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Gizem Özdil

@gzmozd.bsky.social
337 followers 316 following 35 posts

🤖🧠 Research Fellow at the Kempner Institute at Harvard | PhD@EPFL | Previously @UniBogazici @FlatironCCN @GoogleDeepmind

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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
David G. Clark @david-g-clark.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
📣 Multiple Flatiron Research Fellow (FRF) postdoc positions are available in my @flatironinstitute.org group! We've never been better positioned to understand how high-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems (neural circuits!) compute. If this is as exciting to you as it is to me, consider applying:
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Huge news!!! Congratulations 🍾🎈🎉
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
📣 CALL FOR PAPERS 📣 𝗖𝗼𝗥𝗟 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 📅 Submission deadline: September 24, AoE 📢 Notifications: October 12 📍 Workshop: November 12 in Austin 📝 Submit: openreview.net/group?id=rob... #CoRL2026 More info at corl2026-memory.github.io
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Happy to answer any questions about the Kempner Fellowship! 🧠✨😊
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
🍎 Next time you see a fly cleaning itself on your fruit salad, you might think about it differently! ⬇️ Read this wonderful piece by the Kempner team on our work on fly grooming, including a short interview with me about the project. Link to the paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Centralized brain networks controlling antennal grooming coordination - Nature Communications
The neural basis of grooming behavior remains incompletely understood. Here, the authors combine behavior, biomechanical simulations, connectome analysis, and neural network modeling to uncover centra...
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Well deserved! Congratulations :)
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
Kempner Institute at Harvard University @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
The #KempnerInstitute is hiring! 👇 ⏰ Application deadlines approaching: • June 1: Kempner AI Fellows (post BS/MS) • June 8: Postdoctoral AI Researchers (post PhD) Learn more and apply: bit.ly/439R2Gp #AI #NeuroAI
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Venki Murthy @neurovenki.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Nice piece in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social about our @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social! I say a few things in it.
thecrimson.com
Harvard's Kempner Institute Bet Big on AI. Now It Has to Prove Itself. | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard’s Kempner Institute made an early bet on owning its own AI computing cluster — a gamble that has quickly made it a rare academic hub for artificial intelligence research, even as private indus...
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
Kempner Institute at Harvard University @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
The #KempnerInstitute is Hiring! 👇 Explore our opportunities: - Kempner AI Fellows: for BS- or MS- level researchers - Postdoctoral AI Researchers: for recent PhD recipients - Educational Content & Curriculum Developer Learn more and apply! bit.ly/439R2Gp #AI #NeuroAI
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Benjamin Cowley @benjocowley.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
DNN models of the brain are getting bigger. Are we replacing one complicated system in vivo with another in silico? In new work, we seek the *smallest* DNN models of visual cortex, balancing prediction with parsimony. It turns out these compact models are surprisingly small! rdcu.be/e5H8G
rdcu.be
Compact deep neural network models of the visual cortex
Nature - Parsimonious deep neural network models can be used for prediction of visual neuron responses.
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Now accepted at #ICLR 🎊🙂 See you in Brazil! 🇧🇷
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
Kempner Institute at Harvard University @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Happy 2nd science birthday to the #KempnerInstitute! 🧠In our 2nd full year we reached 420+ members, 350+ papers, 3,200+ event attendees, and 3M+ GPU hours. See our strides in #intelligence research! Read the 2025 Annual Report: bit.ly/3LPSVmB @shamkakade.bsky.social @blsabatini.bsky.social
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
@tuthill.bsky.social @jan-ache.bsky.social @srinituraga.bsky.social @dddavi.bsky.social @bingbrunton.bsky.social
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Finally, I cannot end my words without thanking the open-source ecosystem that made this possible: OpenSim, MuJoCo, MyoSuite, and many more. Code links: • OpenSim optimization: github.com/gizemozd/neu... • MuJoCo imitation learning: github.com/gizemozd/Fly...
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Huge thanks to my co-first author Chuanfang Ning, whose master’s thesis sparked this project, and to all co-authors: Jasper S. Phelps, Sibo Wang-Chen (@wangchen.bsky.social), Guy Elisha, Alexander Blanke, Auke Ijspeert, Pavan Ramdya (@ramdya.bsky.social).
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
While we only optimized front-leg muscles, we provide mid & hind-leg scaffolds so their parameters can be fit next using the same pipeline. Our model bridges motor neurons and joints, paving the way for plugging more realistic neural networks derived from the connectome into embodied agents.
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Muscles don’t act alone; passive joint properties matter too. We ported the model to MuJoCo (via MyoConverter) for large-scale, fast simulation and set up imitation learning with muscle-driven control. We found that passive properties in the joints stabilize control and speed up learning.
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
We've got moments arms covered—what about muscle force? Unlike in humans, most fly muscle parameters are unknown. So we built an optimization pipeline in OpenSim to identify Hill-type parameters to produce measured fly kinematics. This revealed coordinated, testable muscle synergies across behaviors
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
We began by tracing muscle fibers, origins/insertions, and paths from high-resolution X-ray scans across specimens. This allowed us to recover moment arms around each joint center and cross-sectional area as a prior on muscle strength. In plain terms: torque = force x moment arm.
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
🪰 How do dozens of tiny fly muscles cooperate to move a leg? We’re excited to share the first 3D, data-driven musculoskeletal model of Drosophila legs based on Hill-type muscles, running in OpenSim and MuJoCo simulation environments. Preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2509.06426
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Thanks, Ben! Looking forward to being there :)
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Thank you so much!! I hope everything is going well for you! :)
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Big life update: I’m super excited to be joining the Kempner Institute as a Research Fellow! If you’re curious about my research plans or just want to connect, please reach out! 😊
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
Joao Barbosa @jbarbosa.org · 10/05/2025
Please RT🙏 Reach out if you want to help understand cognition by modelling, analyzing and/or collect large scale intracortical data from 👩🐒🐁 We're a friendly, diverse group (n>25) w/ this terrace 😎 in the center of Paris! See👇 for + info about the lab We have funding to support your application!
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Satpreet (Sat) Singh @satpreetsingh.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
📽️Recordings from our @cosynemeeting.bsky.social #COSYNE2025 workshop on “Agent-Based Models in Neuroscience: Complex Planning, Embodiment, and Beyond" are now online: neuro-agent-models.github.io 🧠🤖
neuro-agent-models.github.io
🤖 Agent-Based Models in Neuroscience
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Kanaka Rajan @kanakarajanphd.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Big showing from the Rajan Lab at @cosynemeeting.bsky.social! We have posters on everything from multi-agent social foraging to neuromodulated neural networks. Catch us in Poster Sessions 2 & 3 🧠🤖 #Cosyne2025 #NeuroAI #CompSci #neuroskyence
COSYNE 2025 Rajan lab posters. 
Friday, March 28 - Poster Session 2:
2-043: Emergent small-group foraging under variable group size, food scarcity, and sensory capabilities by Zhouyang (Hanson) Lu, Satpreet H Singh, Sonja Johnson-Yu, Aaron Walsman, Kanaka Rajan
2-058: 'Modeling rapid neuromodulation in the cortex-basal ganglia-thalamus loop' by Julia Costacurta and Yu Duan (co-first), John Assad, Kanaka Rajan and Scott Linderman (co-senior)
2-060: 'Measuring and Controlling Solution Degeneracy across Task-Trained RNNs' by Ann Huang, Satpreet Singh, Kanaka Rajan

Saturday, March 29 - Poster Session 3:

3-020: 'ForageWorld: RL agents in complex foraging arenas develop internal maps for navigation and planning' by Ryan Badman, Riley Simmons-Edler, Joshua Lunger, John Vastola, William Qian, Kanaka Rajan
3-109: 'Inhibition-stabilized disordered dynamics in mouse cortex during navigational decision-making' by Siyan Zhou, Ryan Badman, Charlotte Arlt, Kanaka Rajan, Christopher Harvey
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Sadly, I won’t be there in person this year because of visa issues :(( (yep, they’re real and they suck)... But two of my amazing co-organizers will be there: @satpreetsingh.bsky.social and @chingfang.bsky.social
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Only 4 days to go until our workshop!! 🪰🐁🤖 If you're at COSYNE, don't miss out on incredible talks and inspiring panel discussions at "Agent-Based Models in Neuroscience: Complex Planning, Embodiment, and Beyond" on March 31 :) Check out the latest schedule: neuro-agent-models.github.io
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
🚨 SUPER excited to announce our Cosyne workshop on Neuro Agents! 🤖🐁🪰🧠 We have an incredible lineup of speakers, check out the program! neuro-agent-models.github.io See you in Canada! 🇨🇦 #Cosyne #Cosyne2025 #NeuroAI
neuro-agent-models.github.io
Workshop Title
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Congrats!! I will be there as well, presenting another biomechanics paper ☺️
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
Kris Jensen @kristorpjensen.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
I wrote an introduction to RL for neuroscience last year that was just published in NBDT: tinyurl.com/5f58zdy3 This review aims to provide some intuition for and derivations of RL methods commonly used in systems neuroscience, ranging from TD learning through the SR to deep and distributional RL!
tinyurl.com
An introduction to reinforcement learning for neuroscience | Published in Neurons, Behavior, Data analysis, and Theory
By Kristopher T. Jensen. Reinforcement learning for neuroscientists
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Thank you so much, John! I would love to hear your thoughts!
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Reposted by Gizem Özdil
ramdya.bsky.social @ramdya.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
As you unwrap your holiday presents, consider how you coordinate your fingers and limbs. @gzmozd.bsky.social identified fly brain networks for body part coordination through experiments, biomechanical modeling, connectomics, and neural network simulations ! 🤖 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
10/ Big thanks to our amazing collaborators and the incredible fly community for creating the open-source tools that made this work possible. 🙌 #Neuroscience #MotorControl #Drosophila #Connectome @neuroxepfl.bsky.social @fly-eds.bsky.social @flywire.bsky.social
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
9/ So next time you see a fly grooming itself or you try multitasking, take a moment to appreciate the magic of coordination. Check out our preprint! 🪰🧠 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Centralized brain networks underlie body part coordination during grooming
Animals must coordinate multiple body parts to perform important tasks such as grooming, or locomotion. How this movement synchronization is achieved by the nervous system remains largely unknown. Her...
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
8/ The fly’s strategy enables robustness yet flexibility, thus it may be a common blueprint for movement across species—or even for other behaviors in flies. 🐁🐱🦎
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
7/ Recurrent excitation: Drives non-groomed antennal pitch movements and keeps other motor networks in sync. ⚡️ Broadcast inhibition: Suppresses targeted antennal movement to prevent conflicting actions. ⛔️
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
6/ To understand this better, we simulated the grooming network and ran a computational neural activation screen. Two key circuit motifs emerged as the stars of this coordination process:
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
5/ Think of it as an elegant engineering solution: these central neurons enable flexibility, allowing any brain region to initiate or stop the behavior. 🛠️
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
4/ So, what orchestrates these movements? Using the fly connectome, we constructed a subnetwork for antennal grooming. In this network, we discovered that a central group of neurons links motor circuits for the neck, antennae, and forelegs. 🧠 These neurons act as a hub for coordinating body parts.
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
3-2/ EVEN without antennae, the coordination between head rotations and foreleg movements remains! 😱😱😱
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
3-1/ Or, head-immobilized flies will still move their antennae and forelegs in a fascinatingly coordinated fashion. 🤯
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
3/ Surprisingly, each body part operates independently of the others' sensory feedback. Even with amputated forelegs, flies still move their antennae and head! This suggests an open-loop (not feedback-based) coordination mechanism. 🤖
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
2/ By simulating these motions in a biomechanical model, we discovered the reason: synchronization ensures forceful and unobstructed interactions between the forelegs and antennae. This efficiency guarantees a thorough cleaning job. 💪✨
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
1/ In our study, we explored how flies synchronize their head, antennae, and forelegs during goal-directed antennal grooming. We found that when targeting an antenna, flies perform three distinct motor actions. But why these specific movements?
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Gizem Özdil @gzmozd.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
🧵 Ever seen a fly perform a full self-care ritual? 🪰 They meticulously rub their head and clean their antennae, ensuring every speck of dirt is gone. But how do they coordinate all those tiny body parts so seamlessly?👇
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