Systems & Computational

Systems & Computational

Computational, theoretical and systems neuroscience has been a recent focus of development for the neuroscience community at Cambridge. Computational neuroscience is an important research strategy of the Cambridge Computational Biology Institute. There are also particular strengths in experimental approaches in this area across a range of departments, including the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and the Department of Engineering. Systems neuroscience at Cambridge is increasingly dependent on theory to describe and analyse complex systems, as well as beginning to take an evolutionary approach. A wide range of techniques is used in this field and this is set to expand. A new Systems Biology Institute is being developed to provide a focus for genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics.

Principal investigators

• Dr Yashar Ahmadian
  Our broad interest is in understanding how large networks of neurons, e.g. those in the cerebral cortex, process sensory inputs and give rise to our perception and cognitive functions through their collective dynamics and learning on multiple tim...
• Professor Ozgur B. Akan
  Our research interests are Internet of Everything, Internet of Bio-Nano Things, Neural Communication, Molecular Communication, Signal Processing and Information Theory. We are particularly interested in developing nanomaterial-based neuro-interfac...
• Dr Philip Barnard
  My programme of work focuses mainly on Executive Control and Emotional Meanings in Cognitive and Neural systems. Current work is organised under four project headings: [a] Core Theoretical work on Interacting Cognitive Subsystems - a macro-theory...
• Professor Paul Bays
  In order to interact with the world, our brains construct and sustain their own internal representations of it. Our aim is to understand the nature of these representations and the computations the brain performs on them to achieve behavioural goa...
• Dr Tristan Bekinschtein
  I am interested in non-classic approaches to study the physiology and cognition of consciousness. I have wide Interests in Cognition and neurophysiology. In the last few years I have been mainly concentrating in describing different states of con...
• Dr Riccardo Beltramo
  We aim to understand how the brain transforms sensory signals into the neural representations of the outside world that guide our behaviour. Our lab uses the mouse visual system as a model and studies the contribution of parallel visual pathways ...
• Richard Bethlehem
  I am director of neuroimaging at the Autism Research Centre and will be joining the department of psychology as an assistant professor of neuroinfomatics in 2023. My work focuses on understanding lifespan changes in brain development and ageing fr...
• Dr Clemence Blouet
  Impairments in central pathways regulating energy homeostasis can cause profound metabolic dysfunctions, but current knowledge is insufficient to develop safe and efficient therapies targeting these pathways. Brain metabolic sensing is based on th...
• Dr Daniel Bor
  My current main research focus is on the effects of drowsiness and conscious level (both measured neurally) on cognition, and how this is modulated by age and disease (Alzheimer's). I am using MEG, fMRI and structural imaging techniques to examine...
• Dr Dennis Bray
  How do bacteria find distant sources of food, and avoid noxious and potentially damaging environments? We seek answers to these questions by developing computer simulations of swimming bacteria exposed to gradients of different substances. Our pro...
• Professor Ed Bullmore
  I am interested in understanding human brain network organization from neuroimaging data in health and disease. My recent methodological work has focused on graph theory to measure aspects of brain network topology. I am also interested in bette...
• Dr David Bulmer
  Abdominal pain is a leading cause of morbidity in gastrointestinal disease. Despite this we still know little of how pain is triggered in “functional” gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and gastrointestinal diseases ...
• Professor Malcolm Burrows
  I work on the properties of neurons and the circuits they form to understand how they control behaviour. 1. Motor control. How do nonspiking local interneurons organise motor neurons to generate limb movements? How do spiking interneurons proce...
• Dr Paula Buttery
  The application of natural language engineering techniques to augment neuro-imaging analysis and experimental design.
• Dr Rudolf Cardinal
  Clinical informatics (including data capture and the proper use and analysis of routinely collected NHS data); computational psychiatry (including computational models of mind and behaviour); behavioural/cognitive neuroscience; liaison psychiatry.
• Professor Albert Cardona
  To study the relationship between circuit structure and function, we must know the synaptic connectivity that defines the circuit structure, observe the activity of the neurons in the circuit over time, study how the pattern of activity can change...
• Dr Thomas Cope MClinRes MRCP(Neurology) PhD
  I am a consultant neurologist, with clinical interests in cognition and epilepsy. I am particularly interested how the mind works, how we perceive the world, and how this goes wrong in patients with neurological pathology. My research examines ...
• Professor Andrew Crawford
  I am interested in biophysics and physiology of the vertebrate inner ear , especially the cochlea. My research has focussed on the electrophysiology of cochlear hair cells with a view to understanding how they manage to respond to nanometre dis...
• Professor Marek Czosnyka
  Brain Physics summarizes physical interactions between volumes, flows and pressures in brain. Measurement, data processing and analysis, forecasting and modeling of various cerebral phenomena as autoregulation of CBF or pressure-volume compensatio...
• Dr Steve Edgley
  I’m interested in how movements are controlled. Our everyday movements are performed with little conscious thought and are remarkably precise. Despite what the textbooks tell you, the way in which this is accomplished is poorly understood. I work ...
• Dr Stephen Eglen
  I use computational tools to help investigate mechanisms of neural development. In particular, I study the formation of retinotopic maps and retinal mosaics in vertebrate visual systems. In addition, I am interested in the analysis of large-scale...
• Professor Thanasis Fokas PhD-MD
  Analytical algorithms for several medical imaging techniques including PAT, SPECT, MEG, EEG.
• Dr Elisa Galliano
  The ability of nerve cells to plastically modify themselves is one of the characteristics that make the brain millions of times more powerful and capable of learning than any supercomputer. I am particularly interested in the ways in which, during...
• Dr Lorna Garcia Penton
  In my current Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship, I aim to map the interface between the semantic representational and control networks by estimating the dynamical causal networks (DCNs) underlying on-going resting-state fMRI. This also includes d...
• Professor Zoubin Ghahramani
  My current research interests include Bayesian approaches to machine learning, artificial intelligence, statistics, information retrieval, bioinformatics, and computational motor control. Statistics provides the mathematical foundations for handli...
• Professor Juan Manuel Gorriz
  The SIPBA group use computational and mathematical approaches based on the statistical learning theory to develop computer-aided diagnosis systems in the field of neuroscience. SiPBA aim to provide supporting tools to physicians in the early diagn...
• Professor Roger Hardie
  Phototransduction, TRP channels and Calcium signalling in Drosophila Phototransduction in the fruitfly Drosophila is an important model for G-protein coupled signalling and fascinating in its own right. We study the underlying cellular and molecu...
• Dr Michael Hastings FRS, FMedSci
  Cellular and molecular basis to circadian rhythms in mammals and its relevance to metabolic and neurological disease.
• Dr Berthold Hedwig
  I analyse the neural mechanisms underlying acoustic communication in insects which use species-specific sounds for mate attraction. I use behavioural, neurophysiological and optical imaging techniques with the aim to understand: 1. The neural mech...
• Dr Guillaume Hennequin
  I study the link between physiology and behaviour from a computational viewpoint. I am interested in the dynamics of sensory and motor cortices, and how they support complex computations such as movement generation or perceptual inference. Through...
• Professor Richard (Rik) Henson
  My primary interest concerns how we remember things. Specifically, I use the techniques of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electro- and magneto- encephalography (EEG/MEG) to examine brain activity as healthy volunteers try to reme...
• Professor Joe Herbert
  I am interested in the role of the brain in adaptive responses, with particular reference to the reciprocal interaction between hormones and the brain. My experimental work is focussed on the way that neural factors, such as serotonin and glucocor...
• Dr Sean Holden
  Our research covers assorted issues in both theoretical and applied machine learning. At present we are interested in: - Computational learning theory. How can we better understand the properties of machine learning algorithms in terms of, for ex...
• Dr Fumiya Iida
  Our research interests lie at the biologically inspired robotics, i.e. the cross section between biology and robotics: We are interested in extracting design principles of nature and extend them for improving our robotics technologies.
• Dr Gregory Jefferis
  Our broad goal is to understand how smell turns into behaviour in the fruit fly brain. We use a combination of genetic labelling and manipulation, targeted in vivo whole cell patch clamp recording and high resolution neuroanatomy to study olfactor...
• Dr Johannes Kohl
  Neural circuits underlying social behaviours
• Dr Anna Korhonen
  Computational neurolinguistics, the application of natural language processing techniques to aid research in cognitive neuroscience, computational lexical semantics and comceptual structure
• Professor Zoe Kourtzi
  My work aims to understand the role of learning and experience in enabling humans of all ages to translate sensory experience into complex decisions and adaptive behaviours. Adaptive cognitive abilities are critical for survival and social interac...
• Dr Markus Kuhn
  I am a Computer Scientist and one of my many interests include information-theoretic and signal-processing aspects of neural physiology, in models of human perception and learning, and in computer architectures specifically designed to execute bio...
• Professor Simon Laughlin
  I am interested in discovering design principles that govern the structure and function of neurons, neural circuits and sense organs. I combine an empirical approach with constraint-based modelling to see how the basic elements of circuits and se...
• Dr Rebecca Lawson
  We all have expectations about how the how the world should look, feel, smell, taste and sound. These expectations act as predictions to guide us when we are uncertain, and signal when something out of the ordinary is happening. My work uses com...
• Dr Michael Lee
  Chronic pain is defined simply as pain that persists beyond 3 months, but in reality is a suffering marked by emotional distress and physical disability. For many patients, the extent of disease or injury does not fully account for the severity of...
• Professor Máté Lengyel
  I study learning and memory from computational, algorithmic/representational and neurobiological viewpoints. I also maintain an active interest in the possible computational functions of neural oscillations, particularly those present in the hippo...
• Professor Jarrod Lewis-Peacock
  Dr Lewis-Peacock is passionate about understanding how human memory works. His research uses a combination of behavioural methods, functional neuroimaging, and computational approaches to study how people think, remember, and act. The Lewis-Peacoc...
• Dr Chao Li
  Dr Li is a Senior Research Fellow with expertise in both clinical neuroscience and computation modelling. Dr Li is particularly interested in developing novel machine learning approaches based on imaging and multi-omics data to for personalised ma...
• Dr Pietro Lio'
  I am a Reader in Computational Biology in the Computer Laboratory which is the department of Computer Science of the University of Cambridge and I am a member of the Artificial Intelligence group of the Computer Laboratory. I hold a PhD in Comple...
• Dr Marwa Mahmoud
  My research interests lie in the field of social signal processing and human behaviour understanding, which includes expressions of emotions or medical conditions. My research draws on computer vision, machine learning, Human Computer Interaction ...
• Professor George Malliaras
  My research is in bioelectronics, specifically the application of organic electronic materials to interfacing with the brain, aiming to understand how the brain works and to develop new tools for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. Amon...
• Dr Flavia Mancini
  Chronic pain affects 1 in 5 people and is the leading cause of disability in the world. There are unresolved questions that urgently require answers to treat pain effectively, a crucial one being how the brain processes pain signals and gives rise...
• Dr William Marslen-Wilson
  My research interests are in the cognitive science and neuroscience of language. I study the comprehension of human language in the mind and the brain using interdisciplinary neuroimaging and multivariate analysis techniques aimed at identifying ...
• Dr Matthew Mason
  I investigate the function and evolution of the middle ear apparatus in vertebrates. Comparative anatomy is backed up with more recent techniques, such as micro-CT and laser interferometry, in order to visualise the middle ear structures and exami...
• Dr Brian McCabe
  The neural mechanisms of learning and memory, particularly imprinting in the domestic chick. The young of many species, when exposed to a conspicuous object, rapidly learn the object's characteristics and subsequently narrow their social preferenc...
• Dr Emmanouil Metzakopian
  My group is interested in understanding the effect of environmental stress, including oxidative stress, on the progress of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Our aim is to identify novel therapeutic targets to protect ...
• Professor John Mollon
  My research interests are in the visual perception of colour, motion, form and depth; the genetic basis for individual variations in perception; the nature of the information carried by the cerebral bus; and the history of neuroscience and of colo...
• Dr Anna Moore
  Developing earlry identification tools for child mental health by linking administrative, biomarker, genetic and phenotypic information.
• Dr Sarah Morgan
  My research applies machine learning, network science and Natural Language Processing to better understand and predict brain development, cognition and mental health. I am an Accelerate Science Research Fellow at the Department of Computer Science...
• Dr Timothy O'Leary
  How do nervous systems adapt and repair themselves? How do they exhibit coherent function in spite of variable underlying properties? I study these questions using theory, computational models and experiments. For example, it is well known that n...
• Dr Zahid Padamsey
  Our aim is to understand how nutrition impacts brain function and energy use. We focus on how dietary manipulations (e.g. calorie restriction, high fat diet) affect the cortex, which we probe in vivo using two-photon imaging and electrophysiology ...
• Dr David Parker
  We examine cellular and synaptic properties in neuronal networks using the lamprey spinal cord locomotor network as a model system. While this network is claimed, and often cited, as being characterised, there are actually significant gaps in our ...
• Dr Roy Patterson
  We have developed a computational model of the auditory signal processing that transforms a sound wave into the auditory image you hear in response to that sound wave. We investigate how the cochlea and neural centres in the auditory pathway proce...
• Dr Stefano Pluchino
  Recent evidence from our own laboratory indicates that the systemic injection of somatic neural stem/precursor cells (NPCs) very efficiently protect the CNS from the chronic degeneration induced by inflammation both in small rodents as well as in ...
• Dr Jasper Poort
  I want to understand how we selectively process behaviourally relevant visual input. How does the brain turn a constant overflow of sensory information into selective representations of our environment that can optimally guide our actions? Studyin...
• Dr Christopher Proctor
  Chris's research is focused on engineering bionic systems to improve healthcare and advance bioscience. On going project themes include: Electronic drug delivery: Targeted drug delivery can focus treatment on the region of the body affected by a ...
• Dr Taufiq Rahman
  My research interests broadly lie in two categories - structure-function studies of intracellular calcium channels and rational design and development of selective modulators of signalling proteins including ion channels
• Professor Carl Edward Rasmussen
  I work on probabilistic inference and machine learning. What are the mathematical foundations of learning from experience in biological systems?
• Dr Timothy Rittman BMBS BMedSci PgCertMedEd MRCP(London) PhD
  My main interest is in understanding how neurodegnerative disease progresses through the brain, in particular why neurodegenerative disease affect the brain in predictable patterns. To do this I develop computer models of disease processes using i...
• Professor Trevor Robbins
  Research interests span the areas of cognitive neuroscience, behavioural neuroscience and psychopharmacology. Main work focuses on the functions of the frontal lobes of the brain and their connections with other regions. These brain systems are re...
• Professor Angela Roberts FMedSci
  I am interested in the brain networks underlying cognitive and emotional behaviour. In particular, my research focuses on the executive control functions of the prefrontal cortex and related brain structures, including the basal ganglia and the am...
• Dr Hugh Robinson
  We study synaptic integration in mammalian cortical neurons - encoding of synaptic inputs into patterns of action potentials, or spikes. We are currently interested in - development of advanced electrical stimulation techniques (conductan...
• Chris Rodgers
  I am an expert in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). My group develop advanced MRI and MRS methods usnig the 7T Terra MRI scanner at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre. Our aim is to push the boundaries of MR...
• Professor James B. Rowe
  Dementia and Neurodegeneration have devastating consequences. My work aims to protect brain function in those at risk of dementia, and restore brain function in those with symptoms. My program has four pillars: 1. to define cognitive processes tha...
• Professor John Rust
  The development, evaluation and implementation of psychometric tests and psychometric testing procedures. As Director of The Psychometrics Centre I have been responsible for the UK standardisation of many of the most widely used psychometric tests...
• Professor Wolfram Schultz FRS
  Our group is interested to relate the mechanics of brain activity to measurable behaviour. We combine neurophysiological, imaging and behavioural techniques to investigate the neural correlates of goal-directed. We are interested in outcome value ...
• Dr Christof Schwiening
  Electrical activity of neurones is associated with calcium influx through various channels. Most neurones extrude this calcium very rapidly on the plasma-membrane calcium pump (PMCA). Our research shows that this extrusion occurs in exchange for h...
• Professor Rodolphe Sepulchre
  We use tools from feedback control theory and machine learning to study the modulation and robustness of neuronal circuits. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms that transfer rhythmic activity across a range of temporal and spatial sca...
• Dr Peter Smielewski
  In an established environment of Clinical Neuroscience Dept large quantities of data can be captured from bed-side monitors. Using that data, continuous assessment of changing cerebrovascular haemodynamics and oxygenation is possible but requires ...
• Dr Emmanuel A Stamatakis
  My work employs behavioural tasks, mathematical models, network science, information theoretical approaches and machine learning to determine the systems-level mechanisms that govern cognitive function, both in health and disease. Currently, my wo...
• Dr Li Su
  I lead Artificial Intelligence and Computational Neuroscience group (http://www.aicn-group.com). I am Chair of Neuroimaging in Neuroscience Institute at University of Sheffield and Principal Research Fellow (Professor Grade 11) at Department of Ps...
• John Suckling
  Can neuroimaging improve patient outcomes? We are looking at ways neuroimaging - the combination of brain imaging and computational methodologies - can have a direct impact on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of developmental conditions, co...
• Dr Zhongzhao Teng
  Atherosclerotic plaques are multi-component structures composed of a lipid core, calcium or haemorrhage enclosed by a fibrous cap, which can be captured by MRI. The rupture of atherosclerotic plaques is responsible for most clinical symptoms of he...
• Dr David Tolhurst
  Visual coding of natural scenes. Information coding in the visual cortex studied by single unit recording, computational models and psychophysical discrimination by human observers. Visual deficits in developmental or acquired visual abnormality.
• Marco Tripodi
  One of the major tasks that the nervous system faces is that of linking perception to action. We perceive the world around us through our senses and we use this information to select the most appropriate set of actions. My lab studies the organiza...
• Dr Richard Turner
  My research lies at the interface between computer perception (which builds artificial systems for understanding images, sounds and videos), neuroscience (which tries to understand the brain) and machine-learning (which provides a theoretical fram...
• Professor Michele Vendruscolo
  Our research at the Centre for Misfolding Diseases (https://www.cmd.ch.cam.ac.uk/) is aimed at understanding the molecular origins of neurodegenerative disorders. We have set up an interdisciplinary programme that brings together methods and conc...
• Dr Petra Vertes
  I lead the Systems and Computational Neuroscience group in the Department of Psychiatry, and I am a fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. I am also one of the co-founders of the Cambridge Networks Network - a forum for academics across different d...
• Professor Valerie Voon
  Why do we repeat behaviours that we know are bad for us? Or make impulsive poorly considered decisions? These decision making processes are relevant in our daily lives and can be hijacked in disorders of pathology. The Voon lab spans across Camb...
• Dr Ian Wilkinson
  My research is clinically orientated and centres on the physiology and pharmacology of the cardiovascular system, and particularly the large arteries and endothelial function. As a clinical pharmacologist, I combine detailed physiological measure...
• Ian Winter
  Primitive neural mechanisms of auditory scene analysis. My research searches for neurophysiological correlates of the cues necessary for the segregation and fusion of auditory objects. This work is carried out in close collaboration with psychop...
• Professor Daniel Wolpert FMedSci FRS
  The group uses engineering approaches to understand how the human brain controls movement. The work includes both computational modelling and experimental approaches using robotic and virtual reality interfaces. Research areas include motor planni...
• Dr Alexandra Woolgar
  We study the neural basis for flexible cognitive control, underpinning the incredible human capacity for diverse and flexible behaviour. Our research uses multivariate analysis of fMRI, E/MEG, and combined TMS-fMRI data. We are interested in ho...