The 2023 Short Course on the Application of Machine Learning for Automated Quantification of Behavior

The Jackson Laboratory

Oct 8-12, 2023

7:45 am - 8:30 pm EST

Instructors: to be announced.

General Information

Over the past few years, behavior quantification and modeling has experienced an explosion of innovation and discovery largely enabled by application of new machine learning methods. These methods have enabled the quantification of behavior at high temporal and spatial resolution, and in concordance with simultaneous measurement and manipulation of neural and genetic function. However, access to this revolutionary technology is limited primarily due to a lack of adequate resources and training. Democratization of this technology through training of the next generation of scientists is necessary to elevate the field of quantitative behavior. The Short Course on the Application of Machine Learning for Automated Quantification of Behavior will disseminate the theoretical and technical knowledge of this field, and train researchers to apply machine learning methods to behavior quantitation and modeling. Our goal is to build an educational program that fosters productive and interactive dialogue, teaches proper methodology, and provides support structure to nurture and lower the barrier of entry into this nascent field. The course will:

Read more about featured speakers and organizers here.

Who: This course is appropriate for early career researchers from the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and biomedical research. Prerequisites: Basic scripting or programming knowledge is suggested but not required.

Where: 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, Maine. Get directions with OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.

When: Oct 8-12, 2023. Add to your Google Calendar.

Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below).



Schedule

Monday, Oct 9

08:00 What is Behavior? Gordon Berman, Ph.D., Emory University
09:00 Keynote: TBD Kristin Branson, Ph.D., Janelia Research Campus
10:00 Coffee/tea
10:15 Machine Learning Tools for Analyzing Pose, Identity and Behavior Alexander Mathis, Ph.D., Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
11:15 Quantifying Behavior Using Deep Learning: From Foundations to the Future Talmo Pereira, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Special activities
3:00 Workshop: Introductory Python Susan McClatchy, The Jackson Laboratory
3:00 Workshop: Software Engineering for Researchers Bootcamp David Rumph, California Institute of Technology
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Evening discussion: Opportunities and priorities of the NIH BRAIN BBQS Lizzy Ankudowich, Ph.D. and Holly Moore, Ph.D., National Insitutes of Health
8:30 End

Tuesday, Oct 10

08:00 3D Pose Estimation and its Application to Study Proprioception in Drosophila John Tuthill, Ph.D., University of Washington
09:00 Measuring Behavior Across Scales Gordon Berman, Ph.D., Emory University
10:00 Coffee/tea
10:15 Plenty of Room at the Top: Towards a Physics of Animal Behavior Greg Stephens, Ph.D., Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
11:15 What Can the Body Tell Us About the Brain Shreya Saxena, Ph.D., Yale University
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Special activities
3:00 Workshop: SLEAP Talmo Pereira, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
4:30 Workshop: DLC Alexander Mathis, Ph.D., Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Evening discussion: Enhancing cross-cultural / cross-political dialogue Eva Vega-Olds, Comadre Speakers Collaborative
8:30 End

Wednesday, Oct 11

08:00 Simulated Connectomes as Digital Sandbox to Understand Behavior Benjamin De Bivort, Ph.D., Harvard University
09:00 Machine Learning as a Lens for Action Selection Jeff Markowitz, Ph.D., Georgia Tech and Emory University
10:00 Coffee/tea
10:15 Supervised Analysis of Behavior Vivek Kumar, Ph.D., The Jackson Laboratory
11:15 Revolutionizing Translational Psychiatry through Rodent Neuroethology Yair Shemesh, Ph.D., Weizmann Institute of Science
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Special activities
3:00 Workshop: Keypoint MoSeq
4:30 Workshop: Motion Mapper
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Evening discussion
8:30 End

Thursday, Oct 12

08:00 Establishing a Quantitative Framework for Mouse Locomotor Coordination Megan Carey, Ph.D., Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
09:00 Quantifying Behavior in Dyadic Social Interactions Ann Kennedy, Ph.D., Northwestern University
10:00 Coffee/tea
10:15 New Ideas in Quantifying Social Behavior Joshua Shaevitz, Ph.D, Princeton University
11:15 AI for Scientists: Perception and Discovery Jennifer Sun, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Special activities
3:30 Workshop: Supervised Behavior
5:00 Workshop: Advanced Modeling
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Evening discussion
8:30 End

Setup

To participate in a workshop, you will need access to software as described below. In addition, you will need an up-to-date web browser.

We maintain a list of common issues that occur during installation as a reference for instructors that may be useful on the Configuration Problems and Solutions wiki page.