that the final deadline for PhD studentships on our project is 5th March http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/view/7… The role would involve computational modelling, dynamical systems analysis and control theory so we particularly encourage candidates with a computational, physics, maths or engineering background interested in getting involved in cutting edge experimental neuroscience to apply. PhD Studentship: Distributed neural processing of self-generated visual input in a vertebrate brain. A PhD studentship in Computational and Systems Neuroscience is available in the groups of Dr Christopher L Buckley (Department of Informatics) and Prof. Leon Lagnado (School of Life Sciences) at the University of Sussex. During movement, sensory input and motor output are bound in a closed-loop: motor actions shape sensory input and sensory inputs inform future motor commands. We will characterise the neural circuits involved in the interactions between the sensory and motor systems using light-sheet microscopy to image neural activity across the brain of live zebrafish in a virtual reality environment (Nature. 2013;493: 466–468). The project will involve computational modeling and “big-data” analysis as well as experiments. Appropriate backgrounds therefore include physical and computational science as well as neuroscience. Experience with programming and a quantitative approach are essential. More information about the project is available at https://tinyurl.com/kjtxoq9. Informal enquiries can be made to Chris Buckley<http://www.christopherlbuckley.com/> (c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk>) or Leon Lagnado<http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/lagnadolab/> (l.lagnado(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:l.lagnado@sussex.ac.uk>). Sussex Neuroscience<http://www.sussex.ac.uk/sussexneuroscience> is one of the foremost centers for Neuroscience research in the UK and the University of Sussex has a beautiful campus on the outskirts of the lively South Coast town of Brighton. Application: Please apply through the post-graduate application system of the University of Sussex (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/apply) Please include a brief statement of your scientific interests and skills/experience in the mandatory “research proposal”, including how you would imagine your role in the project (max 2 pages) and include a full CV. Indicate Dr Christopher L Buckley as your preferred advisor and clearly state the title of the studentship. When you apply, please send a copy of your application documents to c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk> and l.lagnado(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:l.lagnado@sussex.ac.uk>. Funding Notes The studentship includes a three year stipend at a standard rate (currently £14,296 per annum) and, in addition, fees at the UK/EU rate. Since the studentship only covers fees at the UK/EU rate, overseas applicants are kindly requested to state in their application how they propose to cover the difference between UK/EU and overseas fees. Deadline 5th March 2018 Christopher L Buckley Lecturer in Neural Computation University of Sussex Department of Informatics Sussex Neuroscience Falmer Brighton, UK email: c.l.buckley(a)sussex.ac.uk<mailto:c.l.buckley@sussex.ac.uk> twitter: @drclbuckley

Jan. 19, 2018

ICNR2018 - FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS, SPECIAL SESSIONS and WORKSHOPS

by Alberto Mazzoni

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We apologize if you receive multiple copies of this announcement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation (ICNR2018) Pisa, Italy October 16-20 http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>info(a)icnr2018.org On behalf of all the organizers, it is our pleasure to invite you to the genuine International Conference on NeuroRehabilitation (ICNR2018) that will take place in Pisa (Italy) in October 16-20, 2018. Please, visit the website at http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>. The 2018 International Conference on Neurorehabilitation will bring together researchers and students from the fields of Motor Control, Neurtotechnologies, Clinical Rehabilitation, Applied Neurophysiology, Biomedical Engineering and Neuromechanics to promote, feed and encourage a technology-based therapeutic global shift. On this occasion, ICNR2018 will be held in parallel at the same venue with The International Symposium on Wearable Robotics (WeRob2018). Please, visit the website at http://www.werob2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.werob2018.org/>. We are looking forward to welcoming you in Pisa on October 2018! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *- Call for Special sessions-* ICNR2018 seeks to provide focused discussions on new topics and innovative applications of established approaches during the conference. Therefore, the organization of Special Sessions is encouraged. March 15 is the final deadline for Special Session Proposals submission. *- Call for Workshops-* ICNR2018 seeks to provide an extensive program of workshops to be held prior the conference. Proposals that address topics related to the conference theme are welcome. We invite proposals for half-day or full-day workshops. March 15 is the final deadline for Workshop Proposals submission. *- Submission of contributions-* Extended abstract (2 pages) contributions are welcome. April 15 is the final deadline for extended abstracts. All contributions will be peer reviewed. Accepted contributions will appear in Conference Proceedings. After a selection process, accepted articles will be announced to authors on June 15, 2018. *- Important Deadlines -* Special session proposal submission deadline: March 15, 2018 Workshops proposal submission deadline: March 15, 2018 Contributions submission deadline: April 15, 2018 Notification to authors: June 15, 2018 Authors registration deadline: July 1, 2018 Final version submission: July 15, 2018 Early registration: July 1, 2018 *- Registration Fees -* Early student (until July 1): 300€ Early regular (until July 1): 550€ Early Single day student (until July 1, 2018): 200€ Early Single day regular (until July 1, 2018): 300€ Student: 450€ Regular: 750€ Single day student: 300€ Single day regular: 450€ *- Confirmed Plenary speakers -* Michael Goldfard (Vanderbilt University) Maria Chiara Carrozza (SSSA) Katja Mombaur (Heidelberg University) Herman van der Kooij (University of Twente) (tentative) Oskar Aszmann (Medical University of Vienna) (tentative) Hugh Herr (MIT) (tentative) Mitsuo KAWATO (ATR) *- Logistics -* ICNR obtained special rates for accommodation with hotels nearby the conference venue. During the conference, transportation services will be facilitated between these hotels and the venue. For updated information on accommodation, trasportation and conference venue please visit our website frequently. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For further and up-to-date information, please visit the conference website: http://www.icnr2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/> Prof. José L. Pons & Prof. Silvestro Micera Co-Chairs ICNR2018 http://www.ICNR2018.org <https://mail.sssup.it/Redirect/D03C6F58/www.icnr2018.org/>

Jan. 18, 2018

Cortical Codes at the EITN Paris on February 5 & 6 - registration opened

by EITN

Announcement : Workshop Cortical codes Organized by Sacha van Albada and the EITN on February 5th and 6th, at the EITN Paris. Programme and registration: https://eitnconf-050218.sciencesconf.org/ The cerebral cortex plays a key role in high-level brain functions including sensory processing, memory, attention, planning, and the internal modeling of the external world. To make sense of the wealth of experimental data available on cortical anatomy and physiology, and the relation of its activity to behavior, theoretical approaches are essential. A variety of tools are used for this purpose: bottom-up modeling starting from biological knowledge, top-down including normative approaches, investigations of the coding properties at the single-neuron and neuronal population levels, analytical work and simulations, and comparisons between healthy and disease conditions. This workshop brings together a cross-section of these theoretical approaches toward unraveling the mechanisms used by the cerebral cortex for achieving its functionality, with the goal of facilitating mutual fertilization between the various approaches. **/The registration is free however mandatory due to a limited number of seats./** Speakers:**/ /** Claudia Clopath, Cold Spring Harbor, USA Sophie Denève, ENS Paris, France Maria Sanchez-Vives, IDIBAPS Barcelona, Spain Yulia Sandamirskaya, University and ETH, Zurich, Switzerland Tatyana Sharpee, Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA (via video conference) Hamutal Slovin, Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel Alexa Riehle, AMU, France Angela Yu, University of California San Diego, USA (via video conference) Fleur Zeldenrust, Radboud University, The Netherlands Looking forward to seeing you there ! -- The EITN Team Phone : +33 (0)1 69 82 34 39 http://www.eitn.org follow us on Twitter: @EITN_Paris

Jan. 18, 2018

2018 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class

by db30＠andrew.cmu.edu

2018 ACT-R Summer School and Master Class Carnegie Mellon University July 9-13, 2018 ACT-R is a unified theory of cognition that has been implemented in a software system called a cognitive architecture that can be used to develop computational cognitive models. It has been applied to modeling tasks that range from experimental tasks like simple reaction time and list learning, to real world tasks like driving a car and air traffic control. The 2018 ACT-R Summer School will take place at CMU in Pittsburgh from July 9-13. It consists of both a Summer School for beginning users and a Master Class for more experienced users. The Summer School will train researchers in the use of ACT-R for cognitive modeling using the ACT-R tutorial. Each day will consist of a morning theory lecture covering one or two tutorial units, an afternoon discussion session on the topics of the day, and modeling assignments which participants are expected to complete during the day and evening. The Master Class is organized in parallel with the Summer School. The Master Class offers the opportunity for ACT-R modelers to work on their own projects with guidance from experienced ACT-R researchers. There is no curriculum for the Master Class, but Master Class students are welcome to attend the Summer School lectures and discussion sessions. To provide an optimal learning environment, admission to the Summer School and Master Class will be limited. To apply for the Summer School, please email a curriculum vitae and a statement of purpose to db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu. Demonstrated experience with a modeling formalism similar to ACT-R will strengthen a Summer School application. To apply for the Master Class please email a curriculum vitae along with some information about your level of experience with ACT-R and some details on the project you expect to work on during the Master Class. Applications are due by April 15th and applicants will be notified of admission by April 30th. Admission to the Summer School and Master Class is free. Housing will be available in the CMU dormitories for approximately $60/day (single) or $40/day (shared). More information about ACT-R, including papers published by the ACT-R community, can be found on the ACT-R web site: <http://act-r.psy.cmu.edu/>. For more information on the Summer School and Master Class you can email Dan Bothell at db30(a)andrew.cmu.edu.

Jan. 17, 2018

[meetings] 2nd CFP, Special session - Hybrid Life: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems, ALife 2018 (Tokyo)

by Manuel Baltieri

[Apologies for cross-posting] ********** 2nd Call for Papers ********** Special session - Hybrid Life: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/> 2018 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Tokyo, JAPAN, 23-27 July 2018 - http://2018.alife.org/ <http://2018.alife.org/> Invited panelists: Ryota Kanai, Jun Tani (more to come). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 for the description and modelling of 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, and 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 special sessions 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: Formalisation of 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 PANELISTS: Ryota Kanai Ryota Kanai is a neuroscientist working on the computational principles underlying consciousness and the brain, and the founder and CEO of an AI startup, Araya, Inc. in Tokyo. His goal is to create artificial consciousness using intrinsic motivation, deep neural networks, and integrated information while taking inspirations from neuroscience. He formerly led a cognitive neuroscience lab at the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Araya Inc.: http://www.araya.org/ <http://www.araya.org/> <http://www.araya.org/>Jun Tani Jun Tani is a Full Professor at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Okinawa, Japan. He is directing the Cognitive Neurorobotics Research Unit. He has investigated the problem of embodied cognition by applying the predictive coding framework to neurorobotics experimental study for more than 20 years. His study has been summarized in his book, “Exploring Robotic Minds: Actions, Symbols, and Consciousness as Self-Organizing Dynamic Phenomena." published from Oxford Univ. Press in 2016. CNRU at OIST: https://groups.oist.jp/cnru <https://groups.oist.jp/cnru> Important Dates 19th March 2018 – Paper submission deadline 23rd April 2018 – Paper acceptance notification 21st May 2018 – Camera-ready version 23-27th July 2018 – Artificial Life conference (ALife), Tokyo, Japan Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the a-life 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, as specified here http://2018.alife.org/instructions-for-authors/ <http://2018.alife.org/instructions-for-authors/>. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. m.baltieri(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:m.baltieri@sussex.ac.uk> Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. k.suzuki(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:filippo.m.bianchi@uit.no> Hiroyuki Iizuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan hiroyukiiizuka(a)gmail.com <mailto:hiroyukiiizuka@gmail.com> Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life/> or get in touch with Manuel m.baltieri(a)sussex.ac.uk <mailto:m.baltieri@sussex.ac.uk>. All the best, Manuel, Keisuke, Hiro

Jan. 17, 2018

AREADNE 2018 Call for Abstracts

by John Pezaris

AREADNE 2018 Research in Encoding and Decoding of Neural Ensembles Nomikos Conference Centre, Santorini, Greece 20-24 June 2018 http://areadne.org info(a)areadne.org Dear Colleague, We are pleased to announce solicitation of abstracts for poster presentation at AREADNE 2018, 20-24 June 2018, our seventh meeting to be held at the Nomikos Conference Centre in Santorini, Greece. Continuing with the same highly successful format, AREADNE 2018 will bring scientific leaders from around the world to present their theoretical and experimental work on the functioning of neuronal ensembles. The meeting will provide an informal yet spectacular setting in which attendees can discuss their recent ideas and discoveries, with a relaxed pace that emphasizes interaction. Please see the Call for Abstracts for additional details, including links for templates, at http://areadne.org/call-for-abstracts Submissions of abstracts for poster presentations are due by 9 Feb 2018; notifications will be provided by 13 March 2018. We strongly encourage potential attendees to submit an abstract as presenters have registration priority. For information about the conference, please refer to the main web page http://areadne.org or send email to us at info(a)areadne.org. We hope to see you at AREADNE 2018! Best, - J. --- John S. Pezaris, Ph.D. AREADNE 2018 Co-Chair Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital 55 Fruit Street Boston, MA 02114, USA john(a)areadne.org jpezaris(a)gmail.com

Jan. 16, 2018

Call for Papers: Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures" @ IEEE NANO 2018 - Cork, Ireland

by Harkin, Jim

CFP: IEEE NANO 2018 Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures". http://ieeenano18.org/brain-inspired-circuits-architectures/ The call for papers is now open to the Special Track on "Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures". This track is intended to disseminate the research on Brain-inspired Circuits and Architectures to the Nano community and therefore is broad and includes applications. Topics of Interest include, but are not restricted to: * Neuromorphic hardware * Embedded neural systems (including FPGAs) * Brain-inspired cognitive architectures, evolutionary robotics * Self-configuring , Self-healing or Self-aware systems * Memristor based computation and learning * Novel neural hardware applications * Deep Learning Hardware * Other topics in Brain-Inspired Circuits & Architectures Submission of Abstract deadline: 28th February 2018 (Extended deadline) Notification of Acceptance : 29th March 2018 Deadline for final papers: 31st May 2018 Guidelines: http://ieeenano18.org/abstract-submission-guidelines/ Track Chair: Dr. Jim Harkin, Ulster University Track Co-Chair: Prof. Liam McDaid, Ulster University Track TPC Members Prof. Alejandro Linares-Barranco, University of Seville. Spain Prof Alice Parker, University of Southern California, USA Dr. Martin Trefzer, University of York, UK Dr. Junxiu Liu, Ulster University, UK [cid:image003.jpg@01D36D24.502F1730] Abstract Submission is now open for IEEE NANO 2018! The 18th IEEE International Conference on Nanotechnology | Cork, Ireland | 23-26 July 2018 | www.ieeenano18.org IEEE-NANO is the flagship IEEE Nanotechnology conference. The conference scope spans nanoscience and nanotechnology, from nanomaterials and nanofabrication to nanosensors, nanoactuators and nanoelectronic/nanophotonic devices. The thematic focus for this year's event is Nano-Enabled Smart Things: new materials, devices and systems that can benefit humanity through applications in communications, energy, healthcare, food and environment. The conference themes will encompass experimental contributions (e.g., materials development and integration, device fabrication, characterisation and metrology) as well as modelling and simulation. We welcome contributions from both academic and industry-based researchers. Confirmed plenary speakers for IEEE NANO 2018 already include: Prof. John A. Rogers, Northwestern University Prof. Malini Olivo, A*STAR<https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_org&hl=en&org=15632547241…> Singapore Prof. Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres, Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain information which is covered by legal, professional or other privilege. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager at postmaster(a)ulster.ac.uk and delete this email immediately. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ulster University. The University's computer systems may be monitored and communications carried out on them may be recorded to secure the effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. Ulster University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of a separate attachment, the text of email is not intended to form a binding contract. Correspondence to and from the University may be subject to requests for disclosure by 3rd parties under relevant legislation. The Ulster University was founded by Royal Charter in 1984 and is registered with company number RC000726 and VAT registered number GB672390524.The primary contact address for Ulster University in Northern Ireland is Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry BT52 1SA

Jan. 15, 2018

Call for Applications: Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience Paris March 19-23, 2018

by Alain Destexhe

Hi All, I am forwarding this announcement as the deadline is in a month. Sorry for those who already received it. All the best, Alain ------------ Call for Applications: Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience, Paris, March 19-23, 2018 We hereby announce the EITN Spring Course in Computational Neuroscience of March 19-23, 2018. It will be held at the European Institute of Theoretical Neuroscience (EITN) in Paris, and is organized by the Theoretical Neuroscience Group of the Human Brain Project. The main focus of the course will be to understand and design neural models at multiple scales, ranging from cellular and circuit models to large-scale brain networks. Organizers: Idan Segev (Hebrew University), Markus Diesmann (Research Center Julich), Viktor Jirsa (CNRS, Marseille), Sonja Gruen (Research Center Julich), Gaute Einevoll (NMBU), Alain Destexhe (CNRS and EITN) and Gustavo Deco (University Pompeu Fabra). The goal of the course is to teach different techniques of computational neuroscience spanning different scales: Day 1: single-neuron models (Segev) Day 2: mean-field models (Destexhe) Day 3: model comparison and validation (Gruen, Einevoll) Day 4: from local circuits to whole-brain models (Diesmann, Jirsa) Day 5: resting state and sensory processing (Deco) The students will be asked to form 5 interdisciplinary working groups on each one of these themes, and will do a short modeling project using one of the simulation packages presented at the course (Python, NEST, Brian, The Virtual Brain...) Tutorials and use cases will be provided to teach students how to use these packages. The student selection will be based on their excellence, and also based on their need to follow such a course. Experimentalists and theoreticians are welcome, a prior background in basic neuroscience is required. We request that the students come to the course with their laptop computer and have software installed, which we will identify prior to the course, to allow working on the projects and tutorials. The deadline for applications is February 15th, 2018. Applications consist of a one-page CV and a motivation letter to explain why you would like to attend this course. Applications should be sent to the EITN, at eitn(a)unic.cnrs-gif.fr

Jan. 14, 2018

[jobs] Postdoc/Senior Postdoc in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience – A biomimetic forebrain for active touch (University of Bristol)

by Nathan Lepora

Postdoc/Senior Postdoc in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience – A biomimetic forebrain for active touch (University of Bristol) *** closing date for applications: 1 February 2018 *** The University of Bristol invites applications for an immediate position in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience. The successful candidate will be part of a multi-disciplinary team on the new Leverhulme-funded Leadership Award ‘A biomimetic forebrain for robot touch’, focusing on active touch. We have been awarded funds for four postdocs and a technician on a 5-year project that will apply leading robotics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, psychology and philosophy of the brain to develop a biomimetic forebrain embodied on a 3D-printed tactile robot hand to enable human-like manipulation This application is for a Postdoctoral/Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience who will model the mammalian forebrain system for embodiment in the robots. This research position will focus on systems-level biological modelling of forebrain systems, and will complement three other postdoctoral researchers and a technician on the AI of robot touch and 3D-printed tactile robots, who together will embody the model on the robots. Our lab uses statistical/Bayesian approaches to model perception and action selection, and is interested in taking these approaches in the direction of goal-directed learning and task performance in complex environments. Although a relatively new group, we have a strong track record in publishing in both the leading Computational Neuroscience and Robotics/AI journals and conferences, including PLOS Computational Biology, Frontiers in Comp Neuro, NIPS, RSS, IEEE Trans Robotics, Soft Robotics and regularly in ICRA/IROS. Our lab has recently won the international Soft Robotics Challenge and we have a 3D-printed tactile robot hand on display in the Science Museum, London. Our group currently numbers 8 full-time members, and we will be hiring three postdocs and a technician over the next year. The project has funding until April 2022, making this an ideal position to develop a strong base for an academic career in this important research area. Applicant qualities: This application is for a postdoctoral position (Research Associate/Senior Research Associate) in Computational/Mathematical Neuroscience. We are looking for a candidate experienced in some of the following research areas, and an interest in pursuing the others: - Computation/mathematics of optimal decision making (e.g. statistical/Bayesian methods) - Models of reinforcement/goal-directed learning - Systems-level modelling of the basal ganglia and other forebrain structures - Interest in embodied computational neuroscience and embodied cognition/active perception. You will hold (or will be expected to obtain soon) a strong PhD in a discipline relevant to the project. In addition to a strong research track record you will also have a proven capability to write first author publications accepted in the leading journals of the research field. Institution The project will be based at both the Computational Neuroscience Unit (www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/research/computational-neuroscience) at the University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory (www.brl.ac.uk) the largest centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK. Our group also collaborates with other labs in this research area, principally at the University of Sheffield (Tony Prescott) and ISTC-CNR in Rome (Giovanni Pezzulo). The post holder will be employed by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, ranked 3rd for general Engineering in the UK (just after Oxford and Cambridge). The city of Bristol is consistently ranked as the 'best place to live' in the UK, e.g. as reported by the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39320118) Further details: It is anticipated that interviews will take place in February 2018, and the anticipated start as soon as possible thereafter. This post is full time for 2 years initially, with funds in place to extend the position until April 2022. Further information about the Leverhulme Award (http://www.lepora.com/leverhulme.htm) and the activities of the research group (www.lepora.com<http://www.lepora.com>) can be found via these links. Details and procedure to apply can be made through this link http://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/ with reference number ACAD103059. Informal enquiries can be made to: Dr. Nathan Lepora (N.Lepora(a)bristol.ac.uk) Closing date for applications: 1 February 2018 -- Dr Nathan Lepora, Reader in Robotics & BRL lead in Tactile Robotics Dept of Engineering Maths, Merchant Venturers Building, University of Bristol Office (MVB2.50): 0117 3315169 Lab (BRL bays 2 & 3): 0117 3286171 www.lepora.com @nathanlepora @tactilerobot

Jan. 14, 2018

Summer School of the Centre for Neural Dynamics

by Richard Naud

Call for applicants of the Summer School of the Centre for Neural Dynamics The summer school is intended for graduate students and undergraduate students in their third and fourth year of study in the physical sciences (e.g. physics, applied mathematics, engineering, computer science) and the life sciences (e.g. neuroscience, biology, physiology, human kinetics) who wish to develop their skills in neural data analysis and in mathematical modeling of neural activity. The topics will range from cellular to systems neuroscience, with applications in medicine. Individuals outside of academia may also participate. Dates: May 20 - June 2, 2018. Location: Ottawa, Canada. Application Deadline: February 15, 2018. Faculty André Longtin (uOttawa) Richard Naud (uOttawa) Steve Prescott (Sick Kids) Jonathan Rubin (UPitt) Jean-Philippe Thivierge (uOttawa) Majid Mohajerani (ULethbridge) Greg Silasi (uOttawa) Adam Sachs (uOttawa) Jean-Claude Béïque (uOttawa) Maurice Chacron (McGill) Georg Northoff (uOttawa) Detailed information can be found on the website of the Centre of Neural Dynamics<http://www.neurodynamic.uottawa.ca/summer.html>. Kind Regards, André Longtin and Richard Naud

Jan. 13, 2018

Job opening for Neural Engineer - Multiple Levels

by Zanos, Theodoros

The Neural Decoding and Data Analytics Lab at the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is currently recruiting for a Neural Engineer (multiple levels). The lab focuses on the development of data analysis methods to gain insights into decoding and encoding mechanisms of the brain and peripheral nerves to and from stimuli, actions and other physiological functions. The lab utilizes a variety of techniques from signal processing, machine learning, optimization, neurophysiology and bioelectronic systems for closed-loop neural recording and stimulation, both in health and in disease models. The ultimate goal is to develop neuromodulation therapies that will observe the state of the organism and the organ system that is targeted, to deliver individualized treatment of diseases in real-time. The successful candidate will develop computational tools and may take part in neurophysiology experiments, organize and analyze data, collaborate with other research staff and publish and present data in a timely manner. They will also work collaboratively with other investigators to facilitate their scientific research and training. Furthermore, they will participate in various types of institute and community activities and may apply for grant funding and/or patents as appropriate. Job Responsibilities Include: Develops computational tools for neuroscience research. Performs bioelectronic medicine research. Collaborates with other research staff. Responsible for the planning, collection, organization, analysis and interpretation of research data related to one or more projects Job Type: Full-time Qualifications Associate Engineer (MS Level) - Masters in Engineering, Computer Science or Statistics required Postdoctoral Fellow - Doctorate degree in Engineering, Computer Science or Statistics (Ph.D) required Neural Engineer - Masters in Engineering, Computer Science or Statistics + 3 years of experience required, Doctorate degree preferred Authored/co-authored research papers and/or scientific abstracts, required Experience with various signal processing and machine learning methods, required Strong programming skills of Matlab, required, Python, C++, preferred Research experience in neurophysiology/neuroscience/animal surgery, preferred Knowledge of data analysis software (e.g. Matlab), preferred To apply, please send a cover letter describing your qualifications and an academic CV to tzanos at northwell.edu and include Neural Engineer in the subject heading. Thank you, Theodoros Zanos, PhD Assistant Professor Head, Neural Decoding and Data Analytics Lab Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, Room 1257 The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine 350 Community Drive Manhasset, NY 11030 Tel: (516) 562-0484 Cell: (646) 943-3440 Email: tzanos(a)northwell.edu Northwell Health Visit us at Northwell.edu Theodoros Zanos, PhD Assistant Professor Head, Neural Decoding and Data Analytics Lab Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, Room 1257 The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine 350 Community Drive Manhasset, NY 11030 Tel: (516) 562-0484 Cell: (646) 943-3440 Email: tzanos(a)northwell.edu<mailto:tzanos@northwell.edu> Northwell Health Visit us at Northwell.edu<http://northwell.edu/> [cid:image001.png@01D38B92.21B19A90] The information contained in this electronic e-mail transmission and any attachments are intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom or to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering this communication to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying or disclosure of this communication and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone and electronic mail, and delete the original communication and any attachment from any computer, server or other electronic recording or storage device or medium. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipient is not a waiver of any attorney-client, physician-patient or other privilege.

Jan. 12, 2018

Job position in Computational Neuroscience at the Institute of Biophysics (National Research Council - Italy)

by Luca Leonardo Bologna

*The Institute of Biophysics of the Italian National Research Council seeks applicants for a position in Computational Neuroscience in the laboratory of Michele Migliore (Palermo, Italy). We are seeking extremely motivated individuals to work in a highly collaborative project.* The project involves the implementation of tools/applications to operate, improve, and maintain a user-oriented simulation platform. A Master or PhD in Physics, Informatics, Computational Neuroscience, 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 Pyhton, C, Object Oriented programming, development of web-application, and both front- and back-end web technologies (e.g. html, javascript, css, django, flask,…). A basic knowledge of the Italian language is required for foreign candidates. 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.

Jan. 11, 2018

MEG post-doc positions in Moscow, Higher School of Economics

by Alex Ossadtchi

Postdoctoral Position in Cognitive Neuroscience: MEG lab. The international Centre for Cognition & Decision Making <https://social.hse.ru/en/psy/> (CCDM, Moscow) invites applications for postdoctoral research positions in cognitive neuroscience. The newly established Magnetoencephalographiy (MEG) group provides an access to an Elekta Neuromag Vectorview 306-channel MEG system and associated equipment. The CCDM focuses on E/MEG studies in a range of research strands including normal and pathological neurodynamics, decision making and neuroeconomics, memory, motor control, language and speech, theoretical neuroscience, BCI and other neurotechnologies, neuroimaging methods (including source modeling techniques). The postholder will have an opportunity to influence the research agenda, which will be formed in collaboration with the new head of the MEG group and other PIs at the CCDM. CCDM <https://www.hse.ru/en/cdm-centre> is a young international English-speaking research center recently established at the Higher School of Economics, a dynamic, ambitious and rapidly growing university. CCDM is located in the historical city center of Moscow and provides access to all major neuroimaging techniques: fMRI, navigated TMS, EEG, MEG, tDCS/tACS, eye-tracking, behavioural measurements etc. CCDM actively cooperates with national and international collaborators such as Ecole Normale Superieure (Paris), MPI for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig), Aalto University (Finland), Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (Aarhus University), Duke University School of Medicine, etc. Requirements: · The position requires a PhD degree in psychology, neuroscience, physics, applied mathematics, computer science or engineering, with experience of publishing international peer-review paper in cognitive neuroscience. · Experience in MEG/EEG, including designing and running experiments, MEG/EEG data analysis, programming in Matlab, Python and R is an advantage. · Ability to work in international teams · Knowledge of Russian is not required as teaching and research are both conducted in English. General conditions for Post-Doctoral Research positions can be found here <https://iri.hse.ru/faq_pd>. Application A CV, research statement and two letters of recommendation should be submitted online application for <https://www.hse.ru/expresspolls/poll/211481597.html>m by February 15, 2017. Note that direct email applications to the CCDM may not be reviewed – please use online application for <https://www.hse.ru/expresspolls/poll/211481597.html>m. About the Higher School of Economics (HSE) The HSE is a young, dynamic, fast-growing Russian research university. Over the past twenty years, the HSE has become one of Russia's largest universities in the fields of economics, social sciences and humanities, and has earned the reputation of a national leader in higher education. Committed to high-quality research, HSE now has a considerable number of international research laboratories, led by eminent professors from all over the world; more such laboratories were opened in 2018-2019. HSE provides excellent opportunities to teach in English at BA and MS levels. Apply now <https://www.hse.ru/expresspolls/poll/211481597.html>

Jan. 11, 2018

postdoc: mathematical modelling of neuronal networks

by Laing, Carlo

The Institute of Natural & Mathematical Sciences at Massey University (Auckland) seek to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the research group of Professor Carlo Laing. In this appointment you will be expected to contribute to the group's research activities in the modelling of networks of neurons. You will have a strong background in applied mathematics, specifically nonlinear dynamical systems, and experience in numerical computation. Some knowledge of neuroscience, or a willingness to learn, is advantageous. This position is for 3 years, requires a PhD qualification, and is based at the Auckland campus. For full details, see http://massey-careers.massey.ac.nz/10078/postdoctoral-research-fellow -- Professor Carlo Laing. INMS, Massey University, Private Bag 102-904, NSMC, Auckland, New Zealand. ph: +64-9-414-0800 x 43512. fax: +64-9-443 9790 http://www.massey.ac.nz/~crlaing/

Jan. 10, 2018

Job Posting: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Baseball, Biomedical Signal Processing and Machine Learning

by Jason Sherwin

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Baseball, Biomedical Signal Processing and Machine Learning Thor Industries, Inc. and US Army Research Laboratory Thor Industries is pleased to announce this postdoctoral position in its Cooperative Agreement with the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL). The project started approximately 4 months ago and will run approximately for another 8 months or longer (pending extension). Thor Industries is led by its Principal, Dr. Jason Sherwin. Thor Industries is partnered with the University of Tennessee Math Department on this Cooperative Agreement with the ARL. Thor Industries is tasked with examining neural and behavioral data collected from real-world baseball hitting experts and analyzing these data for relationships to real-world data (i.e., on-field statistics collected in-game). A familiarity with rapid decision-making, go/no-go paradigms and baseball metrics is a requirement. The successful applicant is expected to relocate to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, USA, or nearby to work at the Aberdeen Proving Ground with ARL personnel. A housing allowance will be given in addition to stated salary. A travel budget is also available to the successful applicant. Only U.S. Citizens will be considered due to security restrictions at the worksite. The successful applicant will investigate and develop advanced signal processing and machine learning algorithms for prediction purposes. The ideal candidate will have received a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science or a closely related discipline, and is expected to have significant experience of biomedical signal processing and machine learning techniques. Applicants are also encouraged to have a strong publication record as first author, ideally including publications in 1st quartile journals in relevant areas. Appointment will be made as Senior Research Scientist in Thor Industries. Salary: Approximately $35,000 per annum Duration: Fixed-Term until August 2019 For further information and inquiries, please contact Dr. Jason Sherwin niceboston(a)gmail.com<mailto:lciti@essex.ac.uk> ------------------------------------------------------------------ sponsored link: yahoo recommended - http://msn.medsplacerx.com ------------------------------------------------------------------

Jan. 9, 2018

Support for Two PhD Fellows in Bilbao, Caixa Fellowship, deadline 1st February

by Paolo Bonifazi

Dear colleagues La Caixa Foundation has published the call for International PhD fellowships within the program "INPhINIT". This call is providing excellent working conditions for excellent international students. More information at https://obrasociallacaixa.org/el/investigacion-y-becas/progr ama-de-becas-de-posgrado/inphinit/programme-description We will be supporting 2 applicants, one associated to the project “Machine Learning, Neurological Disorders and Brain Networks” supervised by Jesus M Cortes and the other associated to the project "Multi-scale epileptic networks: a longitudinal structural-functional study of human epileptic networks combining deep electrode recordings and MRI" supervised by Paolo Bonifazi. Applicants must have a background in Mathematics, Physics or Engineering. The student will work in the Computational Neuroimaging Lab in Biocruces (Bibao) focused on developing and applying brain connectivity methods in combination with machine learning (such as supervised and unsupervised classification), modeling (neuron or circuit levels) and imaging processing of different imaging modalities (such as magnetic resonance imaging or electroencepaholography). The student will interact with Engineers, Physicists and Clinical Researchers. Further details and readings: To study brain functioning and disfunctioning, the Computational Neuroimaging Laboratory in Biocruces (Bilbao) is focused on brain networks at the macroscale, thus affecting to the large-scale brain organization. While diffusion images provide information about structural connectivity, functional magnetic resonance imaging shed light on resting state functional connectivity. In this project, the student will work with different datasets, some of them publicly available, others acquired in our laboratory, covering different pathologies such as autism, patients in coma, epilepsy, patients with multiorganic failure, neurodegeneration such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson and psychiatric disorders. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00215/full http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/NETN_a_00007 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01024/full https://www.nature.com/articles/srep10532 Working conditions: 3-years contract, gross salary of about 26.000 euro - 28.000 euro per year, and an extra travelling and conference budget of about 3.500 euro per year. Applicant requirements: At recruitment date, candidates must have MSc degree and an English certification of minimum B2. In addition, candidates must not have residence in Spain longer than 12 months in the 3 years prior to recruitment date. Prof. Jesus M Cortes Ikerbasque Research Professor Head of the Laboratory of Computational Neuroimaging, Biocruces, Bilbao (Spain) Coordinator of the Quantitative Biomedicine Unit, Biocruces, Bilbao (Spain) Research Professor at the University of the Basque Country (Spain) http://www.jesuscortes.info Dr. Paolo Bonifazi Ikerbasque Tenure Track Professor Computational Neuroimaging Laboratory http://www.ikerbasque.net/es/paolo-bonifazi

Jan. 9, 2018

Postdoctoral position (Bayesian Computation) at QIMRB, Brisbane Australia

by Matthew Aburn

Bayesian Computation Research Fellow (full time 3 year appointment) - Cutting edge data science in the group of Prof Michael Breakspear - Attractive salary packaging & superannuation options This research fellow will develop new systems for model selection and model-based prediction, combining large data sets from patient neuroimaging and intracranial recordings with models of brain dynamics. *Responsibilities* - You will contribute to the design of methods for Bayesian inference on large data sets, to perform model selection, parameter estimation, data assimilation and prediction using forward models of brain dynamics. - Implement these methods on GPUs or high performance computing clusters, and collaborate in applying these to clinical and neuroscience research, including an application to diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. - Perform innovative analyses of high-dimensional neurophysiological and neuroimaging data. - Contribute to experimental design and prepare manuscripts for related studies. - Participate in intra-mural group activities, including presentation at lab meetings and collaboration with other lab members and clinicians. *About you* Essential: The successful applicant will possess the following: PhD in mathematics, physics, statistics, bioengineering, computer sciences or related field; demonstrated ability to implement mathematical methods in code; and evidence of strong oral and written communication skills. Desirable: Ideally candidates may also have a published track record in applying computational inference methods for example Sequential Monte Carlo, particle filters, MCMC, ensemble Kalman filters or variational Bayes; previous experience with GPU programming or high performance computing clusters; or expertise in time series analysis or signal processing. *About the lab* Led by Prof Michael Breakspear, the Systems Neuroscience Group (SNG) is an independent research team within QIMR Berghofer. The SNG is a multidisciplinary group who undertake innovative computational modelling and analysis of brain activity in health and disease. QIMR Berghofer is a world-leading translational medical research institute. Based in Brisbane, Australia and working in close collaboration with clinicians and other research institutes, QIMR Berghofer is home to more than 600 scientists, students and support staff. *Salary* Salary range is AUD $81,395-$84,257 per annum, plus up to 15.75% superannuation, and attractive salary packaging. This is a full time three year appointment. Closing date is 4 February 2018 Apply here: http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/careers/positions-vacant

Jan. 9, 2018

Postdoctoral position (Mathematical Neuroscience) at QIMRB, Brisbane Australia

by Matthew Aburn

Mathematical Neuroscience Research Fellow (full time 3 year appointment) - Innovative biomedical modelling in the group of Prof Michael Breakspear - Attractive salary packaging & superannuation options This research fellow will pursue large-scale computational modelling and simulation of brain activity, and innovative analyses of time series and neuroimaging data, with particular focus on epilepsy. *Responsibilities* - You will contribute to developing and analysing new mathematical models of large-scale brain activity, including biophysical models and networks of non-linear oscillators. - Simulate computational models on GPUs or high performance computing clusters, and collaborate in applying these to clinical and neuroscience research. - Perform innovative analyses of high-dimensional neurophysiological and neuroimaging data. - Contribute to experimental design and prepare manuscripts for related studies. - Participate in intra-mural group activities, including presentation at lab meetings and collaboration with other lab members and clinicians. *About you* Essential: The successful applicant will possess the following: PhD in mathematics, physics, bioengineering, computer sciences or related field; demonstrated ability to implement mathematical methods in code; evidence of strong oral and written communication skills. Desirable: Ideally candidates may also have a published track record in analysis of non-linear dynamical systems, particularly neural mass or neural field models or coupled non-linear oscillators; previous experience with GPU programming or high performance computing clusters; previous experience in neuroscience research; or expertise in time series analysis or signal processing. *About the lab* Led by Prof Michael Breakspear, the Systems Neuroscience Group (SNG) is an independent research team within QIMR Berghofer. The SNG is a multidisciplinary group who undertake innovative computational modelling and analysis of brain activity in health and disease. QIMR Berghofer is a world-leading translational medical research institute. Based in Brisbane, Australia and working in close collaboration with clinicians and other research institutes, QIMR Berghofer is home to more than 600 scientists, students and support staff. *Salary* Salary range is AUD $81,395-$84,257 per annum, plus up to 15.75% superannuation, and attractive salary packaging. This is a full time three year appointment. Closing date is 4 February 2018 Apply here: http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/careers/positions-vacant

Jan. 9, 2018

CNS*2018: Registration and Abstract Submission Open

by Sharon Crook

CNS*2018 Call for Abstracts Organization for Computational Neurosciences (OCNS) 27th Annual Meeting Seattle, USA, July 13-18 Local Organizers: Christof Koch, Adrienne Fairhall, Eric Shea-Brown The main meeting begins the evening of Friday July 13 and runs through Monday July 16. It will be preceded by a day of tutorials (Friday July 13) and followed by two days of workshops (Tuesday July 17 and Wednesday July 18). Invited Keynote Speakers: Eve Marder, Brandeis University Nancy Kopell, Boston University Daniel Wolpert, University of Cambridge Rajesh Rao, University of Washington Registration and abstract submission are open. Abstract submission deadline: March 5, 2018. Note that one of the authors must register as sponsoring author for the main meeting before abstract submission is possible. In case the abstract is not accepted for presentation, the registration fee will be refunded. Abstract Submission: http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2018-abstract-submission Registration: https://ocns.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_243… Workshop proposals also are being accepted at: http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2018-call-for-workshops For up-to-date conference information, please visit: http://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2018 ---------------------------------------- OCNS is the international member-based society for computational neuroscientists. Become a member to be eligible for travel awards and more. Visit our website for more information: http://www.cnsorg.org.

Jan. 8, 2018