Alexander Ecker

Neuroscience, Machine Learning, Computer Vision. Scientist @uniGoettingen, @mpids and co-founder of @maddox_ai | @aecker.bsky.social

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

Like many friends and fellow scientists, I am leaving this place and will move over to @bluesky. I realized around 2/3 of the people I’m following are already there. If you’re interested in our work, follow me and find me there at @aecker.bsky.social — https://t.co/uoU69GEVhi

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@KordingLab @dyamins @TrackingActions @AToliasLab I agree. Let's not argue about who should cite whom. It's silly. I believe we all try our best. But we have different perspectives. Ours was (perhaps too narrow) on visual encoding models.

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@dyamins @TrackingActions @KordingLab @AToliasLab I agree, Dan. David Zipser & Richard Andersen did that >35y ago in 1988 already 😉https://t.co/ATbf3Irl0I

[Nature Methods @naturemethods]

A Perspective from the Ecker lab discusses the progress and challenges of using computer vision approaches for behavior studies of primates in natural environments.

https://t.co/KhzfvrPyVM

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@KordingLab @AToliasLab Honestly, at this point journal papers feel to me like cumulative PhD theses when you defend them: You would almost have to write another meta discussion on the paper and what it means today that it’s finally published compared to two years ago when you actually wrote it 🤪

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@KordingLab @AToliasLab No play. I misread your message to imply no novelty. Thx, great paper! Didn’t know it but of course should and should have been cited.

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@KordingLab @AToliasLab It wasn’t meant to claim we discovered like-to-like. It’s only a teaser showing the model predicts several aspects it wasn’t trained on. Like-to-like is studied the companion paper (Ding et al.), which of course discusses the related work. https://t.co/c4OExQyrMy

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

It's been so much fun to be part of this journey!

[Andreas Tolias Lab @ Stanford University @AToliasLab]

After 7 years, thrilled to finally share our #MICrONS functional connectomics results!

We recorded activity from ~75K neurons in visual cortex in a single mouse, then mapped its wiring using electron microscopy. To systematically characterize neuron function, we built the first foundation model of the mouse visual cortex—trained via deep learning on data pooled from multiple mice and visual cortical areas.

Our foundation model generalized to new neurons, animals, and even unseen stimulus domains. It also accurately predicted entirely new modalities, such as anatomically defined cell types. Importantly, this robust generalization enabled us to create accurate functional digital twins of individual mouse brains.

Using the digital twin of the MICrONS mouse—where we knew the exact neuronal wiring—we discovered that neurons don’t connect randomly, even when anatomically positioned to do so. Instead, given multiple potential partners (axons near dendrites), neurons preferentially choose partners with similar feature selectivity (“what”) rather than receptive field overlap (“where”).

Foundation models offer a powerful approach to systematically decode the neural code of intelligence.

Huge thanks to @IARPAnews for funding this groundbreaking effort through the @BRAINinitiative, and to our amazing team at @Stanford @StanfordMed @bcmhouston, @Allen, @Princeton, @uniGoettingen and others!

#Neuroscience #MICrONS #NeuroAI #Connectomics #FoundationModels #AI

https://t.co/Rb9rypR9zA

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

Poster – Fri 13 Dec 11 a.m.
Retrospective for the Dynamic Sensorium Competition for predicting large-scale mouse primary visual cortex activity from videos

https://t.co/BmjTCagQaz

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

Just arrived in Vancouver for #NeurIPS2024. Let's meet up if you're there. If you're looking for postdoc opportunities in #NeuroAI, touch base! We're always looking for talented postdocs.

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

Also check out some our posters by the amazing @pollytur1 and many others from our collaborators @sinzlab and @AToliasLab:

Spotlight Poster – Wed 11 Dec 4:30 p.m. Reproducibility of predictive networks for mouse visual cortex

https://t.co/5teSErOtnu

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

🔍Why TreeLearn is important:
• Supports precision forestry for forest management & climate research🌍.
• Highlights an interesting CV problem 👁: Trees are complex, posing a challenge to current 3D instance segmentation methods that are usually evaluated on simpler scenes.

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

Forestry and computer vision researchers, meet TreeLearn🌲, a deep learning method for segmenting individual trees from forest point clouds.
⚙️It projects points toward tree bases & groups them via density-based clustering.
📂Paper: https://t.co/gBRAt19XKZ

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

🛠️We release the TreeLearn code, model weights, and a benchmark dataset with evaluation code.
📊The benchmark dataset enables training and systematic comparison of existing tree segmentation algorithms.
📂Code: https://t.co/ZK2dfRfoQY

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

I love it. Thanks eLife for taking a stance, continuing to move forward towards proper academic publishing and not getting distracted by antiquated business models that should have no place in science anyway. Way to go!

[eLife - the journal @eLife]

Following the news that eLife will not receive an Impact Factor in 2025, we’ve shared an update on how our model is doing since we were first placed “on hold” by Web of Science, and what we’re up to now. Find out more.
https://t.co/mhpvPEa5kV

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

If you want to work with us on the interface of machine learning and neuroscience, consider applying through the ELLIS PhD Program.

[ELLIS @ELLISforEurope]

The portal is open: Our #ELLISPhD Program is now accepting applications! Apply by November 15 to work with leading #AI labs across Europe and choose your advisors among 200 top #machinelearning researchers!

#JoinELLISforEurope #PhD #PhDProgram #ML https://t.co/Bk8eWGvwRX

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

@kparikh2001 Yes, with a 4y bachelors degree it’s possible in Götttingen.

[Alexander Ecker @alxecker]

On my way to Frankfurt for the #BernsteinConference. Let's meet up if you're there. If you're looking for postdoc opportunities in #NeuroAI, touch base. We're hiring!