-------- Forwarded Message --------
Ciao Riccardo,
Sto aprendo una posizione di dottorato nel mio lab con scadenza
piuttosto ravvicinata (29 luglio!). Ti sarei grata se potessi
pubblicizzare la cosa e far girare la notizia tra gli studenti
che pensi possano essere interessati. Qui sotto qualche
dettaglio in piu` sulla call.
Grazie mille!
Eleonora
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One Ph.D. position is available within the National Ph.D.
Program in ‘Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience’. The Ph.D.
will be held in the
Brain Dynamics Lab at the Biorobotics Institute of
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa (Italy) in
collaboration with the
Kelsch Group at the University Medical Center, Johannes
Gutenberg University, Mainz (Germany).
Information about the call can be found
here.
The deadline for applying to the position is at 13:00 on 29
July 2024.
The project description can be found
here under ‘Code 4.2’.
Project title: Functional modeling of brain dynamics:
understanding reinforcement learning through the lens of
dynamical systems.
Key words: neural coding, neuronal manifolds, modelling,
dynamical system reconstruction, RNN, statistical mechanics,
machine learning, reinforcement learning, dopamine.
Host Institution: Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies,
BioRobotics Institute
Research topic description
Understanding the dynamical systems governing neuronal activity
is crucial for unraveling how the brain performs cognitive
functions. Historically, various forms of recurrent neural
networks (RNNs) have been proposed as simplified models of the
cortex. Recently, due to remarkable advancements in machine
learning, RNNs' ability to capture temporal dependencies has
been used to develop tools for approximating unknown dynamical
systems by training them on observed time-series data. This
approach allows us to use time series of electrophysiological
multi-single unit recordings as well as whole brain ultra-high
field functional imaging (fMRI) to parametrize neuronal
population dynamics and build functional models of cognitive
functions. The objective of this research project is to
investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying the reinforcement
and depreciation of perceived stimuli in the extended network of
the mouse forebrain regions.
Research team and environment
The PhD student will carry out his/her/their studies primarily
at the BioRobotics Institute of Sant'Anna School of Advanced
Studies. The project will expose the student to a highly
international and interdisciplinary context, in tight
collaboration with theoretical and experimental neuroscientists
in Italy and abroad. At the BioRobotics Institute, the research
groups involved will be the Brain Dynamics Lab, the
Computational Neuroengineering Lab, and the Bioelectronics and
Bioengineering Area. Moreover, the project will be carried out
in tight collaboration with the experimental group of Prof.
Wolfgang Kelsch, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.
During the PhD, the student will have the opportunity to spend a
period abroad.
Preferred Research Skills and Competences
The ideal candidate has a strong interest in neuroscience and a
background in physics/math/biomedical engineering with
computational and programming skills (ideally, knowledge of
Matlab and/or Python). The ideal candidate carries out
his/her/their work in a diligent, independent, and highly
collaborative manner. The project will not require any
experimental work.
Best wishes,
Eleonora Russo
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Eleonora Russo, Ph.D.
PI
of the Brain Dynamics Laboratory
Assistant Professor at
Sant’Anna School of Advanced
Studies,
The BioRobotics Institute,
P.za Martiri della Liberta', 33
56127 Pisa, Italy