Candidate Directors for the 2024 Elections

Pawan Kumar Thapaliya

I am a PhD candidate in Applied Physics, specializing in Computational Biophysics and Neurobiology at the University of South Florida. My research explores astrocyte heterogeneity and its role in neurovascular coupling during metabolic stress. I hold a Master's in Physics from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where I honed my computational modeling skills. I enjoy sharing my knowledge to advance research in neuroscience.

Research Interests:
My research focuses on computational modeling in neuroscience, specifically investigating astrocyte heterogeneity and its impact on neurovascular coupling during metabolic stress events, such as ischemic strokes and Alzheimer's disease. By developing biologically realistic models, I aim to enhance our understanding of astrocytes' roles in brain.

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.

I had served as a conference assistant in the 2021 ONCS online conference. I had organized the neuroscience quiz competitions in the closing day.

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

I aspire to become an OCNS director to advance the integration of computational neuroscience in tackling complex neurological challenges. This role will enable me to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, driving innovative research that bridges theory and practice. By promoting cutting-edge methodologies, I aim to enhance our understanding of brain function and develop therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders.

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: 1

Review service for CNS meeting: 1

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: past

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never

Maurizio de Pitta

I am a computational neuroscientist with 20+ years of experience in studying neuron-glial interactions, focusing on neurodegeneration. My work integrates bioinformatics, physics, and neuroengineering to model neuron-glial dynamics in health and disease. I am a Principal Investigator at the Krembil Research Institute and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's Department of Physiology

Research Interests:
Computational and translation neuroscience, neuron-glial interactions, astrocytes, calcium signaling, Alzheimer’s disease, bioinformatics, neurodegeneration, connectomics, digital cell reconstruction, neuro-AI, synaptic plasticity, memory, learning, neuron-glial networks, cell signaling, multi-scale modeling.

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.

I advocate for multidisciplinary approaches in computational neuroscience, promoting training and initiatives that push boundaries and foster new perspectives. I have been Deputy/Chair for Tutorials for the last three years, and I regularly organize workshops on various aspects of neuron and glial physiology modeling at the Annual Meetings.

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

As a long-standing member of the Organization for Computational Neurosciences and regular attendee of the Annual Meetings, I want to reiterate my active engagement with the Organization and its activities following my positive experience with peers and colleagues on the Board as Deputy and Chair for the Tutorials. I look forward to contributing again to the OCNS meetings, growth, and ethos for the following years.

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: more than 5

Review service for CNS meeting: none

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: never

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: present

Skirmantas Janusonis

I am a (full) Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA). In 2001-2006, I was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Neuroscience of the Yale University School of Medicine (USA).In 2001, I earned my Ph.D. in Neuroscience & Behavior from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA).In 1993, I earned a diploma (B.S/M.S) in Biology/Biophysics from Vilnius University (Lithuania).

Research Interests:

I study the dynamics and self-organization of the brain serotonergic axons. These axons form a dense, stochastically organized fiber matrix that is an essential component of vertebrate neural tissue. I have published in experimental and theoretical fields (computational neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, and comparative neuroscience).

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.
I publish in computational neuroscience and physics journals. In recent NSF-funded collaborations, we have used fractional Brownian motion and supercomputing to model axon growth, while also extending the theory of fractional Brownian motion (e.g., doi: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1189853, 10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.L032025, 10.3389/fnins.2022.949934).

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.
I’ve participated in OCNS meetings since 2017 (including the post-COVID meeting in Melbourne). In 2021-23, I served on the Program Committee. I believe I can contribute significantly to OCNS – in routine operations and in brainstorming new ideas. My international background may serve well in broadening registration. I have no significant experience in recruiting sponsors, but I see it as a weak spot in OCNS and would be happy to try myself in this capacity. My preference below is not "strong".

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: more than 5

Review service for CNS meeting: 4-5

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: past

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never

Roman Baravalle

I'm a computational neuroscientist with strong background in theory, computational modeling and higher-order education. I did a PhD in Physics in Argentina working on Information Theory methods applied to human EEG signals. Then, I moved to USA, to work at LSU in New Orleans, modeling interneuronal networks in mice medial entorhinal cortex. My current postdoc is at SUNY in Brooklyn, working on modeling of mice M1 cortex during behavioral tasks,.I'm super excited to help and colaborate with OCNS

Research Interests:
I've been always interested in the intersection between mathematics, physics and biology, and I've found on computational neuroscience a wonderful field to explore that intersection. Particularly I've been always interested on how the neural circuits organize it's individula properties to give rise to complex behaviors, particularly motor movements

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.

I've been part of numerous project resulting on publications and grants. My career started working on EEG analysis, and now I work on modeling of large-scale networks, both using mathematical and high-performance computing approaches. I have also 10+ years in education and STEM divulgation.

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

I think the best way to contribute to society and make changes is to get involved. I'm interested in contributing with my expertise and point of view to the organization, helping it to improve it and increasing the reach of the OCNS to more countries and more people. I know the power that organizations can have on shaping policies towards a better and equitable future, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to be part of it

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: 1

Review service for CNS meeting: none

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: never

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never

Thomas Tarnaud

I am a computational neuroscientist at the WAVES and 4Brain research groups of Ghent University (Belgium), working on biophysical models for ultrasound neuromodulation and electrostimulation. During my postdoc, I received training at EPFL (Switzerland) and Aalto University (Finland). Since 2024, I am an associate professor at Ghent University, as the principal investigator of an ERC Starting Grant project to develop a closed-loop ultrasound neuromodulation treatment for epilepsy.

Research Interests:
My research concentrates on building bottom-up biophysical models to optimize experimental designs for ultrasound neuromodulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation. I am also interested in the application of computational neuroscience to assess conservativeness of international electromagnetic safety guidelines.

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.

Since 2017, I have (co)authored computational neuroscience publications, on various neurostimulation technologies (temporal interference, vagus nerve, ultrasound, etc.). I am a reviewer for 10 biomedical engineering journals. In 2024, I am part of the organizing committee of the FEARS Research Symposium of Ghent University.

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

The CNS meeting is one of the main conferences to learn about and to present results on computational neuroscience, and to interact with the community. Since 2019, my research group is regularly attending the CNS meetings. As a result, I am excited to contribute to OCNS through this opportunity of joining the board of directors.

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: 2-3

Review service for CNS meeting: none

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: never

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never

James Pang

I received my PhD in Physics from the University of Sydney in 2019 under the supervision of Prof Peter Robinson. From 2019-2021, I did my postdoctoral training in the Brain Modelling Group at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. Since 2021, I have been a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University and will be an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow starting in 2025

Research Interests:

My research combines biophysical computational models (hemodynamic, neural field, and neural mass models), neuroimaging (structural, diffusion, and functional MRI), connectivity, and physics-based analyses (e.g., eigenmodes) to better understand the mechanisms of meso- to macroscale brain function in health, disease, and across species.

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.
Computational neuroscience is an integral part of my work. I have been a member of OCNS since 2019 and have since attended 4 meetings (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023). In 2023, I co-organized the OCNS workshop on “Brain Modes” that highlights emerging mode-based analysis techniques to decompose multivariate neural data across scales and modalities..

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

As an Early Career Researcher, I believe it's important for us to contribute to and be represented in organizations like OCNS, which play a vital role in shaping the future of the field. Computational neuroscience is becoming integral in new innovations to better understand the brain. Through involvement in OCNS leadership, I would like to help advocate for its mission of sharing and advancing knowledge so the broader community can fully embrace computational approaches in neuroscience.

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: 4-5

Review service for CNS meeting: none

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: never

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never

Adam Newton

I am a research scientist in William Lytton's Neurosim Lab. My PhD was in complexity science, where I worked on mathematical modeling of diffusion, clearances and measurement of adenosine in the neural tissue. My postdoctoral training in computational neuroscience, focused on development of the reaction-diffusion module for NEURON. Particularly improving performance and adding extracellular and 3D intracellular capabilities to the simulation platform.

Research Interests:
I am interested in developing multiscale computational neuroscience models. I contributed to the reaction-diffusion expansion of the NEURON. I am currently developing a model of spreading depolarization that incorporates network connectivity and vasculature and building data-driven Parkinson's disease models of the primary motor cortex.

Past Experience:
Describe your past contributions or participation in computational neuroscience.

I have worked in software development, contributing to the reaction-diffusion module for NEURON. I have utilised this module in modelling ischemic stroke and spreading depolarization. I have also taken advantage of the improvements in intracellular 3D simulation to model the spread of PKMζ and the potential for cross-talk between nearby spines.

Motivation:
Please explain why you want to become an OCNS director.

I first attended the 2017 OCNS meeting in Antwerp. I have presented posters or tutorials at five OCNS meetings. I found my experience of OCNS to be very beneficial and would like to contribute to its continued growth and success.

OCNS and CNS participation:

# of CNS meetings attended: more than 5

Review service for CNS meeting: none

Programme Committee / Local Organizing Committee member: never

Member of OCNS Board of Directors: never