News
A look back at the Computational Neuroscience Training Program
Over its 10 years, the CNC training program funded 16 graduate students and over 30 undergraduate students, providing research experience and education for aspiring computational neuroscientists. With the NIH-funded program having completed its cycle in 2020, we look back on the impact of the training program on its students. Diving into computational neuroscience Computational neuroscience, to undergraduate Chloe Winston, had long "looked interesting [and] sounded interesting." But before applying to the CNC's training [...]
CNC welcomes new Assistant Professor Edgar Walker
New CNC faculty Edgar Walker, PhD, assumed his role as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics on January 3rd. Since completing his graduate work in the lab of Dr. Andreas Tolias at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Walker has been a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Fabian Sinz’s lab at the University of Tüebingen in Germany. Walker has been in computational neuroscience since graduate school, working on both experiments [...]
UW’s Minor in Neural Computation and Engineering Enters 4th Year
The field of computational neuroscience encompasses a huge range of research, including the many projects run by CNC faculty. From theorists modeling how the brain could interact with devices in the next generation of neuroengineering (Raj Rao) to experimentalists analyzing what exactly is going on in a monkey's brain as it navigates through a video game world (Beth Buffalo), there are endless possibilities when you combine neuroscience and computation. With faculty and affiliates [...]
CNC partners with UW ENDURE to expand access to neuroscience education
by Lila Levinson Historically, the world of neuroscience has not been easily accessible for many socioeconomic and minority groups. While representation of diverse groups in neuroscience has grown and been increasingly celebrated in recent years (see, for instance, #BlackInNeuro), demographic changes have yet to filter up the ranks of academia. While data from the last decade suggest that half of neuroscience PhD students and over half of neuroscience undergraduates are women, the average [...]
Molecular networks that guide neural networks to learn
Our thoughts and behavior are the product of vast neural networks inside us. These networks are wired with stunning and intricate complexity. But how does this wiring come about -- and how can this wiring process be mimicked in artificial brains for AI? This requires assigning the right values to thousands to trillions or more of individual connections, so that the network as a whole produces the desired behavior -- a daunting task. [...]
Applications open for Fall 2022 Shanahan Foundation Fellows
We are thrilled to announce applications are being accepted for the Fall 2022 cohort of Shanahan Foundation Fellows, a unique postdoctoral experience funded by the Shanahan Family Foundation and Allen Institute, and co-hosted by the Allen Institute and UW. The program is directed by Christof Koch, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for the MindScope Program at the Allen Institute. The brain is one of the most complex challenges in science today. And now, with advances in our methods [...]