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USC-TCCI Forum 2025

USC-TCCI Forum 2025

USC-Chen Institute Frontiers Forum

“Sensation and Motivation”

Building on the success of its inaugural forum in collaboration with the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute, the 2nd iteration will retain its primary focus on the integration and processing of external and internal sensory information that drive behavioral responses. Additionally, the forum will broaden its discussions to include the rapid-growing fields of deep-learning and artificial intelligence. By bringing together esteemed researchers from various disciplines, our goal is to understand a general question of how brain circuits produce sensation and motivation. This event will serve as a hub for sharing the latest research breakthroughs, identifying salient questions and guiding principles, and fostering prospective collaborations.

Organizers:

Dr. Li Zhang, Center for Neural Circuits & Sensory Processing Disorders

Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, USC

Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (cheninstitute.org)

Time: April 30-May 1, 2025

Location: Herklotz Conference Room, ZNI 112

RSVP: TBD

Speakers

Hillel Adesnik, PhD

Hillel Adesnik, PhD

UC Berkeley

Optically probing the neural codes of perception

Xiaoke Chen, PhD

Xiaoke Chen, PhD

Stanford University

A closed-loop circuits for chronic pain

Matthew McGinley, PhD

Matthew McGinley, PhD

Baylor College of Medicine

Neural correlates of arousal and motivation in sustained attention

Cris Niell, PhD

Cris Niell, PhD

University of Oregon

Neural circuits for active vision and natural behavior in the mouse

Huizhong Whit Tao, PhD

Huizhong Whit Tao, PhD

University of Southern California

Transformation of visual signals into navigational cues via a thalamic nucleus

Zoe Donaldson, PhD

Zoe Donaldson, PhD

University of Colorado Boulder

Accumbal calcium-permeable AMPA receptors orchestrate social attachment

Weizhe Hong, PhD

Weizhe Hong, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles

Neural Basis of Prosocial Behavior

Scott Kanoski, PhD

Scott Kanoski, PhD

University of Southern California

The neural circuitry regulating impulse control

Dayu Lin, PhD

Dayu Lin, PhD

New York University

Neural plasticity supporting motherhood

Li I. Zhang, PhD

Li I. Zhang, PhD

University of Southern California

Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents

Georgia Gkioxari, PhD

Georgia Gkioxari, PhD

California Institute of Technology

New Challenges in Visual Perception in the Era of LLMs

Brian Lee, MD, PhD

Brian Lee, MD, PhD

University of Southern California

Engineering Artificial Somatosensation: Technical Considerations for Cortical Stimulation in Brain-Computer Interface Systems

Talmo Pereira, PhD

Talmo Pereira, PhD

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Towards models of sensation and motivation using behavior quantification

Jonathan Pillow, PhD

Jonathan Pillow, PhD

Princeton University

Disentangling the Roles of Distinct Cell Classes with Cell-Type Dynamical Systems

Maryam Shanechi, PhD

Maryam Shanechi, PhD

USC

TBD