Third International Workshop on Polarized Carbon-13 and its Application in Metabolic Imaging

    
   
We are pleased to inform you that the Department of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine will be hosting the Third International Workshop on Polarized Carbon-13 and its Application in Metabolic Imaging. The workshop is scheduled from July 25 through July 27, 2012 and will be held in the BRB II/III auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania.  

This is a three day workshop and sessions are aimed at providing faculty members, post-docs, fellows, and graduate students the opportunity to learn more about state-of-the-art metabolic and molecular imaging techniques and how they can be used to obtain real-time information for fundamental studies of metabolism and extended application to disease management.

Please share this information with your faculty, colleagues and trainees.  

For information on how to register and send abstracts, please look at:     

http://www.med.upenn.edu/fmig/workshop2012.html

Rahim R. Rizi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Radiology

NEURO-BUREAU BRAIN-ART COMPETITION 201

http://www.neurobureau.org/BrainArt/

Submission Deadline: 11:59PM CDT, Friday, June 1st, 2012

Award Notification: June 11th during the OHBM Annual Meeting, Beijing.

In order to recognize the beauty and creativity of artistic renderings

emerging from the neuroimaging community, we are launching the second

annual Brain-Art Competition.

Countless hours are devoted to the creation of informative

visualizations for communicating neuroscientific findings. The

Brain-Art Competition aims to recognize this often unappreciated

aspect of the publication process, and highlight the artistic

creativity of our community.

We are inviting researchers to submit their favorite unpublished works

for entry. Both team and single-person entries are welcomed. The

competition will have four award categories:

1)  Best Representation of the Human Connectome

2)  Best Educational Brain Illustration

3)  Best Abstract Brain Illustration

4)  Best Humorous Brain Illustration

5)  Best Video Illustration of the Brain

Sponsored by: Child Mind Institute (http://www.childmind.org/)

ICML '12 Workshop on Statistics, Machine Learning and Neuroscience

ICML '12 Workshop on Statistics, Machine Learning and Neuroscience. 
Date: July 1, 2012
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
https://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/stamlins
 
Neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have revolutionised the field of neuroscience by providing non-invasive measurements of the brain activity. From the outset, classical statistical approaches were used for neuroimage analysis, using known models,  offering good interpretability and the possibility to examine strength of hypotheses. Recently, however, analysis emphasis has changed towards data-driven (aka machine learning/multi-variate pattern analysis) approaches. By making minimal model assumptions, the learning algorithms are generally tuned for optimal prediction performance, automation and speed. 

A debate has ensued between the two respective strands of researchers about the relative benefits and downsides of each approach. The critique of data-driven methods, voiced by practitioners of classical statistics, include lack of interpretability/meaningfulness, non-existent power calculation for experimental design, and inability to deal with the "small N-large p" constraint.  Conversely, users of data-driven methods point to the inappropriateness of the model choice for biological data, the arbitrariness of significance levels, and the post-hoc corrections for multiple hypothesis tests.

The propose of this workshop is to bring together both approaches. The aim is to debate the strengths/weaknesses of classical statistical vs machine learning methods, and establish the parameters that would bring together hypothesis and data-driven approaches. While this workshop is to be driven by the practical needs of neuroscience research, more fundamental research into methods is also envisaged. Simultaneously, we expect that the need for improved methods will spark substantial contributions towards Predictive Medicine, Translational Medicine and Interpretational Models of Disease. For this purpose we have invited well-known experts and researchers in neuroscience methodology and application, notably Will Penny, Tom Nicholson, Zoe Kourtzi, and Eugene Duff. 

We seek full papers and extended abstracts discussing or developing new methods designed to link hypothesis generalisation, experimental design and hypothesis validation. Example topics include
   - Interpretable neuroimage modelling/model validation,
   - Experimental design and power analysis (also for machine learning),
   - Variable selection / dimensionality reduction / sparsity,
   - Scalability/efficient/parallel (Bayesian) inference,
   - Model reproducibility and testing of  computational  theories, 
   - Combined modelling of cellular neurophysiology, genetics, and behaviour,
   - Model selection in Bayesian and Classical methods,
   - Issues and experiences in implementing models for massive data-sets,
   - New models for Independent Component Analysis,
   - Classifiers and Brain Decoding.

Workshop Schedule
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To achieve a 4-way interdisciplinary workshop, four invited speakers have agreed to give talks representing respectively, classical statistical methodologies, machine learning methodologies, applications of classical statistical tools and applications of machine learning tools. The preliminary workshop's schedule is as follows:

-  Zoe Kourtzi  (invited speaker): application of data-driven methods
-  Eugene Duff (invited speaker): application of hypothesis-driven methods
-  Discussion
-  Will Penny (invited speaker): data-driven methodology
-  Tom Nicholson (invited speaker): hypothesis-driven methodology
-  Discussion
-  Lunch
-  Spotlight presentations 
-  Poster session
-  Discussion & roundup 


Submission Details
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We seek submission of extended abstracts at most 4 pages long and following the ICML paper format. All accepted submissions will be presented in form of poster presentations.
 
 
Important Dates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extended abstract submission deadline: 13th May, 2012. 
Acceptance notification: 21th May, 2012. 

Workshop date: July 1, 2012.


Workshop Organisation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Workshop Organisers:

Iead Rezek, University of Oxford, UK 
Evangelos Roussos, University of Oxford, UK
Christian Beckmann,  MIRA Institute at the University of Twente,  Netherlands.


Program Committee

Will Penny, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, UK
Tom Nichols, University of Warwick
Zoe Kourtzi, University of Birmingham
Eugene Duff, University of Oxford

Contact:
~~~~~~~
iead@rezek.info, eroussos7@yahoo.co.uk

NMR in Biology at the IUBMB - FEBS Congress, Sevilla, Spain

Dear colleague,

I call your attention on the 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress that will be held in Sevilla (Spain) from September 4th - 9th, 2012

http://www.iubmb-febs-2012.org/IUBMBFEBS2012

As part of the activities of BioNMR (http://www.bio-nmr.net) a satellite event will be organized on September 7th 2012 in the same venue of the main 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress, well integrated in the conference program:

NMR in Biology - http://www.bio-nmr.net/index.php/events/events/38

This is an opportunity for BioNMR to meet the European Biological community and for biologists to appreciate the progress of NMR technologies towards the understanding of biological problems. I take the liberty to remind you that the deadline for early registration to the FEBS/IUBMB meeting is April 30th and that for abstract submission is May 31st 2012.

Registration to the BioNMR workshop 'NMR in Biology' is free of charge but you should confirm your participation by clicking on the appropriate field when registering to the main 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress.

For more information you can refer to the web site or contact nmr_at_febs@bio-nmr.net.

Best regards,

Ivano Bertini

_____________________________________________________

Bio-NMR Satellite Meeting - NMR in Biology
Satellite of the 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress

September 7th 2012, from 13.00 to 19.30 Seville, Spain

Synopsis
This satellite meeting is intended to present the opportunities provided  by NMR today to the broad biological community and the enabling role of the European Bio-NMR research infrastructures (www.bio-nmr.net) providing access to state of the art NMR instrumentation and expertise.

Tentative Program

13:00 - 14:00

Welcome by
Israel Pecht (FEBS - Secretary General), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Miguel A. De la Rosa (Chair of the Organizing Committee), University of Seville & CSIC, Spain

Opening and Introduction by Ivano Bertini, CERM, Florence, Italy (Bio-NMR Project Coordinator)

14:00 - 14:30 Snacks
14:30 - 15:15 Beat Meier (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
15:15 - 16:00 Guido Pintacuda (ENS Lyon, France)
16:00 - 16:45 Sheena Radford (University of Leeds, UK)
16:45 - 17:15 Break
17:15 - 18:00 Guy Lippens (Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille 1, France)
18:00 - 18:45 Sonia Longhi (CNRS et Universites d'Aix-Marseille I et II, Marseille, France)
18:45 - 19:30 Peter Tompa (VIB, Brussels, Belgium)

Closing Remarks


Location
The workshop will be held at the Seville Conference and Exhibition Centre (FIBES) where the 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress will take place.

Lunch snack
A lunch snack will be organized in order to stimulate informal discussions among registered participants to the Bio-NMR workshop. If you are interested in participating, please click the appropriate field when registering to the main 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress.

Registration form
There is no registration fee for attending the NMR in Biology meeting, but you have to be registered to the main 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress. Please click the appropriate box in the official registration form to the 22nd IUBMB - 37th FEBS Congress.

For further information, please contact: nmr_at_febs@bio-nmr.net

Organizing Committee
Prof. Miquel Pons (IRB Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain)
Prof. Wiktor Kozminski (Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland)
Prof. Isabella Caterina Felli (CERM, Florence University, Florence, Italy)

Scientific Secretariat
Dr. Francesca Morelli (CERM, Florence University, Florence, Italy)

The 2012 International Workshop on Brain, Cognition and Learning (IWBCL2012)

Please see below the announcement of the pre-OHBM workshop on Brain,
Cognition and Learning, to be held on June 8-9, Beijing, China

The 2012 International Workshop on Brain, Cognition and Learning (IWBCL2012)

June 8-9, 2012, Beijing, China

http://iwbcl.bnu.edu.cn

 We are pleased to announce that the 2012 International Workshop on
Brain, Cognition and Learning (IWBCL) will be held on June 8-9, 2012
at the China National Conventional Center (CNCC) in Beijing, as a
satellite conference of 2012 Organization of Human Brain Mapping
(OHBM) Annual Conference. This workshop is co-organized by the
National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning,
Beijing Normal University and the Society of Brain Sciences and
Education Research, a division of the Chinese Society of Education
(CSE).

 This year the IWBCL will focus on language learning. The theme for
this workshop is set as “Towards an integrated perspective of language
learning”, to reflect the trend that the cognitive neuroscience of
language has increasingly become an interdisciplinary endeavor.

 Confirmed Speakers.

§   Yanchao Bi, Beijing Normal University

§   James Booth, Northwestern University

§   Urs Maurer, University of Zurich

§   Marcus Meinzer,  Charite Universitasmedizin

§   Russell A. Poldrack, University of Texas at Austin

§   Bradley L. Schlaggar, Washington University School of Medicine

§   Mark Seidenberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison

§   Hua Shu, Beijing Normal University

§   Michael Ullman, Georgetown University

§   Richard J. Wise, Imperial College London

§   Gui Xue, Beijing Normal University

§   Jason D. Zevin, Weill Medical College of Cornell University



Participants are encouraged to fill the online registration form by
May 1, 2012 to secure a seat. For more information, please visit our
website http://iwcbl.bnu.edu.cn . We look forward to seeing you in
Beijing this June!

2012 Brainhack, Sept 1-4, Leipzig Germany

  

The Neuro Bureau is proud to announce the 2012 Brainhack, to be held from September 1-4 at the Max Plank Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.

Brainhack is a unique workshop with the goals of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and open neuroscience. The structure builds from the concepts of an unconference and a hackathon: The term “unconference” refers to the fact that most of the content will be dynamically created by the participants -- a hackathon is an event where participants collaborate intensively on science-related projects.

Participants from all disciplines related to neuroimaging are welcome. Ideal participants span in range from graduate students to professors across any disciplines willing to contribute (e.g., mathematics, computer science, engineering, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, medicine, art, etc...). The primary requirement is a desire to work in close collaborations with researchers outside of your specialization in order to address neuroscience questions that are beyond the expertise of a single discipline.

Brainhack will last 3.5 days, with the first night being dedicated to registration, a brief introduction of participants, and a poster session / cocktail hour. Each of the next two days will begin with an “Ignite Session” in which distinguished neuroscience researchers will give 10 minute talks that will address wide questions in neuroscience that would benefit from open, interdisciplinary collaborations. The “Ignite Session” will be followed by a dynamic set of talks organized by attendees. This session will be scheduled on-site, and aims to reflect participants' interests as they evolve over the course of the workshop. Each afternoon and evening will then include a brainhack session, in which participants will be encouraged to work together in small groups on relevant neuroscience projects. The workshop will culminate on the last day, when participants will have the opportunity to present a brief overview of their project.

We aim for Brainhack to be a highly dynamic event. As such, participants are encouraged to come prepared to discuss their research interests and work in ways that they may be able to contribute to the unconference portion of the workshop. In addition, there will be an opportunity for participants to present posters on Saturday night. If you are interested in doing so, please indicate this on the registration form so that we can be sure to have poster space allocated.

In order to maximize the productivity of the hackathon portion of Brainhack, we encourage participants to come with potential (or established) collaborators and projects in mind, as well as the data and tools required for the project. Participants are encouraged to advertise projects, or shop for a team of collaborators at thebrainhack.org web site prior to the conference. We will have preprocessed copies of the ADHD200 competition dataset, as well as other datasets publicly released through the International Neuroimaging Data-sharing Initiative (structural, resting state fMRI, and DTI) available onsite. Participants will be encouraged to make results from their Brainhack experience openly available on a resource such as NITRC or github.

To maximize collaborative opportunities between participants all meals will be provided onsite (cost included in registration).

Important Dates

Registration Deadline: 30 July 2012
Payment Deadline: 7 August 2012
Final Program: 30 August 2012

Program

Click here to view the current schedule.

While the schedule provides the basic structure, the content will be primary determined by the participants onsite.

Confirmed Attendees

F. Xavier Castellanos, Helen Mayberg, Michael P. Milham, Tal Yarkoni, Arno Villringer...

Organizing Committee

Brainhack.org and the Brainhack workshop are initiates of The Neuro Bureau.

• Pierre Bellec (Centre de recherche de l’institut de gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Canada)
• Cameron Craddock (Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, USA)
• Daniel Margulies (Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, DE)
• Donald McLaren (Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA).
• Maarten Mennes (Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, The Netherlands)