Brent Doiron
Brent Doiron is a Canadian computational neuroscientist. He is the Heinrich Kluver Professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Statistics at the University of Chicago, where he also serves as the inaugural Director of the Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior and Chair of the Committee on Computational Neuroscience.[1][2][3]. Doiron's research combines nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics to study how neural circuits generate and process information, particularly focusing on neural variability, coding, and network dynamics[1][4][5]. He is known for developing theoretical insights into neural coding and network learning, often in collaboration with experimental neuroscientists across various sensory systems[1][4][3]
Education and Early Career
Doiron received both his undergraduate degree and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Ottawa in 2004.[1][4][3][6]. His doctoral thesis received Canada's top doctoral thesis award from the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Governor General's Gold Medal for academic excellence in 2006[4]
From 2004 to 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Neural Science at New York University (NYU).[1][4]. During his time at NYU, he was awarded a Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship[4][3]
Career
In 2007, Doiron joined the Department of Mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor, being promoted to Associate Professor in 2013 and later Professor.[4][5][1]. While at Pitt, he also served as co-director of the Program in Neural Computation (PNC), a joint graduate program between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, starting in 2012[4][5][1][3]
In 2021, Doiron moved to the University of Chicago to become the inaugural Director of the newly established Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior.[1][3][2]. He was appointed the first Heinrich Kluver Professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Statistics and the College[1][2][7]. He also serves as Chair of the Committee on Computational Neuroscience at UChicago[1][2]
Research
Doiron's research investigates the mechanisms underlying neural computation, focusing on how networks of neurons process sensory information and generate complex dynamics.[1][4][8]. A central theme in his work is understanding neural variability – the observation that individual neurons often respond inconsistently to repeated stimuli – and its role in neural coding and information transfer[1][4][8][3]. He uses tools from applied mathematics, nonlinear dynamics, and statistical mechanics to build theoretical models of neural circuits[1][4][5][8]
His research group develops theories on how circuit architecture, including connectivity patterns like clustered connections in balanced networks, gives rise to observed neural dynamics, such as correlated activity and variability[5].[9][3][8]. This work aims to link network structure and dynamics to computational functions, such as how populations of neurons encode sensory information despite individual neuron unreliability[3][8][10]. His models have explored topics like the role of inhibition in shaping network responses, the formation of neuronal assemblies through synaptic plasticity, and how correlated variability impacts population coding[9][11][12][13][14].
Doiron collaborates extensively with experimental neuroscientists studying various sensory modalities, including the electrosensory, olfactory, somatosensory, auditory, and visual systems[1][4][6]. His research has been funded by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including BRAIN Initiative grants, the Simons Foundation, and the Department of Defense[3][8][15][16]
Awards and Honors
Doiron has received several awards and honors for his research, including:
- Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, U.S. Department of Defense (2017)[1][5][3][8]
- Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh (2012)[1][5][4]
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (2009)[1][5][4][3]
- Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship[4][3]
- NSERC Doctoral Thesis Prize (2006)[4]
- Governor General's Academic Gold Medal, Canada[4]
Selected Publications
- de la Rocha, Jaime; Doiron, Brent; Shea-Brown, Eric; Josić, Krešimir; Reyes, Alex (2007). "Correlation between neural spike trains increases with firing rate". Nature. 448 (7155): 802–806. doi:10.1038/nature06028. PMID 17700699.
- Litwin-Kumar, Ashok; Doiron, Brent (2012). "Slow dynamics and high variability in balanced cortical networks with clustered connections". Nature Neuroscience. 15 (11): 1498–1505. doi:10.1038/nn.3220. PMC 4106684. PMID 23001062.
- Oswald, Anne-Marie M.; Chacron, Maurice J.; Doiron, Brent; Bastian, Joseph; Maler, Leonard (2004). "Parallel Processing of Sensory Input by Bursts and Isolated Spikes". The Journal of Neuroscience. 24 (18): 4351–4362. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0459-04.2004. PMC 6729439 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 15128849. - Litwin-Kumar, Ashok; Doiron, Brent (2014). "Formation and maintenance of neuronal assemblies through synaptic plasticity". Nature Communications. 5: 5319. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5.5319L. doi:10.1038/ncomms6319. PMID 25395015.
- Doiron, Brent; Litwin-Kumar, Ashok; Rosenbaum, Robert; Ocker, Gabriel K.; Josić, Krešimir (2016). "The mechanics of state-dependent neural correlations". Nature Neuroscience. 19 (3): 383–393. doi:10.1038/nn.4242. PMC 5477791. PMID 26906505.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 "Brent Doiron". Department of Statistics. University of Chicago. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "UChicago faculty receive named, distinguished service professorships". Biological Sciences Division. University of Chicago. 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 "Physicist-Neuroscientist Brent Doiron to Lead the Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior". UChicago Medicine Forefront. University of Chicago Medicine. 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 "Brent Doiron". Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "NUMB3RS - Spring 2020 Faculty". Department of Mathematics. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Brent Doiron". Department of Mathematics. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ "2021 News". Physical Sciences Division. University of Chicago. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 "Brent Doiron, PhD". Brain Institute. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Brent Doiron: H-Index & Awards - Academic Profile". Research.com. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ "From simple interactions to complex computations, UChicago scientist seeks a unifying theory of the brain". Physical Sciences Division. University of Chicago. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ "Brent Doiron's scientific contributions". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ Tian, Gengshuo John; Zhu, Ou; Shirhatti, Vinay; Greenspon, Charles M.; Downey, John E.; Freedman, David J.; Doiron, Brent (2024-09-01). "Neuronal firing rate diversity lowers the dimension of population covariability". BioRxiv: The Preprint Server for Biology. doi:10.1101/2024.08.30.610535. PMC 11383671 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 39257801 Check|pmid=value (help). Retrieved 2025-05-04. Unknown parameter|article-number=ignored (help) - ↑ Liu, Q.; Yao, F.; Wu, L.; Xu, T.; Na, J.; Shen, Z.; Liu, X.; Shi, W.; Zhao, Y.; Liao, Y. (2024-04-11). "Untangling stability and gain modulation in cortical circuits". eLife. 13 (10): 2395–2417. doi:10.7554/eLife.94265. PMC 12043317 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38602644 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Jung, S. W.; Cho, M.; Oh, W.; Ko, G. J.; Moon, J. Y.; Lee, S. H.; Kim, Y. G. (2021-01-06). "Recurrent network dynamics shape direction selectivity in primary auditory cortex". Neuron. 109 (1): 136–149.e7. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.10.031. PMC 7804939 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 33238141 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "Training in Theory and Computation for Next Generation Neuroscientists". NIH RePORTER. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ↑ "Brent Doiron". UChicago Profiles. University of Chicago. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
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