Fruit Fly Brain Hackathon
Date and time
Location
750 CEPSR, Columbia University
530 W 120th Street New York, NY 10027Description
Overview
The goal of the hackathon is to bring together researchers interested in developing executable models of the fruit fly brain. Towards that end we will engage systems and computational neuroscientists in modeling, design, implementation and biological validation of an open-source emulation platform of the whole fruit fly brain. All hackathon participants will be provided with an Amazon Machine Image of the recently developed open-source Neurokernel platform for executable fruit fly brain circuits
The hackathon is aimed at three main groups of participants: biologists, modelers and software engineers. For biologists, the hackathon focuses on the intuitive modeling and representation of biological data, such as anatomical and recordings data of the fruit fly brain, in the NeuroArch database. For modelers, the hackathon aims at creating/modifying models of neuropils that are compliant with the Neurokernel API. For software engineers, the hackathon focuses on improving the Neurokernel platform and its API, and developing new, proof-of-concept features that are needed by biologists and modelers alike. All hackathon participants will be strongly encouraged to collaborate towards the realization of executable fruit fly brain models.
The Fruit Fly Brain Hackathon is organized in conjunction with the Columbia Workshop on Brain Circuit, Memory and Computation.
Organizers
Paul Richmond, Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield
Adam Tomkins, Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield
Nikul Ukani, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University
Yiyin Zhou, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University
Detailed schedule, will be posted here
Organized by
The overall mission of Columbia University’s Center for Neural Engineering and Computation (CNEC, pronounced “scenic”) is to 1) cross-link multiple laboratories in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) that are developing new types of engineering and computing tools for studying the nervous system, 2) provide an interface and representative organization for SEAS efforts in neuro-engineering/computing to the rest of Columbia University and other institutions, and 3) provide an organized structure for developing a comprehensive academic curriculum for computational neuroscience education at both the graduate and undergraduate level.
The Center’s research focus is on the development of engineering and computation-driven neurotechnologies and their role as enablers for studying neural systems, most notably the normal and diseased brain. The Center will facilitate efforts focusing on engineering and computation-driven neurotechnology development which impact the specific research endeavors of all members of the center as well as the grand challenge questions confronted by the entire neuroscience community.