These are student research positions currently available.
Research: Wearable mechatronics, IoT, and intelligent biomedical systems, Advisor: Matthew Flavin
Lab details: Flavin Neuromachines Lab
TIGs: Bioengineering, Computer Systems and Software, Electronic Design & Applications, Systems and Controls, Telecommunications
Seeking: PhD Students, 4 positions
Application Due August 31, 2026 to mflavin@gatech.edu
Research keywords: Neuroengineering, IoT, wearables, haptics, education, assistive technologies
Description:
The Flavin Neuromachines Lab is recruiting talented, driven individuals who are interested in leading projects in the areas of neural mechatronics and extended reality for patient care.
Preferred skills include:
-PCB design
-Embedded firmware design
-Experience in cloud backend development
Please contact Prof. Flavin (mflavin@gatech.edu) with a cover letter and CV.
Entry Created: August 19, 2024 at 4:54 am
Research: Assorted projects in closed-loop optogenetic control, Advisor: Christopher Rozell
Lab details: SIPLab
TIGs: Bioengineering, Systems and Controls
Seeking: Undergraduate Students, 3 positions
Application Due March 1, 2025 to kjohnsen@gatech.edu
Research keywords: neural engineering, optimal control, biophysical modeling
Description:
** Please see the attached PDF for better formatting, links, etc.! **
CLOC mentored project descriptions spring 2025
Overview
Neuroscientists can gain insight into how the brain works by manipulating it in precise ways. Optogenetics is a very popular, relatively new technology allowing the activation of neurons which can be genetically targeted. Typically, researchers have done this with “open-loop” control, delivering a pre-defined stimulus to the brain, but more sophisticated and precise is “closed-loop” control, which rather varies the stimulus in real time to achieve a desired neural activity pattern—much like cruise control accelerates the car as needed to reach a target speed.
Our lab has already applied basic methods from control theory to do real-time optogenetic control in mice, but there are plenty of potential extensions to this work. PhD student Kyle Johnsen is recruiting students for multiple projects related to his thesis that require varying skill levels in neuroscience, programming, control theory, and biomedical engineering.
How to apply
Below is a list of potential projects—if you are interested, reach out to Kyle (kjohnsen@gatech.edu) to discuss possibilities in more detail. Please include the following:
Your major, year, and what sort of experience you are hoping to achieve
Your resume
A completed copy of this Jupyter notebook testing the kinds of skills you will need. You need not complete all sections; only those relevant to the projects you want to work on. Give it a good try, but don’t spend too long on it either, as it should reflect your current capacities.
Potential projects
Executing a study comparing the effectiveness of different optimal control algorithms for closed-loop control in neuroscience
Experiment implementation would involve coding computational neuroscience simulations, closed-loop control, and data analysis
This project needs to turn into a paper, which would involve writing (with LaTeX), figure preparation, etc.
Simulating the “crosstalk” of excitation light on opsins when doing fluorescent microscopy and optogenetics simultaneously (See Sridharan 2022 Fig 6)
Extend the light propagation capabilities of the Cleo simulator. We especially would like to interpolate Monte Carlo simulation results for different beam types.
Paving the way to implement performant code once and use in multiple contexts (e.g., Python, C# (Bonsai), MATLAB, C++)
Julia
C++ and SWIG
Facilitating installation of ldsCtrlEst by building Python binding binaries in a continuous integration pipeline
Pioneer system identification methods in the spirit of PSID to identify natural vs. unnatural states to achieve “within-manifold control”
Implementing a model of the CA3 region of the hippocampus (Kopsick et al.) in Brian and simulating closed-loop optogenetic experiments on it using Cleo.
Adding calcium indicator or voltage indicator models to Cleo
Potential skills required or to be learned
General neuroscience, e.g., neurons, hippocampus, cell types, synapses
Ability to extract relevant details from scientific publications
Computational neuroscience: spiking neural network models
Scientific Python coding, including source control (Git/GitHub), math (NumPy), and figure generation (matplotlib)
High-performance software engineering
Specific familiarity with Brian and Cleo Python packages
Control theory: linear dynamical systems, model fitting, optimal control, etc.
Ability to work efficiently as a team: communicating, dividing tasks, and taking responsibility
Ability to explain research and present progress effectively to other students and supervisors
Scientific communication: scientific writing, figures, social media posts, posters
Logistic details
A minimum 10 hrs/week commitment is expected
Kyle is planning on graduating summer 2025, so this would not be a ≥1-year project
Research would be for credit or on a volunteer basis
Attendance/participation at a weekly group update meeting is required
In addition to the group update meeting, project-specific troubleshooting sessions would be scheduled as needed
Work can be remote or in-person (CODA building), though in-person is preferred at least for meetings
Attachments: CLOC-mentored-project-descriptions-spring-2025-d59a28.pdf
Entry Created: December 3, 2024 at 9:44 pm
Research: Computational work: ML and data analysis on neural/behavioral data, Advisor: Farzaneh Najafi
Lab details: Najafi Lab
TIGs: Bioengineering, Computer Systems and Software, Digital Signal Processing
Seeking: Undergraduate Students, 2 positions
Application Due March 31, 2025 to fnajafi3@gatech.edu
Research keywords: computational, machine learning, data analysis, neuroscience, biomedical, biology
Description:
We are looking for senior undergraduates with experience in computational work, including machine learning and data analysis, to contribute to research projects that involve analysis of our neural and behavioral data, using python or matlab. Example projects include analyzing neural data recorded via optical methods, or applying machine learning models to our neural and behavioral data.
It is important for the undergraduate to have prior experience with data analysis, and to be highly motivated.
This position is ideal for senior (or junior) undergraduates who are looking for additional experience in computational work and data analysis, whether they are aiming for a PhD or a data science job in industry after graduation.
NOTE: We expect 9-10 hours a week, at minimum, and recommend research for credit.
To apply please send an email to me and include the following information:
– your major and graduation year
– brief description of your prior ML/data analysis experience, including links/attachments to your prior work including your codes/scripts.
– how many semesters you can commit to the lab
– how many hours per week you can commit to the lab
– attach your CV
Please note that all of this information should be present in your email in order for it to be considered.
Entry Created: January 6, 2025 at 7:21 pm