Junior Scientist Workshop on Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience
Organized by Emily Dennis, Sue Ann Koay, Gabriela Michel, Michael Reiser, and Carsen Stringer, this Junior Scientist Workshop provides an exciting opportunity for graduate students, recent PhDs, and those in similar positions, like staff scientists interested in the mechanistic basis of cognition to present their research to a diverse audience and discuss ideas for the future, while also discovering potential independent early-career options at Janelia.
We encourage applications from junior scientists pursuing research aimed at understanding how cognitive processes and behavior are implemented at the level of circuits, cells, and molecules. This meeting is open to a broad array of ideas and approaches in a variety of animal models. We will also consider theorists with a strong interest in linking their ideas to experimental data. The workshop will focus on cognition broadly construed (e.g., navigation, learning, decision making, planning, social interactions, etc.), but sessions will be thematically tuned to the participants’ research interests.
Over the course of one week, attendees will present their work, engage in discussions on critical problems and obstacles in the field, and indulge in informed speculation about conceptual and technical approaches that might be useful for future progress.
Our goal is for a lively meeting, with participants from diverse backgrounds, actively contributing to discussions and debates. Discussions will be freewheeling, and also respectful and inclusive, with an atmosphere that is both fun and productive. We see this as a unique learning opportunity for participants to critically evaluate their own methods and approaches. Attendees should feel free to come with half-baked (or half-raw!) ideas and expect an audience keen on talking them through those ideas!
To ensure a valuable and enjoyable experience for all, space in the workshop is limited. Participants are expected to stay for the duration.
This workshop will run alongside our Junior Scientist Workshop on Theoretical Neuroscience, with joint events that encourage formal and informal conversations between the groups in an effort to bridge the conceptual and pragmatic gaps between theory and experiment.
Janelia covers the cost of accommodation, meals and reasonable travel expenses for accepted participants. We especially encourage applications from those who identify with groups underrepresented in science, from all over the world.
Applications are closed
Application Instructions
To be considered, applicants must apply online and provide:
- Research Abstract
- Answers to three Scientific Thought Questions
- Current CV
- Recommendation Letter
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