Bridging cellular diversity and macroscale dynamics in the mammalian brain

One of the fundamental mysteries in neuroscience concerns how microscopic (i.e., cellular and molecular) processes shape the complex array of large-scale macroscopic patterns of brain activity (i.e., brain dynamics) that support flexible and adaptive behaviour—a trait shared across the mammalian lineage. This project will investigate how heterogeneity in neuronal properties supports the brain’s flexible dynamics by integrating multidisciplinary approaches in physics, neuroimaging, transcriptomics, and computational modelling. It will involve analysing high-resolution, whole-brain maps of microstructural, chemoarchitectural, and transcriptomic profiles in humans, macaques, marmosets, and mice and developing next-generation models that incorporate these maps to predict brain dynamics. Students will develop skills in whole-brain imaging, transcriptomics, computational neuroscience, and evolutionary neuroscience. Background in physics, engineering, or biomedical science is desirable.