Dear Colleagues,
I’m writing as a co-director of the upcoming CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Course: The Brain Prize Course - Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience 2026,
now open for applications. This intensive course is a unique
opportunity for early-career researchers interested in this field.
Hosted at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, this three-week course focuses on bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks and experimental neuroscience.
It provides intensive training in neural coding, network dynamics, and
advanced data analysis, combining high-level lectures with hands-on
Python-based projects to model complex brain functions and interpret
large-scale neuronal datasets.
Course Directors
- Alfonso Renart - Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal
- Julijana Gjorgjieva - Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Maria Geffen - University of Pennsylvania, USA
- Omri Barak - Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
Course Themes & Topics:
- Neural Modeling & Dynamics:
Mastering the mathematical foundations of brain function, from
single-cell biophysical models like Hodgkin−Huxley to the complex
behavior of excitatory-inhibitory networks.
- Neural Coding & Data Analysis:
Learning how populations of neurons represent information using
advanced computational tools like dimensionality reduction to decode
large-scale neural datasets.
- Cognitive & Normative Theory:
Exploring high-level functions through Bayesian inference and
reinforcement learning to understand how the brain optimizes
decision-making and motor control.
Speakers include:
- Larry Abbott (Columbia University, USA)
- Haim Sompolinsky (Harvard University, USA & Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
- Susanne Schreiber (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany)
- Francesca Mastrogiuseppe (SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies, Italy )
- Il Memming Park (Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal)
- Jakob Macke (University of Tübingen, Germany )
- Wiktor Młynarski (LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany )
- Laura Busse (LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany )
- Yiota Poirazi (IMBB–FORTH, Heraklion, Greece )
- Adrienne Fairhall (University of Washington, USA)
- Agostina Palmigiano (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL, UK)
- Joe Paton (Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal)
- Dmitri Chklovskii (Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, USA)
- Brent Doiron (University of Chicago, USA)
- Gilles Laurent (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany)
- Alex Cayco Gajic (École Normale Supérieure – PSL, France )
- Rafal Bogacz (MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford, UK)
________________________________
Maria Neimark Geffen, Ph.D. (she/her)
Professor
Co-director, Penn Computational Neuroscience Initiative
Department of Otorhinolaryngology: HNS (primary)
Department of Neuroscience
Department of Neurology
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
5 Ravdin
3400 Spruce St.
Philadelphia PA 19104
Tel.: 215.898.0782