Hippocampus Microcircuit Simulation: Advanced Neuroscience

Felix Schürmann is the Computing Director and co-director of the Blue Brain Project at EPFL, where he serves as an adjunct professor. After completing his physics studies at the University of Heidelberg as a German National Academic Foundation scholar, he earned his M.S. in Physics from SUNY Buffalo as a Fulbright Scholar, studying quantum computing simulation under Richard Gonsalves. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Heidelberg under Karlheinz Meier, focusing on neural network hardware implementation. At EPFL's Blue Brain Project, he works alongside Henry Markram and Adriana Salvatore in the Leadership Team, where he guides the project's strategic direction and oversees computing initiatives

Srikanth Ramaswamy is a Swiss-Indian computational neuroscientist who currently holds positions as a NUAcT Fellow at Newcastle University and Fulbright Visiting Professor at MIT. After beginning his career in electrical engineering, he transitioned to neuroscience, joining the Blue Brain Project where he completed his Ph.D. under Henry Markram. His research focuses on understanding how neuromodulators like acetylcholine, histamine, dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline impact neural circuits and behavior across different species. He pioneered a novel cross-disciplinary approach integrating experiments, computational modeling, and data science to study the neocortex's organization. His discoveries include revealing calcium's fundamental role in controlling neural network state transitions. As a champion of open science, he created the Neocortical Microcircuit Collaboration Portal, providing free access to experimental data and models to over 70,000 users. He is also passionate about diversity in neuroscience, serving as a founding member of the ALBA network and leading their Global Diversity Task Force. In 2023, he received the prestigious Lister Prize, supporting his innovative research at the interface of biological and artificial neural networks.

Werner Van Geit, born in Antwerp, Belgium, is a computational neuroscientist and software specialist who recently became Project Leader of High Performance Neuroscience at the IT'IS Foundation after serving at EPFL's Blue Brain Project from 2011 to 2023. After earning his Master's degree in Informatics from the University of Ghent, where he focused on building a Turing machine in a pulsed neural network computer, he worked as a researcher in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Antwerp studying Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons. Following three and a half years at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, where he contributed to High-Performance Computing infrastructure, he joined the Blue Brain Project. There, he led the development of BluePyOpt, an open-source tool for optimizing neural models, and managed the creation and curation of electrical neuron models and morphologies. His research has been widely cited, with key publications including work on automated neuron model optimization techniques and the reconstruction of neocortical microcircuitry

Michael Reimann is Group Leader for Connectomics at EPFL's Blue Brain Project, where he develops innovative methods to predict and analyze synaptic connectivity in neocortical circuits. After studying Bioinformatics at the University of Tuebingen with specialization in neuroinformatics and coding theory, he joined Blue Brain as a Ph.D. student. Before this, he worked with Prof. Christoph von Lassberg on analyzing simultaneous recordings of eye movement, EMG, and full body tracking, including research on vestibular information integration in humans. At Blue Brain, he leads research on deriving and predicting local synaptic connectivity in neocortical microcircuits, focusing on understanding the relationship between structural connectivity and electrical activity. His work combines advanced computational methods with neuroscience to create detailed models of neural circuits, contributing significantly to our understanding of brain organization and function.

Armando Romani is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Group Leader within the Circuits team in the Simulation Neuroscience Division at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). His research focuses on developing biophysically detailed models of the hippocampus, which is crucial for understanding memory formation, spatial navigation, and other cognitive functions.

Szalbocs Kàli is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he focuses on the study of cortical circuits and their role in cognitive functions. His research involves investigating the dynamics of neuronal networks, particularly the function of interneurons in the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory and spatial navigation.

Dr. Audrey Mercer is an Associate Professor at the UCL School of Pharmacy, where she specializes in pharmacology and neuroscience. She completed her DEA at the University of Montpellier before pursuing a Ph.D. in Physiology at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School under the supervision of Professor Alex Thomson, which she completed in 2005.

Judit Planas is the Section Manager of Scientific Visualization in the Computing Division at EPFL's Blue Brain Project. She leads the research and development of tools that enable scientists to visualize and analyze neural circuit reconstructions and simulations on a large scale, facilitating a deeper understanding of brain function.

Fabien Petitjean is a Systems Engineer and Software Engineer at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), specifically within the Blue Brain Project. He plays a crucial role in the Scientific Visualization team, where he focuses on developing tools that support scientists in visualizing and analyzing neural circuit reconstructions and simulations on a large scale.

Michele Migliori is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Biophysics, part of the National Research Council (CNR) in Italy. He has a distinguished academic background, having earned his D.Phil. in Physics from the University of Palermo in 1980. Over his career, he has held various significant positions, including Research Director at CNR and Director of the Palermo section of the Institute of Biophysics from 2015 to 2017.

András Ecker is a PhD student in the Circuits team within the Simulation Neuroscience Division at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He is supervised by Henry Markram and co-supervised by Srikanth Ramaswamy. His research focuses on biophysically detailed synaptic plasticity in the somatosensory cortex, exploring its implications for learning and memory storage.

Jean-Denis Courcol is the Section Manager of the Neuroscientific Software Engineering team and Deputy Head of the Computing Division at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He leads the development of software tools essential for Blue Brain's research, focusing on single-cell model building, detailed circuit modeling, and simulation analysis. His team aims to implement efficient scientific workflows and enhance user interaction with various scientific applications.