Conte Center projects are supported by three cores: an administrative core (Core A), a neurocomputational core (Core B) and a data analytical core (Core C). The Cores will support the integration of activities across Center Projects and foster synergy critical to meet the Center’s ambitious scientific goals.
Organization Chart
View our Center's Organization Chart
Core A
Supported by Project Manager Alexandra Lewis, the Administrative Core (Kastner, Halassa, Usrey) will oversee and coordinate all Center activities. Specifically, Core A will (i) facilitate Center collaboration and data sharing, (ii) oversee standard administrative activities, (iii) oversee training and public outreach, (iv) maintain the Center’s web page, (v) ensure that milestones are met, and (vi) establish and interact with the Center’s External Advisory Board (EAB).
Core B
Core B (Kopell) will support the Center’s goals by creating a detailed biophysical model of the interactions of higher order thalamus (PUL and MD) with multiple parts of the brain, especially visual cortical areas and association cortex. The goal of Core B will be to develop a theoretical framework in which the data of all Projects (but particularly P1-P3) can be interpreted. At the same time, novel hypotheses and ideas will be generated by the framework, which can then be tested empirically. The model will focus on issues related to the functional importance of fine timing of spikes, including timing facilitated by the multiple brain rhythms that have been found to exist in thalamocortical interactions.
Core C
Core C (Chen) will (i) collaborate with Center PIs (P1-P5) on developing custom analytic tools for analysis of neural data; (ii) coordinate the modeling effort with PI Kopell (Core B) on using complementary approaches for modeling thalamocortical circuits; (iii) develop software and toolboxes, which will be made available and shared via the Center’s webpage (administered by Core A) and (iv) work closely with Center PIs to establish appropriate semi-automatized data curation pipelines for the large-scale recording and neuroimaging data sets produced by P1-P5, so that they can be shared with the scientific community in a timely manner.
