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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit

@gatsbyucl.bsky.social
638 followers 95 following 31 posts

We study the mathematical principles of learning, perception & action in brains & machines. Funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Based at UCL. www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby

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Reposted by Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit
Mohadeseh Shafiei Kafraj @mohishafiei.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I’ll be presenting a new biologically plausible associative memory model tomorrow at the Bernstein Conference, in the Hippocampal Memory Circuits workshop. Supervised by Peter Latham, in collaboration with @krotov.bsky.social @apalmigiano.bsky.social @saxelab.bsky.social @yiotapoirazi.bsky.social.
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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Congratulations to @samuel-liebana.bsky.social, (@saxelab.bsky.social, @gatsbyucl.bsky.social) on receiving a @wellcometrust.bsky.social Early-Career Award! 🎉 The 5-year award will fund his research into how brains, both biological and artificial, learn. @jerlich.com Read the news ⤵️
sainsburywellcome.org
Dr Samuel Liebana granted Wellcome Early-Career Award | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
This prestigious award recognises Dr Liebana’s innovative research on how brains – both natural and artificial – learn.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🙋Are you interested in bridging theory & experiments? Applications are open for 2027 entry to the Gatsby Unit & SWC joint PhD programme. Join us and be part of a vibrant research community! 💰 Fully-funded 4-year programme ℹ️ www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science... @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social
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ELLIS @ellis.eu · 21/09/2026
📖 Check out the next ELLIS x @unireps.bsky.social Speaker Series session, featuring speakers: 🔵 @devon-jarvis.bsky.social (Wits Uni) 🔴 Jan Bauer (UCL, Gatsby Unit) 📅 21 September ⏰ 16:00 CEST 📍 Virtual 🔗 More info: unireps.org/speaker-series
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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
How do organs communicate across the body? A new Nature study from @gatsbyucl.bsky.social and collaborators used WHOLISTIC to reveal previously unknown body-wide cellular circuits in living vertebrates. www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
ucl.ac.uk
New imaging method reveals cellular activity across the whole zebrafish body
A new imaging platform developed by researchers at UCL and Janelia Research Campus can track cellular activity across almost the entire body of a living zebrafish, revealing how organs communicate.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Applying to the #ELLISPhD Program? If you are selecting a Gatsby Unit faculty member as your main supervisor, please don't forget to apply to the Gatsby Unit PhD Programme in parallel. Our deadline is 9 November 2026.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Interested in a #PhD in machine learning & theoretical neuroscience? Applications for 2027 entry to the Gatsby Unit PhD programme are now open! 💰 Fully-funded 4-year programme 🤝 Close links to @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social ℹ️ www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
Applications to the Gatsby Unit PhD programme in Theoretical Neuroscience and Machine Learning are now open. Apply via the Gatsby Recruitment Portal by Monday 9 November 2026. 

Visit the programme webpage www.ucl.ac.uk/life-sciences/gatsby/study-and-work/gatsby-unit-phd-programme for details.
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Misha Ahrens @mishaahrens.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Whole-body cellular activity imaging in zebrafish, headed by Virginie Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social - new paper is out: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Imaging cellular activity across all organs reveals body-wide circuits - Nature
An imaging system developed to record cellular activity throughout the whole body of zebrafish captures cellular organ dynamics and identifies multiple distributed circuits.
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Noé Hamou @noehamou.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Sign up sign up!
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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
How does sleep consolidate muscle memories? New research from @mstephensonjones.bsky.social lab & @gatsbyucl.bsky.social in @natneuro.nature.com reveals that motor-skill memories are replayed in the striatum during sleep, independently of the hippocampus. www.sainsburywellcome.org/blog/muscle-...
sainsburywellcome.org
Muscle memories: how does sleep produce consolidation? | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
Sleep not only makes us feel better, but it’s vital for helping us form memories and learn new skills. For many years, neuroscientists have studied how the brain consolidates episodic memories during ...
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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Just over a week left to apply to our new early career fellowship sponsorship scheme ⤵️
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Yedi Zhang @yedizhang.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Is Muon as good as they say? We looked beyond training speed and found a hidden cost: Muon loses the simplicity bias of older optimizers like gradient descent — and this matters for generalization. Led by Sara Dragutinović and advised by Rajesh Ranganath arxiv.org/abs/2603.00742
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
👋 At #ICML2026? Don't forget to visit our researchers' posters:
List of ICML2026 posters by (or in collaboration) with Gatsby Unit researchers.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
👋 Will you be at ProbML 2026? Don't miss: Invited Talk: A Bayesian approach to causal reasoning and scientific discovery. A Dhir Poster: RAMP: Recognition parametrisation by Amortised Message Passing. L Fox, K Biegun, J Heald, S Hromadka, A Rosinski, M Sahani
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SWC/GCNU Neuroinformatics Unit @neuroinformatics.dev · 02/07/2026
The Neuroinformatics Unit is going to #FENS2026. Come and chat to us if you're interested in open source neuroscience software!
Neuroinformatics Unit at FENS 2026

PS01-07AM-562 AN OPEN-SOURCE THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIGITAL BRAIN ATLAS OF THE MIGRATORY EURASIAN BLACKCAP
N. Sirmpilatze1, A. Felder1, D. Abdulazhanova2,3, L. Schwigon2,3, I. Tatarnikov1, K. Haase2,3, I. Musielak2,3, T. Margrie1, H. Mouritsen2,3, D. Heyers2,3, A. Tyson1,4, S. Weiler1
 
PS05-09AM-022 HIGH-RESOLUTION 2-PHOTON MICROSCOPY-BASED RAT BRAIN ATLAS INTEGRATED INTO THE BRAINGLOBE ECOSYSTEM
V.M. Plattner1,2, A. Felder2, N. Sirmpilatze2, A. Akrami1, A. L. Tyson2
 
PS05-09AM-023 MODERNISING AND EXPANDING BRAINGLOBE’S NEUROANATOMICAL ATLAS INFRASTRUCTURE
A. Felder1, I. Tatarnikov1, H. Carey1,2, V. Plattner1, N. Sirmpilatze1, A. Tyson1
 
PS05-09AM-024 MAKING BRAINGLOBE MORE ACCESSIBLE: SUPPORTING PARTIAL BRAIN REGISTRATION AND ACCELERATING HIGH-THROUGHPUT CELL DETECTION
I. Tatarnikov1, A. Felder1, M. Einhorn2, S. Hussain1, N. Sirmpilatze1, A. Tyson1
 
PS05-09AM-025 PHOTONMOSAIC: A FLEXIBLE, MODULAR AND INTEROPERABLE SOFTWARE FRAMEWORK FOR MULTIPHOTON I
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UCL News @uclnews.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Just announced: @ucl.ac.uk will host the new Science of Fundamental AI Research (SOFAIR) Lab, a major new research lab to develop innovative, open-source AI systems, to help secure the UK’s position as a global leader in AI.
ucl.ac.uk
National research lab based at UCL will make AI more accessible
UCL will host a major new lab to develop innovative, open-source AI systems, to help secure the UK’s position as a global leader in AI.
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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
SWC & @gatsbyucl.bsky.social are looking to sponsor early career researchers in mechanistic theories of neural computation for external fellowships. Join a collaborative, world-class community at the interface of theory and experiment. Apply by 16 July www.sainsburywellcome.org/content/fell...
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aaeworkshop.bsky.social @aaeworkshop.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
The AAE Workshop deadline is in 3 weeks — have you applied yet? 📅 June 18–19 📍 Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, London Join us for two days on causal inference, adaptive experiments, bandits, and RL. 🔗 t.co/Zar0qWhgA8
t.co
https://aae-workshop.github.io/info/
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arXiv stat.ML Machine Learning @statml-bot.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Houssam Zenati, Arthur Gretton: Semiparametric Efficient Test for Interpretable Distributional Treatment Effects arxiv.org/abs/2605.08034 arxiv.org/pdf/2605.08034 arxiv.org/html/2605.08034
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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
🌟 Curious about life sciences? Join our Science Fair on 13 June 2026 at UCL! Hands‑on experiments, interactive demos, short talks and more — free and open to all. Register: bit.ly/4darPQT #FLSScienceFair #LifeSciences #STEM #UCL
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and subject to limited capacity. Apply now to join us!
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arXiv stat.ML Machine Learning @statml-bot.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Zikai Shen, Dimitri Meunier, Houssam Zenati, Arthur Gretton, Nathan Kallus, Aur\'elien Bibaut: Instrumental Variable Analysis Without Structural Equations arxiv.org/abs/2604.24660 arxiv.org/pdf/2604.24660 arxiv.org/html/2604.24660
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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
We’re opening our doors on Saturday 13 June for a Science Fair full of fun, discovery, and interactive activities for all ages. Bring the whole family and dive into a world of experiments, demonstrations, and surprising scientific wonders. Sign up here: www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
A man and child take part in an activity at a science fair. They stand in front of some bunting on a board. 

Come to our Science Fair! Free admission. Saturday June 13, 12-5pm. Family friendly talks and activities. UCL Faculty of Life Sciences.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
👋 Will you be at #ICLR2026? Stop by our researchers' posters to learn more about their work!
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Andrew Saxe @saxelab.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Postdoc opening! Come work with us on deep learning theory relevant to AI safety Deadline: 7 Apr 2026 Details and application: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL – University College London
UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
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Stefano Sarao Mannelli @stefsm.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
​⏰ Only three weeks left to apply! ​This year the school focuses on one of the most active frontiers at the intersection of AI and CogSci: Language Acquisition. ​Join our incredible lineup of speakers and start new interdisciplinary collaborations 👇 www.analytical-connectionism.net/school/2026/
analytical-connectionism.net
2026 School on Analytical Connectionism
A 2-week summer course hosted at Chalmers University of Technology on analytical approaches to language acquisition and higher-level cognition.
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SWC/GCNU Neuroinformatics Unit @neuroinformatics.dev · 17/03/2026
Don't miss NIU Senior Research Software Engineer @nikosirmpilatze.com talking about our Python package for behavioural quantification, movement. April 2nd, 12h30-14h00 CET. Online on Zoom, registration needed: helsinki.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Poster advertising the talk, with a photo of the speaker.
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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Meet our next IDW2026 Spotlight, Mohadeseh Shafiei Kafraj. Mohadeseh is a PhD student at @gatsbyucl.bsky.social, working on mathematical models of associative memory. Find out about her research to understand human memory by visiting: linktr.ee/ucllifescien...
The text reads Meet Mohadeseh Shafiei Kafraj. Mohadeseh is a PhD student at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, working on mathematical models of associative memory. There is also anothe line of text that reads IWD2026 Spotlight and UCL200.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
📢 Heading to #COSYNE2026? Don't forget to check out our researchers' posters:
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
📢 Job alert - Deep Learning Theory & AI Safety Applications open for a postdoc fellow (@saxelab.bsky.social lab) to study artificial deep networks using techniques from applied maths & stat physics. ⏰ Deadline: 26 Mar 2026 🤝 In collaboration with @stefsm.bsky.social ℹ️ www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
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SWC/GCNU Neuroinformatics Unit @neuroinformatics.dev · 20/02/2026
Do you want to spend the summer being paid to contribute to open source neuroscience software? We are taking part in Google Summer of Code again, offering paid, remote placements to work on one of our tools. Open to (nearly) everyone worldwide. More details: neuroinformatics.dev/get-involved...
The Google Summer of Code and Neuroinformatics Unit logos next to each other.
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Andrew Saxe @saxelab.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Excited to launch Principia, a nonprofit research organisation at the intersection of deep learning theory and AI safety. Our goal is to develop theory for modern machine learning systems that can help us understand complex network behaviors, including those critical for AI safety and alignment. 1
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Andrew Saxe @saxelab.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Why don’t neural networks learn all at once, but instead progress from simple to complex solutions? And what does “simple” even mean across different neural network architectures? Sharing our new paper @iclr_conf led by Yedi Zhang with Peter Latham arxiv.org/abs/2512.20607
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Niko Sirmpilatze @nikosirmpilatze.com · 22/01/2026
Read the story behind the first @neuroinformatics.dev Open Software Week, in a series of blogposts for @softwaresaved.bsky.social The second edition will be even more awesome. Remember to apply by the end of January: neuroinformatics.dev/open-softwar...
neuroinformatics.dev
Open Software Summer School — NIU
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Antonio Sclocchi @antoniosclocchi.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
📣 Excited to co-organize the 2nd Workshop on Scientific Methods for Understanding Deep Learning at ICLR in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (April 26 or 27, 2026)!! 🔎🤖 🇧🇷 If you work on the why/how of deep learning, we are looking forward to reading your submission! 👇 #ICLR2026 #Sci4DL
scienceofdlworkshop.github.io
Call for Papers | SciForDL
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
📢 Applications open on 19 Jan for the 7-week #Mathematics #SummerSchool in London. You will develop the maths skills and intuition necessary to enter the #TheoreticalNeuroscience / #MachineLearning field. Find out more & register for the information webinar 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
Applications for 2026 entry to the Gatsby Bridging Programme (7-week maths summer school) will open on 19 Jan and close on 16 Feb. Designed for students who wish to pursue a postgrad research degree in theoretical neuroscience or foundational machine learning but whose degree programme lacks a strong maths focus. Applications from students in underrepresented groups in STEM strongly encouraged. A small number of bursaries available.
Register for the information webinar on 23 Jan.
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Leena C Vankadara @leenacvankadara.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Under He/Lecun inits, theory implies Kernel OR Unstable regimes as width→∞. Discrepancies (e.g. feature learning) are seen as finite width effects. Our #NeurIPS2025 spotlight refutes this: practical nets do not converge to kernel limits; Feature learning persists as width→∞🧵
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Arthur Gretton @arthurgretton.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
At #NeurIPS ? Visit our posters! 🧵 Demystifying Spectral Feature Learning for Instrumental Variable Regression: #2600, Wed 11am Regularized least squares learning with heavy-tailed noise is minimax optimal: #3012, Wed 4:30pm ✨spotlight✨ 1/2
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Basile Confavreux @bconfavreux.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Find us at NeurIPS, Thur 4:30 pm #2115! We know networks have to be both plastic and stable but we're used to thinking about computations, such as memory, as additional requirements. Instead, we find that almost all stable & plastic networks display simple memory abilities.
openreview.net
Memory by accident: a theory of learning as a byproduct of network...
Synaptic plasticity is widely considered to be crucial to the brain’s ability to learn throughout life. Decades of theoretical work have therefore been invested in deriving and designing...
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
👋 Will you be at #NeurIPS? Stop by our researchers' posters to learn more about their work!
A list of acceped papers by researchers at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, with corresponding poster time.
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SWC/GCNU Neuroinformatics Unit @neuroinformatics.dev · 01/12/2025
The date should of course be August 17-28 2026!
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
📢 Project Research Internship (spring 2026) Apply now to work with Dr Leena Chennuru Vankadara (@leenacvankadara.bsky.social) on the fundamental principles governing the behaviour of modern large-scale machine learning systems. ⏰ Deadline: 18 Dec 2025, 1pm GMT ℹ️ www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
ucl.ac.uk
Vacancies
Join us and be part of a vibrant community of research and innovation.
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
✈️ Heading to #SfN25? Check out Kira's (@kiradust.bsky.social) work "Autistic individuals learn to exploit temporal regularities in simple but not complex contexts" at Early Career Poster Session (Nov 15 18:45-20:45, A21) or Autism: Behavioral Analysis session (Nov 16 13-17, A27). Don't miss it!
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Bonsai @bonsai-rx.org · 12/11/2025
If you are interested in Bonsai and attending #SfN25 in San Diego, come and hang out by the Bonsai Foundation Booth 3726, Hall B2. Task logic, Harp devices, online real-time Machine Learning, new language features. We will be there everyday with live demos and open to chat about all things Bonsai!
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Samuel Liebana @samuel-liebana.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Honored to have a research highlight featuring our work! A comprehensive overview of our results and their impact for future research and applications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Dopamine as a teaching signal: understanding its role in shaping individual behavior - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy - Dopamine as a teaching signal: understanding its role in shaping individual behavior
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ELLIS @ellis.eu · 29/10/2025
💬 AI for Good Webinar Series 'From Molecules to Models' - today with @arthurgretton.bsky.social (@ucl.ac.uk, ELLIS Fellow) on causal effect estimation. 📅 Oct 29th 🕓 17:00-18:00 CET 🔗 Registration: aiforgood.itu.int/event/learn-... ℹ️ More info: ellis.eu/news/continu...
AI for Good Webinar Series 'From Molecules to Models': With Arthur Gretton on causal effect estimation
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
⏰ Deadline approaching for our PhD programmes! 👋 Apply by 3 Nov to join us and immerse yourself in world-class research and vibrant London life! Gatsby Unit: ucl.ac.uk/life-science... @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social: sainsburywellcome.org/web/content/... Joint: www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
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Arthur Gretton @arthurgretton.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Looking forward to next week's Winter School on Causality and Explainable AI! xai-winter-school.github.io
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Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit @gatsbyucl.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Applying to the #ELLISPhD Program? If you are selecting a Gatsby Unit faculty member as your main supervisor, don't forget to apply to the Gatsby Unit PhD Programme in parallel. Our deadline is 3 Nov 2025. 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...
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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre @sainsburywellcome.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Congratulations to all the new SWC & @gatsbyucl.bsky.social PhD students for successfully completing Boot Camp! We are delighted to welcome you to the community. Students showcased their robots in our hotly anticipated annual @noblackboxes.bsky.social Robot Competition 🦾⚽💻
Photo of staff and students at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, with robots competing in a football match.
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