The Swartz Program for Theoretical Neuroscience at Yale University invites applications for up to two postdoctoral positions in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, with flexible start date in 2022. Competitive candidates include those with a strong quantitative background who wish to gain neuroscience research experience. We especially encourage candidates with an interest in collaborating directly with experimental neuroscientists. The candidates will be expected to perform theoretical/computational studies relevant to one or more laboratories of the Swartz Program at Yale and will be encouraged to participate in an expanding quantitative biology environment at Yale. More details here: https://neurojobs.sfn.org/job/31363/postdoctoral-swartz-fellowship-positions-in-theoretical-and-computational-neuroscience-at-yale/

Applications are invited for the Natalie Kate Moss (NKM) Research Fellowship in Brain Haemorrhage, aimed at an outstanding scientist at an early stage in their academic career (i.e. within seven years of PhD submission). The NKM Fellow should show a high level of drive and ambition in their ideas relating to the study of brain haemorrhage. Working within the newly established Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre (www.ncaresearch.org.uk/gjbrainresearch/) the NKM Fellow will benefit from a vibrant and inspiring environment to pursue outstanding research. The NKM Fellow will be mentored and given all appropriate assistance in winning external funding and awards. The NKM Fellow will receive full-time salary for 3.5 years, £100k research support costs, immediate co-supervision of a PhD student (dependent on experience) and access to key technology platforms. The post is available from 1st February 2022. https://www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/displayjob.aspx?isPreview=Yes&jobid=21061

Postdoc Fellowship in 'Joint Physics-informed and Data-driven Complex Dynamical System Solvers' is available in the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo. The fellowship will be for 36 months.

The SAIL fellowship program is looking for postdocs and advanced researchers who want to continue and expand their research in line with the SAIL research agenda at Universität Bielefeld or Universität Paderborn for a short fellowship (up to 3 months). The program is aimed at enriching the research carried out in SAIL, supporting research ties with relevant communities, and establishing long-term collaboration with institutes across the globe. The fellowships are intended to strengthen the innovation potential of researchers with expertise in the field of AI through further training and interdisciplinary collaboration within the research network.

The ReproPsy & e-ReproNim Fellowship Programmes are opportunities for early career researchers (ECRs) from EU and UK institutions to join a community dedicated to advancing open and robust data practices in Psychological and Neuroscientific research. Fellows will receive financial support to fund training to enhance skills in software and data management, participate in online events, contribute to projects such as scoping and designing training needs, writing training material, and more.

The Gatsby Unit is seeking applications for a postdoctoral training fellowship under Dr Agostina Palmigiano, focused on developing theoretical approaches to investigate the mechanisms underlying sensory, motor, or cognitive computations. Responsibilities include the primary execution of the project, opportunities for co-supervision of students, presentation of results at conferences and seminars, and publication in suitable media. The post is initially funded for 2 years with the possibility of a one-year extension.

The evolution of vision revolutionised animal biology, and eyes have evolved in a stunning array of diverse forms over the past half a billion years. Among these are curious duplicated visual systems, where eyes can be spread across the body and specialised for different tasks. Although it sounds radical, duplicated vision is found in most major groups across the animal kingdom, but remains poorly understood. We will explore how and why animals collect information about their environment in this unusual way, looking at examples from tropical forests to the sea floor, and from ancient arthropods to living jellyfish. Have we been short-changed with just two eyes? Dr Lauren Sumner-Rooney is a Research Fellow at the OUMNH studying the function and evolution of animal visual systems. Lauren completed her undergraduate degree at Oxford in 2012, and her PhD at Queen’s University Belfast in 2015. She worked as a research technician and science communicator at the Royal Veterinary College (2015-2016) and held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (2016-2017) before arriving at the Museum in 2017.

The human brain network architecture can reveal crucial aspects of brain function and dysfunction. The topology of this network (known as the connectome) is shaped by a trade-off between wiring cost and network efficiency, and it has highly connected hub regions playing a prominent role in many brain disorders. By studying a landscape of plausible brain networks that preserve the wiring cost, fragile and resilient hubs can be identified. In this webinar, Dr Leonardo Gollo and Dr James Pang from Monash University will discuss this approach across the lifespan and some of its implications for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Leonardo Gollo is a Senior Research Fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University. He holds an ARC Future Fellowship and his research interests include brain modelling, systems neuroscience, and connectomics. Dr James Pang is a Research Fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University. His research interests are on combining neuroimaging and biophysical modelling to better understand the mechanisms of brain function in health and disease.

Human vision relies on rapid eye movements (saccades) 2-3 times every second to bring peripheral targets to central foveal vision for high resolution inspection. This rapid sampling of the world defines the perception-action cycle of natural vision and profoundly impacts our perception. Marmosets have similar visual processing and eye movements as humans, including a fovea that supports high-acuity central vision. Here, I present a novel approach developed in my laboratory for investigating the neural mechanisms of visual processing using naturalistic free viewing and simple target foraging paradigms. First, we establish that it is possible to map receptive fields in the marmoset with high precision in visual areas V1 and MT without constraints on fixation of the eyes. Instead, we use an off-line correction for eye position during foraging combined with high resolution eye tracking. This approach allows us to simultaneously map receptive fields, even at the precision of foveal V1 neurons, while also assessing the impact of eye movements on the visual information encoded. We find that the visual information encoded by neurons varies dramatically across the saccade to fixation cycle, with most information localized to brief post-saccadic transients. In a second study we examined if target selection prior to saccades can predictively influence how foveal visual information is subsequently processed in post-saccadic transients. Because every saccade brings a target to the fovea for detailed inspection, we hypothesized that predictive mechanisms might prime foveal populations to process the target. Using neural decoding from laminar arrays placed in foveal regions of area MT, we find that the direction of motion for a fixated target can be predictively read out from foveal activity even before its post-saccadic arrival. These findings highlight the dynamic and predictive nature of visual processing during eye movements and the utility of the marmoset as a model of active vision. Funding sources: NIH EY030998 to JM, Life Sciences Fellowship to JY

In this webinar, Dr Ye Tian and A/Prof Andrew Zalesky will present new research on mapping the functional architecture of the human subcortex. They used 3T and 7T functional MRI from more than 1000 people to map one of the most detailed functional atlases of the human subcortex to date. Comprising four hierarchical scales, the new atlas reveals the complex topographic organisation of the subcortex, which dynamically adapts to changing cognitive demands. The atlas enables whole-brain mapping of connectomes and has been used to optimise targeting of deep brain stimulation. This joint work with Professors Michael Breakspear and Daniel Margulies was recently published in Nature Neuroscience. In the second part of the webinar, Dr Ye Tian will present her current research on the biological ageing of different body systems, including the human brain, in health and degenerative conditions. Conducted in more than 30,000 individuals, this research reveals associations between the biological ageing of different body systems. She will show the impact of lifestyle factors on ageing and how advanced ageing can predict the risk of mortality. Associate Professor Andrew Zalesky is a Principal Researcher with a joint appointment between the Faculties of Engineering and Medicine at The University of Melbourne. He currently holds a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship and serves as Associate Editor for Brain Topography, Neuroimage Clinical and Network Neuroscience. Dr Zalesky is recognised for the novel tools that he has developed to analyse brain networks and their application to the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr Ye Tian is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. She received her PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2020, during which she established the Melbourne Subcortex Atlas. Dr Tian is interested in understanding brain organisation and using brain imaging techniques to unveil neuropathology underpinning neuropsychiatric disorders.