Summary
The Bridging AI and Neuroscience (BrAIN) group at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) in Saarbrücken, Germany, led by Dr. Mariya Toneva, is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Researcher in NeuroAI. This position is part of the newly funded ERC Starting Grant project BrainAlign, which aims to develop a new generation of language models whose internal processing is aligned with the human brain by integrating information from human brain activity.
Designation
Postdoctoral Researcher in NeuroAI
Research Area
- Human Cognitive Sciences
- Computational Neuroscience
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Processing
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- AI and Neuroscience
Location
Saarbrücken, Germany
Eligibility/Qualification
Required Qualifications:
- A PhD (or expected PhD completion before the start date) in computational neuroscience, machine learning, computer science, cognitive neuroscience, or a related discipline.
- Strong experience with machine learning and/or computational modeling.
- Strong programming skills, preferably in Python and modern deep-learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
- A strong publication record relative to career stage.
- The ability to work independently while contributing to a highly interdisciplinary research team.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
Highly Desirable:
- Experience working with neuroimaging data, particularly fMRI.
Valuable (but not required) Experience:
- Natural language processing
- Language models
- Encoding/decoding models
- Representational similarity analysis
- Cross-subject modeling
Job Description
As a Postdoctoral Researcher in NeuroAI, you will lead the computational neuroscience component of the BrainAlign project. Your primary research will focus on developing methods for leveraging heterogeneous human brain datasets to train and evaluate brain-aligned language models. Key responsibilities include:
- Developing computational methods for integrating fMRI data from heterogeneous datasets, participants, and experimental paradigms for brain alignment.
- Developing and training brain-aligned language models (BALMs) that learn from human brain activity during naturalistic language comprehension.
- Working closely with other members of the BrainAlign team on model development, evaluation, and experimental design.
- Publishing your research in leading venues in machine learning, natural language processing, and computational/cognitive neuroscience.
The project offers substantial freedom to develop your own research directions, access to significant computational resources (including a large GPU cluster), and opportunities for international conference travel and research collaborations within an international, collaborative, and intellectually stimulating research environment.
How to Apply
Applicants must upload the following documents:
- CV (including a publication list)
- A summary of previous research
- A statement of interest
- Names of up to 3 possible referees
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
For more information about the Principal Investigator, Dr. Mariya Toneva, please visit her webpage: https://www.mtoneva.com
For inquiries, you may contact Mariya Toneva at mtoneva@mpi-sws.org.
Last Date for Apply
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Apply Link
Please refer to the original source URL for application submission: https://postdocprogram.mpg.de/node/58480
