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Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Background:• RUU and UvA (Theoretical Physics Msc and PhD)
• Univ. Pennsylvania and Brandeis (Computational Neuroscience)
Mark van Rossum, Informatics
Research interests:• plasticity and homoeostasis models• computation in networks• sensory coding and retinal processing
See poster
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Edinburgh University
Computational NeuroScience meeting
Summer 2006
•UK’s largest Informatics department (80 staff) Tradition: AI, Linguistics, and Neural nets
•Strong Neuroscience department
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
What is a Doctoral Training Centre?
• Students with quantitative background (CS, maths, physics) do PhD at the interface with the Life sciences
• 7 Doctoral Training Centres in the UK, (EPSRC/MRC funded)
• DTCs: Imaging, membrane biology, medical devices...
• Edinburgh: The only Neuroinformatics Centre
• 10 students/year/DTC (only UK students fully funded)
• Monitored by International External Board
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
International Context
• USA: Sloan-Swartz program
• USA: Human brain project
• USA: Obligatory data-sharing
• Germany: Comput. neuroscience initiative (“Das Denken verstehen”)
• UK: Novel Computation and Cognitive Systems initiative
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Areas of Neuroinformatics
Edinburgh's neuroinformaticsSoftware Systems, Computational Modelling, Neural Engineering
Software systems to help understand the brain
• Data amount is enormous and heterogeneous
• Concerns about animal expts. require data sharing
• Need tools to organize and share
• Need user-friendly tools to simulate
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Areas of Neuroinformatics
Edinburgh's neuroinformaticsSoftware Systems, Computational Modelling, Neural Engineering
Understanding the brain in computational terms• Models of Parkinson's disease• Development of the nervous system • Plasticity and learning• Cognitive processes and language• Applications: basic research, software, machine learning
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Areas of Neuroinformatics
Edinburgh's neuroinformaticsSoftware Systems, Computational Modelling, Neural Engineering
Devices linking neuroscience and engineering• Neuro-robotics• Traditional semi-conductors will reach capacity• Use brain-like engineering • Better interfaces between hardware and biological tissue: for experiments (silicon patch-clamp) and neuro-prosthesis
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Doctoral Training Centre: 1+3
• Provide neuroscience and neuroinformatics training so that students can apply their skills to neuroinformatics
• A view of many areas to ease choice of PhD project
• Prepares students for research practice
1 year training + 3 year PhD
1st year:
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
First Year Taught Training
1-3
4-6
Month
7-12
Neuroscience (existing Masters course)Each week different subject:Molecular, cellular, clinical, expt. methods, imaging, cognitiveRemedial teaching
Informatics courses (existing MSc courses)Neural networks, neural computation, databases, VLSISpecial interest courses
Summer projects in experimental labs1 x 20 weeks, or 2x 10 weeksPrepare for PhD choice, get hands-on experience
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Years 2-4: PhD Projects
Current PhD Projects:● Prior knowledge for inference ● Neurorobotics● Head direction cells and place cells in rats ● Modelling and ERP imaging of episodic memory ● Networks for hormone release● Attentional vision model for video● Diffusion tensor MRI● LTP and stability ● Protein networks
PhD Projects:● After 1st year students identify PhD project● Two supervisors (typically, Informatics + Biology)
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Keys to success
• Teaching shared with existing courses need few resources
• Specialized weeks for teaching the teaching is fun
• Supervisors compete for studentsstaff is involved
• Joint PhD supervision interdisciplinary research
• The program is large collaboration is necessity
Mark van Rossum www.anc.ed.ac.uk/neuroinformatics
Situation in the Netherlands
Good conditions:• Excellent computer science, physics, maths, and engineering• Excellent neuroscience• Good computation infrastructure
Keys to success:• Cross-department goodwill• Excite the students• Face international competition
