[visionlist] Postdoctoral Fellowship opportunity in Computational Neuroscience

[Kohitij Kar]

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Kohitij Kar<http://kohitij.com/> (currently at MIT<https://mcgovern.mit.edu/>; incoming Assistant Professor at Centre for Vision Research, York University (Toronto, Canada); also Canada Research Chair nominee for Visual Neuroscience), is seeking a postdoctoral fellow for collaborative projects in computational neuroscience. The candidate is expected to be co-supervised by Rick Wildes <http://vision.eecs.yorku.ca/main/> (Associate Professor, EECS, York University, York Research Chair) and extensively collaborate with Jim DiCarlo<http://dicarlolab.mit.edu/> (Professor of Neuroscience, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT; Director, MIT Quest for Intelligence) and Simon Kornblith<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1O3RPmsAAAAJ&hl=en>  (Research Scientist, Google Brain, Toronto). The primary goal of the research project(s) is to develop neurally mechanistic computational models of primate dynamic scene understanding. The expected (flexible) starting date is July 1, 2022.

Large-scale neural recordings (published and unpublished) performed by Dr. Kar (~3,000 total neural recording sites in visual areas V4, IT, and ventrolateral PFC) while non-human primates performed various visual tasks will be used as the neural basis to develop and test the computational models. Furthermore, human and macaque behavioral data collection pipelines will be available as needed. Appropriate hardware and software infrastructure will be provided to optimize the chances of scientific success. The postdoctoral fellow has the opportunity to establish future collaborations with experimentalists working both in the lab of Dr. Kar and Dr. DiCarlo. In addition, future collaboration with Dr. Wildes' lab is also possible to pursue further work in computer vision. It is also expected that collaboration with Dr. Kornblith will pave the way for opportunities in the industry.

We are looking for a candidate with a strong background in computational neuroscience, deep learning, and relevant machine learning methods, but most importantly with a deep interest in understanding (aka modeling) the inner workings of the primate brain. Strong experience with programming languages like Python, PyTorch, MATLAB and JavaScript is highly relevant to the projects.

The candidate is expected to apply successively for a VISTA Postdoctoral Fellowship at York University with our support. Please refer to this website: vista.info.yorku.ca/opportunities/postdoctoral-fellowships<http://vista.info.yorku.ca/opportunities/postdoctoral-fellowships>, for details related to salary support, benefits, etc. There will be an opportunity to renew the position after the initial two years based on performance, availability of funds, and other logistical factors. Please also consider looking into the CIHR postdoctoral fellowships<https://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/en/home-accueil.html>.

The successful candidate will be based in Dr. Kohitij Kar's laboratory at York University (Toronto, Canada), starting July 2022. Depending on the global situation, initial remote work is also possible. S/he will collaborate locally with Dr. Wildes' lab. There will also be additional opportunities to travel to work in (and remotely participate in) Dr. Jim DiCarlo's laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Centre for Vision Research at York University (www.cvr.yorku.ca<http://www.cvr.yorku.ca/>) is a dynamic and interdisciplinary research cluster with over 40 faculty members investigating biological and computer vision in departments ranging from physics and computer science to psychology and design. Dr. Kar will be a core member of the Vision: Science to Application (VISTA<https://vista.info.yorku.ca/>) program. VISTA is a world-leading institutional research program, located at York University and partially funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF); it expands and integrates York's strengths in visual neuroscience, computer vision, arts and humanities to address 21st century opportunities and challenges. Dr. Kar will be hosted in a new world-class facility for visual neuroscience research (for more info: please contact Dr. Kar at kohitij at mit.edu<mailto:kohitij at mit.edu>). Dr. Wildes Vision Lab has extensive GPU and disk servers for supporting the compute intensive requirements of contemporary algorithms for video and image processing and understanding. The McGovern Institute of Brain Research at MIT (Cambridge, MA, USA) hosts multiple world leaders in neuroscience with world-class infrastructure and resources. The collaboration with Dr. Jim DiCarlo will enable the postdoctoral trainee to benefit from parts of this infrastructure and scientific network. S/he will be an integral part of a community of global leaders in vision science. Specifically, the postdoctoral fellow is expected to contribute to an integrative benchmarking platform (brain-score.org<http://brain-score.org/>) and will be provided adequate computational resources to do so successfully.

For further information, send your CV, and feel free to get in touch with Dr. Kohitij Kar (kohitij at mit.edu<mailto:kohitij at mit.edu>) by September 17, 2021 (FYI: this will leave ~2 more weeks to prepare for the VISTA Fall 2021 fellowship application). There is a possibility to apply again next Spring (2022) — so please reach out as soon as possible to explore all possible avenues to pursue this position.

All the institutions involved value diversity, and we encourage applications from talented individuals of diverse backgrounds.

Sincerely,
Kohitij Kar

Kohitij Kar
Research Scientist
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MiT
Google Scholar<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=T7ZMcGkAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1> / Website<http://kohitij.com>
DiCarlo Lab<http://dicarlolab.mit.edu>

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