School of CSE Seminar Series: Eva Dyer

Speaker: Associate Professor Eva Dyer, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Date and Time: November 14, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Location: Coda, Room 114
Host: School of CSE Assistant Professor Spencer Bryngelson

Title: Toward Multi-Modal, Multi-Source Foundation Models to Advance Large-Scale Neural Data Analysis

Abstract: Despite the rapid growth of datasets in neuroscience, models of brain function often struggle to harness this expansive scale due to variability across experiments and shifts in our measurements of the brain's state. In this talk, I will outline our efforts to consolidate diverse datasets from various brain regions and experimental conditions into a cohesive "neurofoundation" model. By leveraging extensive pretraining on this neural data, we aim to enable robust generalization across different modalities and species. Further, I will delve into how this foundational model promises to improve data efficiency, expand the capabilities of brain-machine interfaces and neural decoders, and provide advanced, user-friendly tools to the wider neuroscience community, setting the trajectory for a more integrated approach to neural data analysis.

Bio: Eva Dyer (she/they) is an Associate Professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Dyer’s research combines artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience to understand brain function (AI for Neuro) and to build abstractions of biological organization and function that can be used to create more flexible AI systems (Neuro for AI). Eva completed all of her degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering, obtaining her Ph.D. and M.S. from Rice University and a B.S. from the University of Miami. Eva is the recipient of a number of awards, including a Sloan Fellowship in Neuroscience, NSF CAREER Award, Next Generation Leader Award from the Allen Institute, a McKnight Foundation Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award, and a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Award.