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Elnaz Alikarami

@elnaza.bsky.social
293 followers 527 following 305 posts

Neuroscience researcher, Dentist, passionate amateur artist. Research analyst and project lead, a volunteer of the Neuromatch. Advocate by spirit. An open-science fan. Always trying to make a change! Www.elnazalikarami.com

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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Well, I am finally a Canadian, Though instead of writing all proud happy, this has been my home, etc. All I can say is that, I feel nothing special, I have lots of philosophical dilemmas swirling around in my head. What a time to be a Canadian for an original Iranian.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Academic practice is universal, beneficial to all, it should be protected universally and treated globally as well.
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megan peters 🧠 @meganakpeters.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Neuromatch has been denied our Office of Foreign Assets Control "Iran license" renewal. We had renewed successfully before, but now our request is “inconsistent with current U.S. foreign policy.” I am absolutely gutted by this denial.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
1) Over the past 6 years, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to the inclusion of Iran in Neuromatch.I witnessed how much it can change lives.For many Iranian researchers, opportunities like Neuromatch were never just educational programs,but were rare bridges to a global scientific community.
neuromatch.how
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Lately, I have joined to a prominent team of AI solutions for e-commerce. The team is focused on fostering a system that makes digital environment aligned with human cognition. It is fun to do applied neuroscience research. This is the very first step, read my piece: medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
E-commerce Is Not a Platform. It’s a Cognitive System
You open an online store. Hundreds of products. You scroll. Pause. Compare. And somehow… it feels harder, not easier.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Universities are supposed to be a censers of learning and hope, not targets. Striking them, whatever the justification, erodes norms that protect science, knowledge, civilization, and future of the next generation. Academics, don’t let that become normal… #SharifUniversity #academia #war
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Amirreza Bahramani @amir137.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Last night, US/Israeli strikes bombed Sharif University, my alma mater, heavily damaging the IT Center, Philosophy of Science building, EE, and more. Trump spoke of sending Iran "back to the Stone Age." That is the goal of this war. Scientists worldwide should speak up against these atrocities.
Philosophy of Science GroupElectrical Engineering DepartmentI think this is a part of the civil engineering department.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
1) This is the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, following recent airstrikes. As a neuroscientist, it’s gut-wrenching to see. This facility was pioneering optical methods to visualize neural activity in real-time. Said purely academic reseache center,
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Athena Akrami @athenaakrami.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Pasteur Institute of Iran, founded in 1920 now destroyed by Israel-US bombing😞 It played a pivotal role in developing vaccines & public health services, for over a century, now gone😞 A few days ago a pharmaceutical plant was bombed, accused of making anesthetic fentanyl #War #PasteurInstituteIran
Rubble and ruins -- Iran Pasteur Institute in Tehran, bombed by US-IsrealRubble and ruins -- Iran Pasteur Institute in Tehran, bombed by US-IsrealRubble and ruins -- Iran Pasteur Institute in Tehran, bombed by US-IsrealRubble and ruins -- Iran Pasteur Institute in Tehran, bombed by US-Isreal
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
What if heat and cold weren’t just experiences but signals? Wearables are turning thermal exposure into something we can actually observe: how the body reacts, and how it recovers. Short piece on this idea: medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
Heat, Cold, and the Measurable Body
For a long time, heat and cold belonged mostly to feeling.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
#Science-community, please read this and try to support your colleagues #Iran www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Calling all scientists: Support your Iranian colleagues
Letter to the Editor
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Athena Akrami @athenaakrami.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
We're already in the phase that each of us (Iranians) by now know someone killed/injured in our circle of friends/family. And this is despite the continued internet blackout, when millions haven't still managed to hear from their family/friends since Thursday, January 8th. This tells a lot ... 😥😥
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
It’s becoming almost a year that I started looking for a job. Yes, I’ll never forgive my former employer for what he did to me. But what was harder is the prejudice and discriminationI face here everyday to get my life in back in order. I was thinking of moving back home. Now where is home? #iran
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Antoine Bergel @antbergel.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
⚠️ New paper alert and what a way to end 2025! 🎉 Happy to share our story “Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals.” published today in Nature Neuroscience. Sleeping dragons 🦎 and functional ultrasound! Read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eWJHb 1/8
rdcu.be
Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals
Nature Neuroscience - Bergel et al. show that an infraslow rhythm connecting the brain and body during sleep is shared by lizards, mammals and birds, revealing an ancestral process and reshaping...
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
1. My take away from this is A good scientist and a professor should have accountability: Konrad says sorry! Doesn’t say we all make mistakes but the paper found its way anyways… he took the responsibility and apologized. Something that academics should learn.
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Konrad Kording @kordinglab.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
New post: The Electric Motor and the Drill LLM chat bots are like electric motors: can do anything, bad at everything. The problem is UI/UX. AI should be more like power tools. I built a science planner around this philosophy. 10,000 scientists use it now. open.substack.com/pub/kording/...
open.substack.com
The Electric Motor and the Drill - we use AI in the wrong way
Power tools are better than general purpose tools for most applications, my science planning app planyourscience.com is a result of this philosophy
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
1.Ok, If I say something like this to my uncle/MP, I’ll probably hear: “Sure, science is important —but when unemployment kills and families can’t pay rent, why should taxpayers cover lifetime salaries, and multi-million-dollar labs for basic research?” honestly, that’s not an unreasonable question.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
As a person transitioning from research to clinic/industry back and forth, I only wish that researchers could understand that science is not under attack, scientists aren't under attack, not even their approach, their manner of practice is…, only if they understood this and improved themselves…
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Adrian Duszkiewicz @adrian-du.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Thrilled to announce I'll be joining the Division of Neuroscience at @manchester.ac.uk as a Lecturer in Feb '26! The DuLab will explore how the brain integrates sensory streams into internal maps 🌐 using the rodent head-direction circuit, the 'neural compass', as a starting point for the journey 🧭
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Adrian Duszkiewicz @adrian-du.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Really excited to share this Opinion piece we've been working on with fellow head-direction cell geeks @apeyrache.bsky.social @desdemonafricker.bsky.social and (bsky-less?) Andrea Burgalossi! While head-direction cells pop up in many cortical regions, we think that one of them is quite unique (1/8)
sciencedirect.com
The postsubiculum as a head-direction cortex
The organisation of thalamocortical networks follows a conserved structure. Traditionally, these are divided into primary sensory systems that receive…
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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 15/10/2025
Deeply embarrassing that Scientific American would lend its name to this claptrap.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
1/ I’ve lived this, I’ve studied it, and I’m using my experience to highlight broader inequities that many of us face. BUT I wrote this piece solely with a researcher’s eye 👀 It’s not a personal account. It’s an evidence-based look at how “fit” shapes belonging and power. medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
Medium
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Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Fyi if you're an educator looking for videos about the brain and/or how neuroscience is done, check out @brainfacts.org's YouTube page: youtube.com/@brainfactsorg It includes submissions to their Brain Awareness Week video contest, which can be quite fun! #neuroskyence
youtube.com
BrainFacts.org
BrainFacts.org is an authoritative source of information about the brain and nervous system for the public. The site is a public information initiative of The Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable F...
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Shahab Bakhtiari @shahabbakht.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
So excited to see this preprint released from the lab into the wild. Charlotte has developed a theory for how learning curriculum influences learning generalization. Our theory makes straightforward neural predictions that can be tested in future experiments. (1/4) 🧠🤖 🧠📈 #MLSky
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Guillaume Dumas @introspection.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Honored to be awarded the FRQ–IVADO Research Chair in "Social Neuro-AI & Inter-Personalized Psychiatry"! Grateful to my team & colleagues at @cra-chusj.bsky.social & @mila-quebec.bsky.social, and my family for their support 🙏 Excited to keep bridging social neuroscience, AI & precision psychiatry🚀
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Sylvain Baillet @sylvainbaillet.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Today is my first day as Director, Research & Innovation and CRCHUM Research Centre @crchum.bsky.social (University of Montreal's main Research & Teaching Hospital). Also starting a new research group @umontreal.ca. Stay tuned for updates along this new collective journey!
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MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
"I feel that there’s nothing more important than to pass on, to my son, the little piece of nothing and everything that I’ve observed — the happiness that comes from watching a dragonfly, spider, frog, lizard, elephant, parrot, mouse, orangutan, or ladybug."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
Self-Medicating Chimps, Pugilistic Shrimp, and Other Remarkable Animals: An Illustrated Guide
A catalog of wondrous beings, excerpted from Emmanuelle Pouydebat's book "Atlas of Poetic Zoology."
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WIRED @wired.com · 01/10/2025
Jane Goodall understood better than most the impact humans have had on the planet. Having witnessed so much environmental deterioration during her lifetime, she was as much an activist as a scientist. Read our piece from 2024 on the legendary primatologist. 💚
wired.com
Jane Goodall Thinks It’s Not Too Late to Save the World
The world, the famed primatologist says, isn’t what it used to be—but there’s still time to save it, if we treat crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and poverty as one.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
I am playing with Muse device as a part of my work, Today I tried the resistance meditation that is centered around refuge. I realized that I have no stability refuge except my family, which are in Iran so not a real refuge… I am more nervous after my meditation now 🤦‍♀️
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Blake Richards @tyrellturing.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
The CTRL-Labs decoding model paper is out! Saw this presented at Cosyne this year, very cool to see it out. I would say this is the clearest demonstration of scaling laws in neural decoding to-date. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧠📈 🧪
nature.com
A generic non-invasive neuromotor interface for human-computer interaction - Nature
A high-bandwidth neuromotor interface offers performant out-of-the-box generalization across people.
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Dan Goodman @neural-reckoning.org · 17/09/2025
If you're interested in spiking neural networks, you should know about surrogate gradient descent and @fzenke.bsky.social's SPyTorch tutorial which shows just how easy it is to apply this method that's changing the whole field. Check out my paean below. 👇
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hakwan lau @hakwan.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... my wife (2nd author) just published in Cell working from home is not without pressure you know? #neuroscience
sciencedirect.com
Distinct circuit motifs evaluate opposing innate values of odors
Evaluating the innate value of objects is critical for expressing adaptive behaviors. However, where and how this computation takes place in the brain…
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
I am digging into use of HRV in sleep research with the folks in the field. In my latest article, I unpack the science of HRV biofeedback—and how wearable tech is translating this from controlled lab settings into everyday use for stress, sleep, and performance. medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
Heart Rate Variability, Biofeedback, and the Future of Personalized Regulation
Your heartbeat is more than just a rhythm. The autonomic nervous system orchestrates rapid adjustments to maintain balance across…
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Katharina Schmack @kathaschmack.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
"Sleep, like aging, may be an inescapable consequence of aerobic metabolism." Really enjoyed this thought-provoking paper 🧠💤🪰 - congrats to @rafsarnataro.bsky.social and team on this impressive work! No wonder the Krebs cycle always put me to sleep 😅 #neuroskyence
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
This is a great input I received. To respond that: 1/ Social influence doesn’t stop at politics or media—it’s present in science too. Scientists are not immune to bandwagon effects—repeated claims in literature can start to feel more “true” (illusory truth effect), even when replication is weak.
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The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
International collaborations enable the sharing of resources and expertise, as well as more broadly applicable and reproducible results. But new U.S. federal funding restrictions are putting them in jeopardy, writes @lucinauddin.bsky.social. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/funding/inte...
thetransmitter.org
International scientific collaboration is more necessary—yet more challenging—than ever
These partnerships accelerate neuroscience by enabling researchers to share resources and expertise, as well as generate more relevant and reproducible results. But new federal funding restrictions in...
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Dan Goodman @neural-reckoning.org · 04/09/2025
Is anarchist science possible? As an experiment, we got together a large group of computational neuroscientists from around the world to work on a single project without top down direction. Read on to find out what happened. 🤖🧠🧪
Diagram of how the "collaborative modelling of the brain" (COMOB) project started. Starting material lead to group research or solo research, coming together in online workshops (monthly) in an iterative cycle, finishing with writing up together. The diagram is illustrated with colourful cartoon blob characters.
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Blake Richards @tyrellturing.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
For those interested in open neuroscience learning tools, check out the preprint for “RetINaBox: A hands-on tool for experimental neuroscience" that a couple students in my lab worked on in collaboration with the Trenholm lab: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧠📈 🧪
biorxiv.org
RetINaBox: A hands-on learning tool for experimental neuroscience
An exciting aspect of neuroscience research is developing and testing hypotheses via experimentation. However, due to logistical and financial hurdles, this compelling part of neuroscience research is...
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Dan Levenstein @dlevenstein.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Such a fun collaboration to be a part of! Turns out, like many things in the brain, inhibition-stabilization is the answer. 👀🧭⚖️
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Have you ever changed your mind in a meeting, not for evidence but because everyone else agreed? There’s neuroscience to explore 🧠 I just published a piece on how the brain rewards consensus, why repetition feels like truth, and what that means in the age of the infodemic. medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
The Neuroscience of Social Influence: How Our Brains Shape Belief
Have you ever noticed yourself doubting your own opinion after seeing everyone else agree on something different? Or felt a sudden…
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Just published on Medium: Combating the Infodemic. Personal experience as an Iranian: I’ve felt overwhelmed by headlines during the recent Iran–Israel war—proof of how framing shapes what we feel + believe. Based on brilliant research of @profsanderlinden.bsky.social medium.com/@elnaz.karam...
medium.com
Combating the Infodemic: The Subtle Art of Propaganda Through News Framing and How to Spot It
Have you ever read a headline that felt true but left you uneasy — like it was nudging you toward a conclusion without saying it outright…
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Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
For anyone interested in an academic job in 🇨🇦, we will soon be advertising an Assistant Prof position in Systems Neuroscience (rodents and other animal models) at ULethbridge. There are many pros and cons of working here, so feel free to DM me to find out more #neuroskyence #academicsky
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Dear community, It’s been a long job search, and being Iranian, even while based in Canada, has sometimes limited my options. But I’m still pushing forward 🌱. I bring a diverse set of skills and a scientific mindset, and I’m excited to find my next role.
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Konrad Kording @kordinglab.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Planning your first scientific project as the term is about to start? Teaching a project based course? I am working on an app that should help. planyourscience.com Still looking for feedback. Much simpler than any previous version. Works on mobile. Good science, much AI.
planyourscience.com
Scientific Paper Planner
Scientific Paper Planner Application
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Who could answer these questions better than this? Bloody AI...!
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STITCHES Medicine - the Best of Medical Research @medicine.stitches.today · 24/07/2025
A groundbreaking cohort study reveals that multi-modal AI models enhance disease prediction by integrating rich lifestyle and health data. by Reicher L, Shilo S (...) Segal E et 35 al. in Nat Med #MedSky 👉 get more here 📖 read the article:
nature.com
Deep phenotyping of health–disease continuum in the Human Phenotype Project - Nature Medicine
Deep phenotyping of an ancestrally diverse group of 13,000 individuals in the Human Phenotype Project highlights diversity and variations in lifestyle factors, clinical features and molecular signatures of health and disease.
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Elnaz Alikarami @elnaza.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Demetrios is definitely one of the most fun conference hosts I’ve ever seen! Thank you @mlopscommunity.bsky.social for a day full of things to learn and so much fun.
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 17/07/2025
Echo Chamber xkcd.com/3116/
Comic. [Person sitting in a chair and covering ears with hands in front of a device on a stand in a circular chamber. Words coming from device are repeated endlessly.] Here’s Mittens falling into the laundry hamper for the *third* time today! [caption] Now that I’ve built one, I finally get why people complain about social media echo chambers.
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Blake Richards @tyrellturing.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Super excited to see this paper from Armin Lak & colleagues out! (I've seen @saxelab.bsky.social present it before.) www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... tl;dr: The learning trajectories that individual mice take correspond to different saddle points in a deep net's loss landscape. 🧠📈 🧪 #NeuroAI
cell.com
Dopamine encodes deep network teaching signals for individual learning trajectories
Longitudinal tracking of long-term learning behavior and striatal dopamine reveals that dopamine teaching signals shape individually diverse yet systematic learning trajectories, captured mathematical...
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Dan Levenstein @dlevenstein.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Anyone have a good concrete example of this being successfully applied in neuroscience? #neuroskyence #compneuro
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