The Rutgers University Computer Science Department proudly announces that Prof. Konstantinos Michmizos has been awarded the Life Sciences Award by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. This award recognizes the proposal "Translating neuronal mechanisms for brain function to computing primitives for artificial intelligence," a collaborative effort with Prof. Philip Parker (co-PI) from the Department of Psychology. The award will span two years, from June 1st, 2024, to June 30th, 2026, with a total budget of $40,000.
Modern AI has long surpassed human performance in several isolated tasks, even though it operates in ways that fundamentally differ from how intelligent behavior naturally emerges in brain networks. The proposal’s goal is to better understand how simple and complex brain functions emerge from the neural activity across several brain sites and translate this knowledge into neuro-inspired AI models that can be used to explain neuropathophysiology. The Award will support Michmizos and Parker’s joint research in establishing a rather heretic connection between neuromorphic AI and microelectrode neuronal recordings, to discover how behavior is mediated by brain networks and how this knowledge can be translated to brain-interpretable artificial networks. Propelled by recent advancements in experimental neuroscience, the PIs and their PhD students, Jack Klawitter and Cassandra Cavazos, will co-develop advanced animal brain studies and innovative brain-inspired AI models. The use of specialized neuromorphic hardware will pave the way for a series of fascinating experiments where in silico networks are mapped to their in vivo counterparts, establishing a hybrid computational-experimental framework aimed at emulating, understanding, and restoring brain function.
