How can we understand brain computations?
The Center for Brain Science at Harvard is home to a vibrant community of theorists modeling neural circuits and behavior. A growing emphasis is on gathering people and ideas from many fields to understand the computational bases of intelligence in humans, other animals, and machines.
Computational neuroscience. Deep learning. Computational cognitive neuroscience. We have faculty, postdocs, and graduate students working at the forefront of all these areas.
We offer interdisciplinary training for students and postdocs. We host seminars, symposia, workshops, journal clubs, debates, and social events.
NeuroTheory Initiative
The NeuroTheory Initiative is the hub for Harvard scientists discovering the computational bases of intelligence in humans, other animals, and machines. We offer interdisciplinary training for students and postdocs.
We host seminars, symposia, workshops, journal clubs, debates, and social events. We are bringing together ideas and talent from neuroscience, computer science, psychology, physics, applied mathematics, and statistics to understand the nature of intelligence. In addition to CBS faculty, we are joining forces with others from around Harvard.
Swartz Postdoctoral Fellowships
Based on a grant from the Swartz Foundation, a Swartz postdoctoral fellowship is available at Harvard University with a start date in 2020. Postdocs join a vibrant group of experimental and theoretical neuroscientists at Harvard’s Center for Brain Science.
The Swartz Program at Harvard University is NOT seeking applicants currently for postdoctoral fellows in theoretical and computational neuroscience.
The Center for Brain Science includes junior and senior faculty doing research on a wide variety of topics, including neural mechanisms of rodent learning, decision-making, and sex-specific and social behaviors; human motor control; behavioral and fMRI studies of human cognition; large-scale reconstruction of detailed brain circuitry; circuit mechanisms of learning and behavior in worms, larval flies, and larval zebrafish; circuit mechanisms of individual differences in flies and humans; rodent and fly olfaction; inhibitory circuit development; and reinforcement learning in rodents and humans.
More About the Program
When we post openings, interested applicants should send a CV, statement of research interests, and arrange for three letters of reference to be sent to Haim Sompolinsky (haim@fiz.huji.ac.il), Kenneth Blum (kenneth_blum@harvard.edu), Sam Gershman (gershman@fas.harvard.edu), or Cengiz Pehlevan (cpehlevan@seas.harvard.edu). Applications should have “Swartz Fellowship” in the subject line.
Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Graduate Programs
Graduate students in many Harvard programs are pursuing theoretical neuroscience from different directions. Follow these links to learn more about each program.
Courses
These are representative courses drawn from many that are offered each semester.
Fall 2022
| Course # | Course Title | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| APMTH 226 | Theory of Neural Computation | Pehlevan |
| COMPSCI 229BR | Topics in the Foundations of Machine Learning | Barak |
| COMPSCI 383 | Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence | Kakade |
| PSY 1451 | Computational Approaches to Mental Dysfunction | Gershman |
| ENG-SCI 157 | Biological Signal Processing | Ba |
| STAT 184 | Introduction to Reinforcement Learning | Janson |
More Courses
Spring 2023
| Course # | Course Title | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| COMPSCI 229R | Biology and Complexity | Valiant |
| PHYSICS 265 | Statistical Mechanics of Spin Glasses and Neural Networks | SompolinskyBarak |
| PHYSICS 231 | Computational Neuroscience | Sompolinsky |
| NEURO 140 | Biological and Artificial Intelligence | Kreiman |
| NEURO 1401 | Computational Cognitive Neuroscience | Gershman |
| APMTH 231 | Decision Theory | Ba |
Events
Location
Faculty are in many locations. We have a suite of offices on the first floor of the Northwest Building where many theorists are gathered.
Northwest Building
52 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
The Kempner Institute
Seeking to understand the basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems.