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Ling-Qi Zhang

@lingqiz.bsky.social
355 followers 394 following 20 posts

🧠 Comp Neuro, Behavior, Theory and Machine Learning | Theory Fellow @HHMI Janelia | 💻 lingqiz.github.io

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Reposted by Ling-Qi Zhang
Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 16/09/2026
Scientist here: It is widely known inside science that this—top-down imposition of a research agenda—leads to mostly rote, boring, non-innovative work. Building an institute to do discovery science is hard: you hire young people, put them together, hope synergies arise and ideas fall out.
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Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Arthur Prat @arthurpr4t.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
We derived six laws of psychophysics from a single efficient-coding equation. The laws include Weber's law; scaling laws in visual working memory (which had been noted before, but with unclear theoretical justification); Wei & Stocker's law of human perception; arthurprat.com/pdfs/Prat-Ca...
arthurprat.com
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Laura Grima @lauragrima.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
@fluketc.bsky.social and @dudman.bsky.social have hit it out the park again. In my (perhaps biased) opinion this - along with their previous papers - is field-defining work. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Reward magnitude determines reinforcement learning efficiency
Standard animal learning studies minimize individual reward magnitudes to maximize the repetitions of reinforced behaviors. We investigated how reward magnitude influences initial learning across five...
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Brad Hulse @bradkhulse.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Story time friends... Ring attractor networks rely on fine-tuned symmetric connectivity. The fly head direction network has ring attractor dynamics but heterogeneous connectivity. How is this possible? 1/🧵 Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Ling-Qi Zhang @lingqiz.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
It’s very fun to analyze other people’s data for your favorite model and theory, but data reuse actually takes a huge amount of effort. We tested if current agentic AI can help with data reuse. Conclusion: it definitely can, but requires careful human supervision. #AIforScience #compneuro #neuroAI
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Reposted by Ling-Qi Zhang
Ahmed El Hady @zamakany.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
After three years of working on this review with my collaborator Emily Dennis (Janelia Farm), it is finally in press. The review provides an overview and our personal reflections on what constitutes an integrative approach to neurobiology of foraging. Enjoy www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
annualreviews.org
Neurobiology of Foraging: An Integrative Approach
Foraging, defined as the search for food to sustain one's energetic needs, is a fundamental behavior performed by almost all animals to survive in their environment. Foraging involves a variety o...
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Ahmed El Hady @zamakany.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
After three years , this joint review with my dear friend Emily Jane Dennis is finally in press. The review provides a glimpse on what constitutes an integrative approach to neurobiology of foraging. Out in the next issue of Annual Reviews of Neuroscience. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
annualreviews.org
Neurobiology of Foraging: An Integrative Approach
Foraging, defined as the search for food to sustain one's energetic needs, is a fundamental behavior performed by almost all animals to survive in their environment. Foraging involves a variety o...
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Reposted by Ling-Qi Zhang
Jakob Voigts @jvoigts.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
These workshops are amazing opportunities for deep discussions on how cognition is implemented in the brain, from theory to behavior and circuits. Apply by May 7 & spread the word!
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Jakob Voigts @jvoigts.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Applications are open for the most fun neuroscience summer school on this planet. 9/10 attendees end up with a fresh perspective on their work and being able to do previously impossible experiments. Apply & spread the word!
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Ahmed El Hady @zamakany.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
We are organizing again with @allysonsgro.bsky.social Junior Scientist workshop for theoretical biophysics at @hhmijanelia.bsky.social ,September 13 - 18, 2026. Deadline: April 16, 2026 All details here: tinyurl.com/yc66fawc
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Apply by Feb. 3 to become a Janelia Group Leader! Group Leaders drive breakthroughs & experimental approaches in imaging, molecular engineering, protein chemistry, mass spectrometry, & methods that don't yet exist. Learn more: janelia.org/groupleader 🧪
Lead a lab at Janelia

Pioneer next-generation tools for biological discovery

Apply by Feb. 3, 2026
janelia.org/groupleader
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Ahmed El Hady @zamakany.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Konstanz school of Collective Behavior will take place again from 20th July to 7th August , 2026. We have an amazing line up of speakers covering state of the art research on collective behavior across systems. Application deadline : March 15th Details here: www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/kscb/applica...
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
🪰 A new ‘Eyemap’ developed by a team led by Arthur Zhao & @michaelreiser.bsky.social reveals how visual information detected by the fly’s eye shows up in neurons deep in the brain. Remarkably, the eye’s shape determines how flies see motion.👁️ 🔗 hhmi.news/4kSZjou
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MindCORE at the University of Pennsylvania @pennmindcore.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Seeking applications from recent PhDs in neuro, psych, ling, philo, comp sci, or other cog sci discipline, for our MindCORE Fellowship. MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort at Penn to understand human intelligence and behavior. Apply by Dec 1: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/post-doctora...
a peek through fall foliage to some people at the University of Pennsylvania, photo by Eric Sucar
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Catherine (Katie) Schretter @ceschretter.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)! This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Join the team at Janelia to use #theory, computation, and modeling to tackle bold questions in #biology. Collaborate across scientific disciplines to drive discovery. Apply by Nov. 3 @ janelia.link/theoryfellowprogram #computationalbiology #sciencecareers
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Laura Grima @lauragrima.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Pleased to have this review out in @cp-trendsneuro.bsky.social. In it we discuss various aspects of the intersection between foraging behaviors and neuroscience, and offer some future directions: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Foraging as an ethological framework for neuroscience
The study of foraging is central to a renewed interest in naturalistic behavior in neuroscience. Applying a foraging framework grounded in behavioral …
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Ling-Qi Zhang @lingqiz.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
The debate of whether the brain is optimal is the wrong one. Quoting one of my favorite writings from Herbert Simon (1992): The predictions of an optimizing theory depend as much on the postulated side conditions as on the optimization assumption. (By side conditions here, he meant constraints).
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
✨ We’re #hiring Theory Fellows!✨ Janelia is recruiting early-career scientists to join our collaborative research environment and use #computation & #theory to tackle bold questions in #biology. 🔗 Apply by Nov. 3 👉 janelia.link/theoryfellow... @hhmi.org
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
📢We're #hiring Group Leaders! Apply to lead a lab at Janelia & advance biology using theory, computational modeling & machine learning. 🔹5-year renewable appointment 🔹Pioneer new tools & approaches 🔹Collaborate across disciplines Apply by Nov. 4👉 janelia.link/groupleader
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
Bayesians in shambles
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
📢 Students & postdocs in #TheoreticalNeuroscience 👉 Join us this November for a "by the students, for the students" workshop featuring whiteboard-style tutorials, in-depth discussions, and research talks. ✈️ Travel, lodging & registration covered Apply by Aug. 5 @ janelia.news/THE25
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Huxley @huxleymorgan.bsky.social · 22/06/2025
Black and white image of Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, smoking a cigarette. "The world is not divided between east and west. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same."
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Florentin Guth @florentinguth.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
What is the probability of an image? What do the highest and lowest probability images look like? Do natural images lie on a low-dimensional manifold? In a new preprint with Zahra Kadkhodaie and @eerosim.bsky.social, we develop a novel energy-based model in order to answer these questions: 🧵
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Jean-Paul Noel @jpnoel.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Very excited to be part of this. Huge thank you to the @simonsfoundation.org for their support and vision. www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/04/24/s... Also, job openings in this context! Please apply and forward to anyone who may be interested! hr.myu.umn.edu/jobs/ext/367...
simonsfoundation.org
Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience
Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience on Simons Foundation
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Ling-Qi Zhang @lingqiz.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Very happy to see our work finally in print! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... TLDR: Tilt illusion is not a bug, but a feature of a well-designed visual system that maximizes information capacity adaptively based on spatial context. (1/6)
pnas.org
The tilt illusion arises from an efficient reallocation of neural coding resources at the contextual boundary | PNAS
The tilt illusion—a bias in the perceived orientation of a center stimulus induced by an oriented surround—illustrates how context shapes visual pe...
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Jan Funke @janfunkey.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
How can AI help you to analyze your microscopy images? Find out at the "Machine Learning for Microscopy Image Analysis" course at the @mblscience.bsky.social in Woods Hole from Aug 22-Sep 6! Applications are due 🚨 April 30 🚨 Read on for more! 👇 www.mbl.edu/education/ad...
mbl.edu
AI@MBL: Machine Learning for Microscopy Image Analysis | Marine Biological Laboratory
The goal of this course is to familiarize researchers in the life sciences with state-of-the-art deep learning techniques for microscopy image analysis and to introduce them to tools and frameworks th...
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Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Here at Princeton, we’re amplifying our university president’s leadership. It’s time for everyone - faculty, students, staff - to speak out. tl;dr: rights can’t be blackmailed. From me and science colleagues: www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
dailyprincetonian.com
To stop intimidation, Eisgruber needs your help
When targeting one institution is a bald attempt to divide and conquer, as is the case with Columbia, it is essential for a coalition or group of institutions and individuals to stand up together.&nbs...
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AAUP @aaup.org · 22/03/2025
Columbia University has failed to defend academic freedom & freedom of speech & allowed a great institution to be bullied & extorted into submission by an administration hellbent on contorting higher education to their will. The AAUP condemns this capitulation. We can & must fight back.
nytimes.com
Columbia Concedes to Trump’s Demands After Federal Funds Are Stripped
The administration has moved to cut $400 million in federal funding to the university without changes to its policies and rules.
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Ellen Pao @ekp.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
"And I think once you make concessions once, it's hard not to make them again." Princeton President Chris Eisgruber's warning to universities applies to law firms, companies, foundations, nonprofits, and more. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
pbs.org
Using funding to 'force concessions' threatens institutions, Princeton president says
Columbia University agreed to comply with a series of demands from the Trump administration about how it will handle protests, antisemitism and academic departments. The university faced a deadline to...
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David Noll @david.noll.org · 08/03/2025
Pro-tip for university administrators: when the government illegally cancels your grants, your first response shouldn't be "you kind of have a point."
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Sam Brody @samuelhayimbrody.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
old Soviet joke for our times: Guy stops by the newsstand every day, scans the front page, doesn’t buy the paper. One day the vendor asks what he’s up to. Guy says: “looking for an obituary.” Vendor says “those are towards the back of the paper, comrade.” Guy says: “not the one I’m looking for.”
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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 01/03/2025
I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F. 18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it. We made this website to tell our story: 18f.org
18f.org
We're not done yet | 18F
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mweinstock.bsky.social @mweinstock.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Portuguese editorial cartoonist Zez Vaz reaches back to Tiananmen Square to call on American defiance.
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Katie Sandlin @kmsandlin.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
I maxed out my credit card, emptied my savings account, and took out a loan to move from Alabama to Bethesda, MD. I don’t even qualify for unemployment since I’ve only worked at NIH for a month. I will be financially and medically devastated. Seeking suggestions for anywhere that’s hiring!!
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Kristin Branson @kristinmbranson.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
We read "Large Concept Models" in our reading group. It models language at the sentence resolution - "concepts". We had lots of thoughts about it! You can read them in our new Janelia CVML blog post: janelia-cvml.github.io/blog/posts/L... #ML #AI #Janelia @adjavon.bsky.social @bogovicj.bsky.social
janelia-cvml.github.io
Large Concept Models: Language Modeling in a Sentence Representation Space – Janelia CVML
Summary of and thoughts on Meta’s recent paper
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Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
This comment on the NYT site sounds spot-on, and it is why I disagree with my colleagues who say: "We'll know more in a few weeks, let's wait and see how things shake down before we take any action.": "As someone who grew up under an authoritarian regime, I can offer one crucial piece of advice: ...
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Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Dear US scientists, We've been hearing a lot of questions of the form "Why aren't universities doing anything!? They need to speak out!" We can explain. It's bad news. We're on our own. But understanding why can help us all figure out our plan. Read along in thread 1/x 🧪
"The first rule of research administration is [generally scientists don't know much about it]"
Time for that to change
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Ling-Qi Zhang @lingqiz.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Growing up in an authoritarian country, resisting sometimes felt easy - because all it takes is for everyone to say “No, this is not right”. But it is also incredibly hard, because it takes all of us to stand up and refuse compliance. I suppose, for now, the best I can do is speak up.
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Jane Liebschutz, MD MPH (she/her) @liebschutz.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.
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The Viking (Gunnar Blohm) @gunnarblohm.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Just leaving this here... verfassungsblog.de/the-authorit...
verfassungsblog.de
The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide
This text was published in social media in January 2017 in a series of improvised, spontaneous tweets, which reached 3 million views within one month. Their common element was their trademark signatur...
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Janelia Research Campus @hhmijanelia.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
We’re #hiring Theory Fellows. 🥼 Our Computation & Theory research area is recruiting early-career scientists to test theories, collaborate across research areas & tackle fundamental questions in biology. Apply by Jan. 7 ➡️ janelia.link/theoryfellow... #computationalbiology
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Stephan Saalfeld @herrsaalfeld.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
We are looking for exceptional #AIScientist|s to join our #AI@HHMI initiative at #HHMIJanelia. We want to uncover fundamental principles underlying complex biological systems that are inaccessible without new innovations that combine #AI with experimental design. ai.hhmi.org#join-our-team 1/4
AI@HHMI teaser saying "AI@HHMI | Accelerating Innovation in Biology". The backdrop is an artistic rendering of the compute graph of a network architecture for semantic image segmentation that I think looks really cute.
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Carsen Stringer @computingnature.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Janelia is recruiting AI scientists and theory fellows to collaborate with experimental scientists on hard biological problems - these positions have a considerable level of independence and very competitive salaries. Join our great community! Ai.hhmi.org janelia.org/theoryfellow #neuroscience #AI
AI at hhmi, link ai.hhmi.org; theory fellows, link janelia.org/theoryfellow
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Geoffrey Aguirre @gkaguirre.com · 18/09/2024
This is the tilt illusion. In a new study we can provide a satisfying answer to how and where this effect arises in the brain, as well as the teleological "why" a well-designed visual system might have this property. 🧪
The center grating on the left appears tilted due to the presence of an oriented surround. The same center grating on the right appears vertical, as the surround is un-oriented noise.
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