Post-Doctoral Research Visit F/M Detecting and modeling higher-order interactions in the brain

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Type de contrat : CDD

Niveau de diplôme exigé : Thèse ou équivalent

Fonction : Post-Doctorant

Contexte et atouts du poste

Every year Inria International Relations Department has a few postdoctoral positions in order to support Inria international collaborations. The postdoctoral contract will have a duration of 12 to 24 months. The default start date is November 1st, 2024 and not later than January, 1st 2025.

The postdoctoral fellow will be recruited by one of the Inria Centres in France but it is recommended that the time is shared between France and the partner’s country (please note that the postdoctoral fellow has to start his/her contract being in France and that the visits have to respect Inria rules for missions)

Candidates for postdoctoral positions are recruited after the end of their Ph.D. or after a first post-doctoral period: for the candidates who obtained their PhD in the Northern hemisphere, the date of the Ph.D. defense shall be later than September 1, 2022; in the Southern hemisphere, later than April 1, 2022.

In order to encourage mobility, the postdoctoral position must take place in a scientific environment that is truly different from the one of the Ph.D. (and, if applicable, from the position held since the Ph.D.); particular attention is thus paid to French or international candidates who obtained their doctorate abroad.

Mission confiée

Project goal

Networks and graphs have been very successful in describing interactions in complex systems. However, being based on nodes and on connection between node pairs, they are not suited to capture interactions in groups of more than two elements.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in using higher-order structures, such as simplicial complexes and hyper-graphs, as explicit mathematical descriptions of group interactions [1]. While there is mounting evidence that considering high-order interactions in neural systems can improve predictions at mesoscopic scales, the connection between higher-order effects and the underlying neural mechanisms is still poorly understood.

The goal of this project is to bridge this gap by developing a mathematical framework to construct higher-order networks from node dynamics, model the resulting group interactions, and experimentally validate it on neuronal recordings collected at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The expected results would constitute a completely novel and original contribution both in network science and neuroscience, with broad implications ranging from biologically-inspired artificial intelligence to clinical applications.

[1] Battiston F. et al. Networks beyond pairwise interactions: Structure and dynamics. (2020) Phys Rep, 974, 1-92

Principales activités

Work description

This research project is part of a funding scheme supporting bilateral collaborations between Inria Paris (France) and its academic partners in London (UK) in the fields of applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and statistics.

This project will be co-supervised by Dr Fabrizio De Vico Fallani (Inria Paris, https://sites.google.com/site/devicofallanifabrizio/About) and Prof. Vito Latora (Queen Mary University London, https://webspace.maths.qmul.ac.uk/v.latora) and will based on their established collaborations on subjects spanning both theoretical and applicative aspects of network neuroscience.

Skills

We seek highly motivated individuals willing to explore the complexity of biological systems from a network viewpoint. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in physics, mathematics, computer science, statistics, or engineering-related disciplines. Familiarity with biological applications, network science and neuroscience/imaging are welcome.

Avantages

  • Subsidized meals
  • Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
  • Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
  • Possibility of teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
  • Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
  • Social, cultural and sports events and activities