new Brain Mind Institute at the EPFL/ETH/Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

[bnmark]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am moving my lab to the new Brain Mind Institute at the EPFL/ETH/Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in 2002
and would like to draw your attention to this new Institute and to
positions being offered.

It is a rare opportunity to start a Brain Mind Institute that is
unconstrained by tradition, in the form of a network of closely related
labs, on a foundation of futuristic technology, in a manner that can be
recurrently interconnected with labs around the world and a
vision to go beyond established concepts to explore the emergence of the
mind.

We would like to invite your participation in letting outstanding new
thinkers know about positions available at the BMI and invite
you to join programs and initiate new collaborations, as the BMI takes
shape over the next few years.

Vision of the Brain Mind Institute:
- a network of labs addressing the emergence of higher brain function
across key levels - each with a focus at a particular level, but
with extensive overlapping levels, interests and techniques. We believe
this structure is important to form a maximally catalytic
environment =96 a recurrent environment for individual groups and a
concerted team effort for the Institute.
- Multidisciplinary groups that employ a spectrum of techniques ranging
from molecular biology, protein chemistry, biophysics,
electrophysiology, imaging, psychophysics, fMRI to computational
modeling.
- Establish groups that can capitalize on the immense technological
playground that the EPFL offers to develop new techniques that
go beyond the frontiers of Neuroscience. (Sticking wires in the brain
will probably be seen as archaic technology in the near future!)
Special funding will be available for visionary and exploratory research
and development of new technologies to explore emergence
of higher brain function.
- The physical, psychological, and intellectual borders between labs
will be reduced to a minimum with an emphasis on shared
technology, equipment, approaches, students etc.
- Groups will be able to address their questions staring from their
level of expertise all the way down to the genetic level and all the
way up to fMRI level and to theories of mind.
- The BMI will also be composed of scientists in key labs throughout
Switzerland and will form a network of collaborations with the
University of Lausanne, Geneva, ETH Zurich, The Institute for
Neuroinformatics in Zurich and many labs around Europe, the USA
and Japan.
- We will offer students and postdocs a comprehensive Neuroscience
Program from genes to mind which will be integrated with the
latest experimental, technological, mathematical, physical, and
computational methods.
- An extensive visiting scientist and student exchange program will be
in place to facilitate world-wide interaction and collaboration.
- We hope to have as many revolutionary ideas participate in the
adventure as possible!

Multilevel and Recurrent Structure of the BMI:
1. Dynamics of Gene Expression:
a. Develop new approaches to understand, modulate, and repair genes in
the nervous system.
b. Isolate key genes underlying structure and function.
c. Dynamics of gene networks
d. How gene network activity is controlled by the biochemical and
electrical activity of neurons.

2. Behavioral Genetics, Models of Disease & Gene Therapy:
a. A focus on gene alterations in disease and new approaches in gene
therapy.
b. A focus on gene modulation as a function of behavioral experience.
c. Development of sensory surgical therapies to detour genetic
expression around critical stages (using virtual reality environments).

3. Protein Expression, Targeting, and Localization:
a. Spatial and temporal dynamics of protein expression, targeting, and
localization in neurons =96 axon, somata, dendrites and synapses
b. Algorithms to construct and maintain neuronal structure and function.

4. Biochemical Dynamics of Neurons:
a. Dynamics of biochemical pathways as well as cross-cellular
orchestration of biochemical networks in response to genetic and
electrical activity (multi-protein imaging & protein-protein
interactions in single and networks of neurons etc).

5. Molecular Biology and Biophysics of Ion Channels and Receptors:
a. A focus on isolating the different genetic expression patterns of ion
channels and receptors in different types of neurons and
determining their biophysical and computational functions.

6. Synaptic Integration:
a. A focus on voltage and electrical dynamics in neurons where
principles of morphology, ion channel constellations, their spatial
distributions, and synaptic input organization underlie neural
computation.

7. Neural Microcircuitry:
a. Principles of microcircuit design (gene expression, synapses, neurons
& connectivity).
b. Information processing, representation, and transformation in
microcircuits.
c. Plasticity of the microcircuitry as a function of genetic
predisposition, experience, and behavior.

8. Neural Network Dynamics, Systems:
a. Orchestrated activity in networks of neurons (mega multiunit
recordings in vivo, multi-neuron patch clamp in vivo, in vivo intrinsic
and voltage imaging etc) in the exploration of the neural code and
integration of sensory modalities.

9. Behavioral Neuroscience:
a. A focus on integrative perception (integration across sensory
modalities), attention and memory using behavioral paradigms,
psychophysical techniques, and fMRI.

10. Computational Neuroscience:
a. Explore the computational power of neural structure and function.
b. Reconstruct neural structure and function (The first comprehensive
(genes, physiology, morphology, microcircuitry) database of a
reconstruction of a several thousand neuron rodent neocortical
microcircuit will be located at the BMI).
c. Models from genes to behavior simulating the emergence of function.
d. Genetic, molecular, physiological, anatomical, and learning
algorithms to automatically synthesize realistic neural microcircuits
and
networks.
e. Hardware implementation of neural microcircuits and models.
f. Robotics.
g. Neuroinformatics.

11. Theories of Mind:
a. History and Philosophy of Neuroscience.
b. Theories of information representation, transformation, and
propagation.
c. Theories of consciousness.
d. Exploring the physical basis of Mind.
e. The Mind-Body Problem.

The BMI will develop in several phases:
In the first phase, we are considering applications for all the levels
above and around March, 2002 we will decide on the sequence
and development of the groups at the BMI based on the research proposals
received. There is an emphasis on tenure track, but
several full professor tenured positions are also being considered. Over
the next 4 years, we plan to fill up to 16 faculty positions.
Groups sizes may reach up to 30 people. Generous startup and permanent
basic annual funding is offered. Extra support for
collaborations with the Math, Computer Science, Robotics, and Virtual
Reality Institutes at the EPFL.

The criteria for evaluating research proposals and applications:
Our goal is to explore the emergence of higher brain function from
multiplex perspectives and across multiple levels.
1. Identify the key issue(s) at your particular level of expertise and
argue how this issue may be pivotal in opening a new door to
understanding higher brain function. The BMI will further invite those
strong proposals that are exciting, revolutionary, and even high
risk. The BMI is not aiming to compete with traditional research around
the world.
2. Describe how addressing the isolated issue(s) requires a multilevel
approach and interdisciplinary collaborations.
3. Describe how the proposed research could capitalize on the EPFL=92s
strength in engineering, mathematics, computer sciences, and physics to
create new technologies and approaches to exploring the emergence of
higher brain function.

Please send this email to anyone you think may be interested in
applying:

Please send Proposals and Applications to:
School of Life Sciences
AA-B 1.07
CH-1015 Lausanne
E-mail: life.sciences at epfl.ch
Tel: ++41 21 693 53 61
FAX: ++41 21 693 53 69
Indicate 3-7 potential referees that may provide letters of
recommendation.

My lab in the BMI will focus on neocortical microcircuitry and will be
composed of 4 related parts:
A: Genetic and molecular basis of the structure and function of the
microcircuit;
B: Synaptic, cellular and network physiology of the microcircuit;
C: Synaptic, cellular and microcircuit anatomy;
D: Computation in microcircuits (reconstructing microcircuits; theory,
simulations, virtual reality microcircuits, hardware implementations).
Techniques and approaches used to address these questions will span all
the levels indicated above.
Please let any bright stars entering the PhD or postdoctoral levels know
that several positions are open.
(send email to, henry.Markram at weizmann.ac.il.)

Thanks & all the best,

Yours,
Henry

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