Transversal Perspectives

Richard Feynman once said, “What I cannot create, I do not understand”. Computational Neuro-modelling has been neuroscience’s way of adhering to this principle. Although, a mature discipline, recent advances in machine learning and AI have disrupted the status quo — in its wake creating boundless new opportunities. As part of this transversal perspective, our intention is to bring together experts from across the spectrum; experimentalists interested in building models to modelers who would like to test their hypothesis, under one umbrella. We have members in this group who are experts in spiking neural networks, deep learning, statistics and their applications to analyzing and modelling neuroscientific data. As part of our vision, we would like to host regular meetings at the intersection of these various topics with in-house lectures and invited speakers. The overall intention is to make each other aware of the talent in modeling available locally in Amsterdam and provide a breeding ground for new ideas and collaborations in computational neuro-modeling.

Individual differences within and between populations
There are strong differences between individuals with regards to their cognitive abilities, development, brain functioning, behaviour, vulnerability to psychopathology etc. We also know that there are important differences between populations, for example in risk for certain physical and mental health problems.

Our research is aimed at understanding individual differences within and between populations by integrating scientific insights from various disciplines. We examine genetic vulnerability and environmental risk factors (and their interaction), as well as differences in cognitive abilities and psychological characteristics. Moreover, we focus on how these factors change during the life span.

As a transversal perspective, the Translational Science pillar aims to connect researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds in order to facilitate the translation of their findings from bench-to-bedside.
Translational science wants to facilitate a fast turnover of basic science findings into new therapies, medical procedures and/or diagnostics. Given the strong emphasis among governing bodies and grant agencies to promote societal impact and short term valorization of fundamental research, the Translational Science pillar aims to promote such translational efforts within ABC.
We want to identify and align specific research paradigms and protocols available within the many strong labs in ABC working on both basic science and clinical applications and help them make a transition from pre-clinical to more clinical/diagnostic/therapeutic research approaches.
Our main objective is to provide a platform for these researchers to network and help set up new collaborations and thereby make their translational ambitions and efforts more efficient and efficacious.