OPPORTUNITIES
Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) Pilot Investigator Award
Summary/Description
Since its inception, the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) has focused on the measurement, analysis and modeling of neural coding and dynamics during behavior, with an emphasis on extending our understanding of the arc from sensory perception to action, including the presence and cognitive role of internal brain states. Our current projects have largely involved the detailed study of a single, or relatively few, brain regions. With the advent of new technologies for large scale recording and perturbation from multiple brain regions simultaneously, new opportunities have arisen for an attack on the problem of how neural coding and dynamics in these regions work together in distributed networks to produce cognition. This expanding experimental frontier parallels a similar evolution in neural theory and analysis methods focused on larger scale distributed computation, as well as exciting developments in the machine learning and AI community on integrated and distributed learning and memory networks to solve real-world problems. Finally, new connectomics datasets now provide a rich set of constraints for multi-region models and simulations. To expand our representation in these new areas, the SCGB now invites letters of intent for two-year pilot projects that investigate the general principles of global activity across multiple brain regions and its relationship to cognition. We encourage applications using advanced methods for studying the brain at high spatio-temporal resolution in diverse organisms from invertebrates to humans. This award is not intended to fund technology development. Collaborative projects of multiple investigators are highly encouraged, though we will also consider single-investigator projects. For questions about the scientific scope of the award, please contact Alyssa Picchini Schaffer (globalbrain@simonsfoundation.org).
Eligibility
- Early Career
- Established Investigator
- International