Connectionists: UCSD Computational Neurobiology Graduate Training

[Terry Sejnowski]

                    DEADLINE: DECEMBER 15, 2005

            COMPUTATIONAL NEUROBIOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAM
      Department of Biology - University of California, San Diego
           http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/grad/CN_overview.html

The goal of the Computational Neurobiology Graduate Program at UCSD
is to train researchers who are equally at home measuring large-scale brain
activity, analyzing the data with advanced computational techniques, and
developing new models for brain development and function.  

Candidates from a wide range of backgrounds are invited to apply,
including Biology, Psychology, Computer Science, Physics and
Mathematics. The three major themes in the training program are:

1. Neurobiology of Neural Systems: Anatomy, physiology and behavior
of systems of neurons.  Using modern neuroanatomical, behavioral,
neuropharmacological and electrophysiological techniques.  Lectures, wet
laboratories and computer simulations, as well as research rotations. Major
new imaging and recording techniques also will be taught, including
two-photon laser scanning microscopy and functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI).

2. Algorithms and Realizations for the Analysis of Neuronal Data:
New algorithms and techniques for analyzing data obtained from physiological
recording, with an emphasis on recordings from large populations of
neurons with imaging and multielectrode recording techniques.  New
methods for the study of co-ordinated activity, such as multi-taper spectral
analysis and Independent Component Analysis (ICA).

3. Neuroinformatics, Dynamics and Control of Systems of Neurons:
Theoretical aspects of single cell function and emergent properties as
many neurons interact among themselves and react to sensory inputs. A
synthesis of approaches from mathematics and physical sciences as well as
biology will be used to explore the collective properties and nonlinear
dynamics of neuronal systems, as well as issues of sensory coding and
motor control.

Participating Faculty include:

* Henry Abarbanel (Physics): Nonlinear and oscillatory dynamics;
 modeling central pattern generators in the lobster stomatogastric
 ganglion.  Director, Institute for Nonlinear Systems at UCSD
* Thomas Albright (Salk Institute): Motion processing in primate visual
 cortex; linking single neurons to perception; fMRI in awake, behaving
 monkeys.  Director, Sloan Center for Theoretical Neurobiology
* Darwin Berg (Neurobiology): Regulation synaptic components, assembly
 and localization, function and long-term stability.
* Geoffrey Boynton (Salk Institute): Visual psychophysics; fMRI recordings
 from visual cortex.
* Gert Cauwenberghs (Biology):  Neuromorphic Engineering; analog VLSI
 chips; wireless recording and nanoscale instrumentation for neural
 systems; large-scale cortical modeling.
* EJ Chichilnisky (Salk Institute):  Retinal multielectrode recording;
 neural coding, visual perception.
* Garrison Cottrell (Computer Science and Engineering): Dynamical
 neural network models and learning algorithms
* Virginia De Sa (Cognitive Science): Computational basis of perception
 and learning (both human and machine); multi-sensory integration and
 contextual influences
* Mark Ellisman (Neurosciences, School of Medicine): High resolution
 electron and light microscopy; anatomical reconstructions. Director,
 National Center for  Microscopy and Imaging Research
* Dan Feldman (Biology): Cortical plasticity; spike-teime dependent
 synaptic plasticity; sensory coding inthe whisker system.
* Marla Feller (Neurobiology):  Mechanisms and function of spontaneous
 activity in the developing nervous system including the retina, spinal
 cord, hippocampus and neocortex.
* Robert Hecht-Nielsen (Electrical and Computer Engineering): Neural
 computation and the functional organization of the cerebral cortex.
 Founder of Hecht-Nielsen Corporation
* Harvey Karten (Neurosciences, School of Medicine): Anatomical,
 physiological and computational studies of the retina and optic tectum
 of birds and squirrels
* David Kleinfeld (Physics): Active sensation in rats; properties of
 neuronal assemblies; optical imaging of large-scale activity.
* William Kristan (Neurobiology):  Computational Neuroethology; functional
 and developmental studies of the leech nervous system, including
 studies of the bending reflex and locomotion.  Director, Neurosciences
 Graduate Program at UCSD
* Herbert Levine (Physics): Nonlinear dynamics and pattern formation
 in physical and biological systems, including cardiac dynamics and the
 growth and form of bacterial colonies
* Scott Makeig (Institute for Neural Computation): Analysis of cognitive
 event-related brain dynamics and fMRI using time-frequency and Independent
 Component Analysis
* Javier Movellan (Institute for Neural Computation): Sensory fusion
 and learning algorithms for continuous stochastic systems
* Mikhael Rabinovich (Institute for Nonlinear Science): Dynamical
 systems analysis of the stomatogastric ganglion of the lobster and the
 antenna lobe of insects
* Pamela Reinagel (Biology):  Sensory and neural coding; natural scene
 statistics; recordings from the visual system of cats and rodents.
* Massimo Scanziani (Biology):  Neural circuits in the somotosensory
 cortex; physiology of synaptic transmission; inhibitory mechanisms.
* Terrence Sejnowski (Salk Institute/Neurobiology): Computational
 neurobiology; physiological studies of neuronal reliability and
 synaptic mechanisms. Director, Institute for Neural Computation
* Martin Sereno (Cognitive Science): Neural bases of visual cognition
 and language using anatomical, electrophysiological, computational,
 and non-invasive brain imaging techniques
* Nicholas Spitzer (Neurobiology):  Regulation of ionic channels and
 neurotransmitters in neurons; effects of electrical activity in
 developing neurons on neural function. Chair of Neurobiology
* Charles Stevens (Salk Institute): Synaptic physiology; theoretical
 models of neuroanatomical scaling.
* Roger Tsien (Chemistry):  Second messenger systems in neurons;
 development of new optical and MRI probes of neuron function,
 including calcium indicators and caged neurotransmitters
* Mark Whitehead (Neurosurgery, School of Medicine): Peripheral and
 central taste systems; anatomical and functional studies of regions in
 the caudal brainstem important for feeding behavior
* Ruth Williams (Mathematics): Probabilistic analysis of stochastic
 systems and continuous learning algorithms

Requests for application materials should be sent to the University of California, 
San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences 0348, Graduate Admissions Office,
9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0348 or to [gradprog at biomail.ucsd.edu].

The deadline for completed application materials, including letters of
recommendation, is December 15, 2005.

For more information about applying to the UCSD Biology Graduate Program.
A preapplication is not required for the Computational Neurobiology Program.
http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/grad/admissions/index.html