2009
Summer Program in Computational Neuroscience
at
The
University of Pennsylvania
in collaboration
with
Drexel
University, Temple University, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr
College, Swarthmore College, and Lincoln University
June
1 – August 14, 2009
Program Description:
An initial short course will introduce students to the basic methods of using computational techniques to model and analyze neuronal activity. After the course, students will carry out research rotations in U. Penn laboratories, under the supervision of the faculty. Lectures, chalk talks, and social events will continue throughout the summer.
All undergraduates with an interest in computational neuroscience are encouraged to apply. Applicants are encouraged from a variety of backgrounds: biology or psychology students seeking an introduction to more quantitative approaches, or students from engineering, physics, and related fields who seek exposure to neuroscience. The goal of the program is to foster training that integrates experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding neural function.
Housing is available, if needed, on the Penn campus. A $5,000 stipend will be provided to all participants for living expenses.
For further
information on Neuroscience at The University of Pennsylvania: see http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/penncnc/
For general
information about The University of Pennylvania and the Philadelphia
area: see http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/visiting/
supported by NIH Training Grant in Computational Neuroscience T90 DA 22763-01 which is part of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
Faculty Mentors
·
Ted Abel, Associate
Professor, Biology
Genetic approaches to study the molecular
basis of
synaptic plasticity, memory storage and sleep/wake regulation. Applications to
schizophrenia, autism, and other disorders.
Ted is Director of the BBB undergraduate
program. Ted is currently collaborating with Kim Blackwell (George
Mason
University), a distinguished alumna of Penn, to model
signal
transduction pathways in neurons on a grant from the Human
Frontiers
Science Program.
·
Geoff Aguirre, Assistant
Professor, Neurology
The neural basis of normative and recovered high-level visual function.
·
Vijay
Balasubramanian, Associate Professor, Physics
Theoretical
studies of neural information processing, statistical models. Specific focus on retinal
circuitry.
·
Gordon Baltuch,
Associate Professor, Neurosurgery
Clinical neurosurgeon,
director of
deep brain stimulation program at Penn. Collaborations
with physiologists and modelers in mechanisms of deep brain
stimulation, and
human electrophysiological recording studies.
Worked in computational
neuroscience as an undergraduate.
·
David Brainard,
Professor & Chair, Psychology
Visual psychophysics, computation, and
machine learning. Interest in Bayesian models
and color vision.
·
Gershon Buchsbaum,
Professor, Bioengineering
Visual signal processing and image coding,
models of retina and
visual system. Undergrad Chair,
Bioengineering.
·
Diego
Contreras, Associate Professor, Neuroscience
Expertise in
intracellular in vivo,
extracellular, and optical recording. Work in barrel cortex, visual cortex,
hippocampus
and basal ganglia. Known
for fundamental work on cortico-thalamic
oscillation
mechanisms. Has
interacted with many leading modelers.
·
Ed Cooper,
Assistant Professor, Neurology
Studies of the axon
initial segment
and role of K channels in neurological disease. Collaboration with modelers on seizure mechanisms in
hippocampus.
·
Douglas Coulter,
Associate Professor, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Hippocampal physiology, in vitro
slice
electrophysiology and optical recording.
Epilepsy, neuronal excitability, CNS rhythm generation, GABA
receptors,
development of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels, synaptic
function
·
Nabil Farhat,
Professor, Electrical Engineering (also)
Nonlinear dynamical systems, chaos,
biomorphic and optical neural
networks.
·
Alan Gelperin,
Professor, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Olfactory physiology
and modeling. Alan recently
moved to Penn from Princeton, where he was the Director of the
Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience.
He is the Founding Director of the Neural Systems and Behavior
course at
the Wood’s Hole MBL, and he has been a long-time member of the course
faculty
in the MBL course, Methods in Computational Neuroscience.
·
Josh Gold,
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
Mechanisms of decision
making in
cortex.
Awake behaving
monkey recording paradigms. Interested in
linking physiology to information-theoretic and
probabilistic
models of cortical activity.
·
Ruben Gur,
Professor, Psychiatry, Neurology, & Radiology
Functional imaging of schizophrenia, neuropsychology, integration of neurobehavioral data with neuroanatomic and neurophysiologic data on
regional brain
function in healthy, neurologic and
psychiatric
populations
·
Phil Haydon,
Professor, Neuroscience
Regulation
of synaptic
transmission. Fluorescence
microscopy, confocal
microscopy, near-field microscopy, electrophysiology, patch clamp
recording,
calcium imaging, photolytic uncaging, cell
and tissue
culture, cell and molecular biology. Director
of NIMH
Conte Center on synaptic imaging.
·
Mike Kahana, Professor,
Psychology
Computational and
mathematical
modeling of human memory. Analysis of human electrophysiological
recordings in patients with implanted intracranial electrodes
·
Daniel Lee, Associate
Professor, Electrical Engineering
Computational
neuroscience, machine learning, robotics, nonlinear dimensionality
reduction
algorithms
·
Brian Litt, Assoc.
Professor, Neurology & Bioengineering
Mechanisms of seizure
generation,
human electrophysiological signal analysis, hippocampal
modeling, seizure detection algorithms, implantable devices for seizure
detection and termination, director of the intracranial monitoring unit
and
clinical epileptologist.
Javier Medina, Asst.
Professor, Psychology.
We study neural processing in normal mice and in genetically-engineered
mouse models of motor dysfunction using a multi-disciplinary approach
that combines tools from psychology, in vivo neurophysiology and
computational neuroscience
·
Karen Anne Moxon,
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering & Neurobiology (Drexel
University)
Karen is located 2
blocks
away at Drexel. Extracellular
recordings in rodent barrel cortex, in conjunction with modeling, and is also involved in Parkinson’s related DBS
research. There is a very strong
engineering
undergraduate population at Drexel, and she will be our conduit to
these
students.
·
Mike Nusbaum,
Professor, Neuroscience
Stomatogastric ganglion. Neural
network modulation; motor pattern selection from multifunctional
networks;
local, presynaptic influences; neuropeptide
function, cotransmission, sensory
influence on
central neuronal networks.
Chair, Neuroscience
Graduate Group.
·
Larry Palmer,
Professor, Neuroscience
Striate and
extrastriate visual
cortical physiology. Single and multiple spike
train analysis,
crosscorrelation techniques, intracellular
recording
in vivo.
·
Marc Schmidt,
Associate Professor, Biology
Birdsong. Encoding
of complex
motor behaviors; auditory/motor integration; neural basis of vocal
learning
·
Rob Smith,
Research Associate Professor, Neuroscience
Computational
modeling and electrophysiological recording of retina
·
Alan Stocker, Assistant
Professor, Psychology
Understanding visual information processing by the noisy brain, linking
theory to perceptual behavior and physiological data.
Machine learning, data mining, market-based methods, computational
biology.
Faculty at Allied
Universities
·
Peter Brodfuehrer
(Chair, Biology, Bryn Mawr College)
·
John Chikwem
(Dean of Natural Science, Lincoln University)
·
Mark Matlin (Physics,
Bryn Mawr College)
·
Karen Moxon
(Neuroscience, Drexel University)
·
Thomas Shipley
(Psychology, Temple University)
·
Kathy Siwicki
(Chair, Biology, Swarthmore College)