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Dear Colleagues,</div>
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The deadline for the Cajal course in Computational Neuroscience has been extended to March 9! We look forward to seeing you in sunny Lisbon this summer! Please apply.</div>
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-Maria</div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Geffen, Maria<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, January 30, 2026 10:16 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> visionlist@visionscience.com <visionlist@visionscience.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Accepting applications: The Brain Prize Course - Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience 2026</font>
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<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont; font-size:12pt; color:black">Dear Colleagues,</span></p>
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<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont; font-size:12pt; color:black">I’m writing as a co-director of the upcoming
<b>CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training Course: The Brain Prize Course - Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience 2026</b>, now open for applications. This intensive course is a unique opportunity for early-career researchers interested in this field.</span></p>
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Hosted at the <b>Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown</b>, this three-week course focuses on
<b>bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks and experimental neuroscience</b>. It provides intensive training in neural coding, network dynamics, and advanced data analysis, combining high-level lectures with hands-on Python-based projects to model complex
brain functions and interpret large-scale neuronal datasets.</div>
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<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif,serif,EmojiFont; font-size:12pt; color:black">📍
<b>Location:</b> Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal<br>
📅 <b>Dates:</b> 13 - 31 July 2026<br>
⏳ <b>Application Deadline:</b> 27 February 2026<br>
🔗 <b>Apply now:</b> </span><span style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="https://form.jotform.com/Cajal_training/computational-neuro2026" class="x_OWAAutoLink" id="OWA43045c65-ad04-6bd5-d796-3525b44fccee" target="_blank" href="https://form.jotform.com/Cajal_training/computational-neuro2026" style="margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px">https://form.jotform.com/Cajal_training/computational-neuro2026</a></span></p>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Course Directors</b></span></div>
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<b>Alfonso Renart</b> - Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
<b>Julijana Gjorgjieva</b> - Technical University of Munich, Germany</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
<b>Maria Geffen</b> - University of Pennsylvania, USA</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
<b>Omri Barak</b> - Technion, Israel Institute of Technology</li></ul>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Course Themes & Topics:</b></span></div>
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<b>Neural Modeling & Dynamics</b>: Mastering the mathematical foundations of brain function, from single-cell biophysical models like Hodgkin−Huxley to the complex behavior of excitatory-inhibitory networks.</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
<b>Neural Coding & Data Analysis</b>: Learning how populations of neurons represent information using advanced computational tools like dimensionality reduction to decode large-scale neural datasets.</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
<b>Cognitive & Normative Theory</b>: Exploring high-level functions through Bayesian inference and reinforcement learning to understand how the brain optimizes decision-making and motor control.</li></ul>
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<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Speakers include:</b></span></div>
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Larry Abbott (Columbia University, USA)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Haim Sompolinsky (Harvard University, USA & Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Susanne Schreiber (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Francesca Mastrogiuseppe (SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies, Italy )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Il Memming Park (Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Jakob Macke (University of Tübingen, Germany )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Wiktor Młynarski (LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Laura Busse (LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Yiota Poirazi (IMBB–FORTH, Heraklion, Greece )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Adrienne Fairhall (University of Washington, USA)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Agostina Palmigiano (Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL, UK)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Joe Paton (Champalimaud Foundation, Portugal)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Dmitri Chklovskii (Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, USA)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Brent Doiron (University of Chicago, USA)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Gilles Laurent (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany)</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Alex Cayco Gajic (École Normale Supérieure – PSL, France )</li><li style="font-family:Aptos,"Aptos_EmbeddedFont","Aptos_MSFontService",Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; color:rgb(0,0,0); direction:ltr">
Rafal Bogacz (MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford, UK)</li></ul>
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________________________________</div>
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Maria Neimark Geffen, Ph.D. (she/her)<br>
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Professor</div>
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Co-director, Penn Computational Neuroscience Initiative<br>
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Department of Otorhinolaryngology: HNS (primary)<br>
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Department of Neuroscience<br>
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Department of Neurology<br>
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Perelman School of Medicine<br>
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University of Pennsylvania<br>
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5 Ravdin<br>
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3400 Spruce St.<br>
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Philadelphia PA 19104<br>
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Tel.: 215.898.0782 <br>
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<a title="https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/my/mgeffen?pwd=eWVFbUJFUGRJZ3g1eU9YZEZic2VwZz09" class="x_OWAAutoLink" id="OWA9e817d29-53f6-d3e3-dfe4-87a82c1c5fe0" href="https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/my/mgeffen?pwd=eWVFbUJFUGRJZ3g1eU9YZEZic2VwZz09">My zoom</a></div>
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<a class="x_OWAAutoLink" id="OWA4e23a243-b953-0396-ce89-20d7e8a3d346" href="mailto:mgeffen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu">mgeffen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu</a><br>
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<a title="http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing" class="x_OWAAutoLink" id="OWAc69ae448-6ae5-24b0-abc7-104f590bd5da" href="http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing">http://hosting.med.upenn.edu/hearing</a><br>
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<span style="color:blue"><a class="x_OWAAutoLink" id="OWA2309de5d-3a93-93dd-7838-f87917865c8c" href="https://bsky.app/profile/geffenlab.bsky.social" style="color:blue">https://bsky.app/profile/geffenlab.bsky.social</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br>
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