INCF UK Node Congress

Analysing and modelling neural systems in health and disease

1-3 February 2010

Informatics Forum, University of Edinburgh

The conference brings together people who are already working in the field of neuroinformatics as well as showcasing the opportunities in neuroinformatics to people working in related disciplines.  There will be plenary talks covering different aspects of analysis and modelling in addition to posters and demonstrations.  A set of stimulating collaborative workshop sessions on a variety of topics will be hosted: the formation of a Road Map for UK Neuroinformatics; a skills-interchange forum involving case studies of neuroinformatics-related problems and solutions; opportunities for collaboration within INCF.

Road Map of UK neuroinformatics: Road Maps frequently are used in other disciplines and are useful to funding bodies in setting funding priorities.  In this workshop, we will build on contributions pre-collected from the community to establish the current terrain of neuroinformatics and the future prospects.  This workshop will be  a set of group discussions held in parallel followed by an integration in a plenary session.

Showcasing UK neuroinformatics:  This workshop will be made up of short presentations, together with a set of spotlight presentations highlighting posters and demonstrations.  The presentations will be contributions from people in the UK who work in the field of neuroinformatics and these will be sought before the conference.

Skills-exchange forum: The object of this workshop will be to bring together people with specific neuroinformatics expertise with people who have need for neuroinformatics input in their work.  The workshop will be based on the contributions from participants made before the Conference and so proposals of specific cases will be solicited ahead of time. The presentation will begin with two case studies: one highlights a successful interdisciplinary exchange; the other features discussion of partners being sought. The remainder of the workshop will be devoted to discussions in small groups and there will be a closing summary made to the plenary meeting.

Collaborations with INCF: our Keynote Speaker, Professor Sten Grillner, Chairman of the Governing Board of the INCF, will introduce the INCF to us. He will outline its scope and ambitions, concentrating on the key programmes of the INCF. His talk will be complemented by another from Professor Jaap van Pelt, the Netherlandd Node representative. There will then be discussion on the ways in which workers in the UK can contribute to and benefit from the programmes of the INCF.

Plenary and workshop speakers:

Professor Peter Dayan, Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, UCL

Professor Anthony Strong, Kings College London

Professor Stuart Baker, University of Newcastle

Professor Michael Frank, Brown University, USA

Professor Klaas Stephan, University of Zurich

Professor Kevan Martin, Institute of Neuroinformatics, Zurich

Professor Angus Silver, University College London

Professor Sten Grillner, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm

Professor Jaap van Pelt, CNCR, VU University Amsterdam

Professor Jim Austin, University of York

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Plenary abstracts can be found here.

Please click here to download the updated conference programme.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Posters – this session will be on Day 1 during the evening reception. If you would like to present a poster, please indicate this when please indicate this when you register for the conference. The deadline for submitting abstracts for a poster presentation has been extended to 10^th January 2009.

Showcasing UK neuroinformatics – this workshop features oral presentations of around 15 minutes by UK-based researchers. If you would like to be considered for a presentation, please indicate this when you register for the conference. The deadline for submitting abstracts for an oral has been extended to 15^th December 2009.

Skills exchange forum – this workshop brings together two communities.  We would like to hear from you if:

• You have a particular neurobiological problem that you feel would benefit from a neuroinformatics approach and you don’t have the resources;
• You are developing a new data analysis or modelling method for which you need data or an application area.

Please mail a general description of your problem or method to Fiona Williams (fiona.williams@ed.ac.uk) by 10th January 2010. We will use this as a basis for forming groups for discussion sessions.

Roadmap session – we would welcome a contribution of one page of A4 maximum in answer to these questions:

1. What is the state-of-the-art in the field?
2. What are the significant bottlenecks to your research?
3. What are the resources that you would like the INCF to help maintain?
4. Do you have tools that you would like to offer to the community?
5. With which research groups would you like to make contact?
6. What is your vision for where the field will be in 5-10 years time?
7. What do we need to get there, in terms of funding, research or tools development?

Please send your contributions to Fiona Williams (fiona.williams@ed.ac.uk) by 15^th December 2009.

Summary of Deadlines:

Oral presentations – 15^th December 2009.

Roadmap contributions – 15^th December 2009.

Skills exchange forum contributions – 10^th January 2010.

Poster presentations – 10^th January 2010.

Applications for PhD student bursaries – 10^th January 2010.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Registration

The registration fee is £50 for students, £75 for postdoctoral fellows, £100 for university staff members.   This covers all refreshment breaks, provision of lunch each day, the evening reception on Day 1 and the conference dinner on Day 2.  For those participants who do not wish to make a presentation this year, no deadline for registration has been set.  However, places are limited by venue capacity; if the conference is becoming oversubscribed we will have to impose restrictions.

Registration is a two-stage process:

1. Please follow this link to complete the UK Node Congress registration form.
2. Please then visit the University’s secure online ePay system to submit your payment.

PhD Student Bursaries

We have a limited number of bursaries of up to £250 for students who are not able to get funding from their host institution to attend the conference. This is to cover the registration fee and to help with the costs of travel/accommodation and will be refunded after the conference. Preference will be given to students submitting an abstract for presentation. Please indicate when registering for the conference if you wish to apply for a bursary. The deadline for application for bursaries has been extended to 10^th January 2010.

Venue

The conference takes place in the Informatics Forum, University of Edinburgh.  Recently awarded  the title of Scottish Building Project of the Year 2009 by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland, the Forum features excellent lecture facilities in a central Edinburgh location.  The workshop will start with lunch from 12 noon on Monday 1 February and will finish with lunch at 1.30 pm on Wednesday 3 February.

Accommodation

There is a variety of accommodation available in the City Centre within walking distance of the Informatics Forum in various price ranges. Accommodation does get booked up nearer the date and so early booking is advised.

The University offers some accommodation, which can be booked through Edinburgh First.    Another useful source of information for hotels and B&Bs  is the Visit Scotland website.