Meet the team

Assistant Professor, 2018-present

• Postdoc with Eric Shea-Brown & Fred Rieke, University of Washington, 2013-2018

• Ph.D. with Karin Dahmen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008-2013

Dr. Brinkman did his Ph.D. in non-equilibrium statistical physics and transitioned into theoretical neuroscience during his postdoc. His current research leverages his statistical physics background to study how the collective dynamics of neurons enable the brain to represent, transmit, and combine information across a larger range of spatial and temporal scales than any individual neuron can access. He is especially interested in elucidating how network structure and dynamics determine a circuit’s computational capabilities, and how pathologies in structure or dynamics may manifest as diseases like epilepsy—and how we might be able to use our theoretical frameworks to design principled interventions to treat diseased networks.

Srividya Pattisapu, Program in Neuroscience (PhD program), 2023-present

• • Co-advised with Alfredo Fontanini

  • Project: Sensory and categorical encoding in cortex

Jacob Crosser, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (PhD program), 2019-2025

• • BS in Biochemistry, Purdue University, 2018

  • Projects: 

    • Applications of information geometry to spiking neural network behavior [Read the paper!]

    • Networks driven by strongly correlated input [Read the preprint!]

Siddharth Paliwal, Program in Neuroscience (PhD program), 2021-2025

• • Projects: 

    • Metastability in networks of nonlinear stochastic integrate-and-fire neurons [Read the paper!]

    • Impact of correlated inputs and cell type-specific connectivity on metastable transitions

Danielle Roedel, Program in Neuroscience (Masters program), 2021-2023

• • Now: Science Communication Intern at Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • BA in Mathematics & BS in Behavioral Neuroscience, Quinnipiac University, 2021

  • Project: Auditory coding in spiking networks [biorxiv preprint]

Danielle’s undergraduate studies in math and neuroscience naturally transitioned her into computational neuroscience during her graduate studies. Danielle has loved problem-solving for as long as she can remember and studying in this field has allowed her to explore unsolved puzzles whose solutions could one day make a difference in people’s lives. Danielle’s interest in understanding how nervous system structures, connections, and functions influence perceptual experiences has motivated her research into sensory encoding. Danielle is also passionate about science communication and making STEM more accessible for marginalized groups.

Dr. Tong Liang, Physics (PhD program), 2018-2023

• • LinkedIn Profile

  • B.S. in Physics, Southern University of Science and Technology, 2017

  • Projects: 

    • How do competitive evolutionary dynamics constrain sensory coding & decision making? [Read the paper!]

    • Theory of inferred synaptic connections in subsampled networks [Read the paper!]

Tong transitioned to neuroscience from physics during his early PhD, in pursuit of understanding the formation of cognition and consciousness. Tong found his passion for understanding the essence of nature and living creatures after reading Stephen Hawking's "The Grand Design," and was further inspired by Yuval Noah Harari's "Sapiens" and "Homo Deus" on how science can shape our understanding of the world. Tong is always interested in reading and discussing new thoughts, phenomena, and ways to apply scientific advancements to improving the living conditions of human beings.

Neha Goel, Simons Summer Research Program, 2019

• • Project: Response of striatal neurons to combinations of cortical, thalamic, & amygdala inputs

Seth Talyansky, Simons Summer Research Program, 2018

• • Project: Building a computational model of aging in visual cortex [Read the paper!]