Michael Deistler
@deismic.bsky.social
Machine Learning tools for neuroscience @mackelab.bsky.social.
Pinned
Michael Deistler
@deismic.bsky.social
· Nov 18
Alright, let's get this going! I am Michael and I build Machine Learning tools for Neuroscience @mackelab.bsky.social. In particular, I work on:
• Simulation-based inference (SBI) @sbi-devs.bsky.social
• Jaxley, a differentiable simulator for neuroscience @jaxleyverse.bsky.social
• Simulation-based inference (SBI) @sbi-devs.bsky.social
• Jaxley, a differentiable simulator for neuroscience @jaxleyverse.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Deistler
Our work on training biophysical models with Jaxley is now out in @natmethods.nature.com. Led by @deismic.bsky.social, with @philipp.hertie.ai, @ppjgoncalves.bsky.social & @jakhmack.bsky.social et al.
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Jaxley: differentiable simulation enables large-scale training of detailed biophysical models of neural dynamics - Nature Methods
Jaxley is a versatile platform for biophysical modeling in neuroscience. It allows efficiently simulating large-scale biophysical models on CPUs, GPUs and TPUs. Model parameters can be optimized with ...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Our work on training biophysical models with Jaxley is now out in @natmethods.nature.com. Led by @deismic.bsky.social, with @philipp.hertie.ai, @ppjgoncalves.bsky.social & @jakhmack.bsky.social et al.
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I am super happy to share that our project on training biophysical models with Jaxley is now published in Nature Methods: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Jaxley: differentiable simulation enables large-scale training of detailed biophysical models of neural dynamics - Nature Methods
Jaxley is a versatile platform for biophysical modeling in neuroscience. It allows efficiently simulating large-scale biophysical models on CPUs, GPUs and TPUs. Model parameters can be optimized with ...
www.nature.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I am super happy to share that our project on training biophysical models with Jaxley is now published in Nature Methods: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🎉 sbi participated in GSoC 2025 through @numfocus.bsky.social and it was a great success: our two students contributed major new features and substantial internal improvements: 🧵 👇
October 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
🎉 sbi participated in GSoC 2025 through @numfocus.bsky.social and it was a great success: our two students contributed major new features and substantial internal improvements: 🧵 👇
Reposted by Michael Deistler
“Mapping ion channel function” doi.org/10.7554/eLif... isn’t exactly a citation slayer, but it’s still one of my favourites (& my first independent project). Today we push pt 2, where we trace code origin & unite almost all channel models in a common expression. Boom! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
An ion channel omnimodel for standardized biophysical neuron modelling
Biophysical neuron modeling is an indispensable tool in neuroscience research, with the combination of diverse ion channel kinetics and morphologies being used to explain various single-neuron propert...
www.biorxiv.org
October 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM
“Mapping ion channel function” doi.org/10.7554/eLif... isn’t exactly a citation slayer, but it’s still one of my favourites (& my first independent project). Today we push pt 2, where we trace code origin & unite almost all channel models in a common expression. Boom! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
I've been waiting some years to make this joke and now it’s real:
I conned somebody into giving me a faculty job!
I’m starting as a W1 Tenure-Track Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt in a week (lol), in the Faculty of CS and Math
and I'm recruiting PhD students 🤗
I conned somebody into giving me a faculty job!
I’m starting as a W1 Tenure-Track Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt in a week (lol), in the Faculty of CS and Math
and I'm recruiting PhD students 🤗
a man wearing a white shirt and tie smiles in front of a window
ALT: a man wearing a white shirt and tie smiles in front of a window
media.tenor.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
I've been waiting some years to make this joke and now it’s real:
I conned somebody into giving me a faculty job!
I’m starting as a W1 Tenure-Track Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt in a week (lol), in the Faculty of CS and Math
and I'm recruiting PhD students 🤗
I conned somebody into giving me a faculty job!
I’m starting as a W1 Tenure-Track Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt in a week (lol), in the Faculty of CS and Math
and I'm recruiting PhD students 🤗
Reposted by Michael Deistler
From hackathon to release: sbi v0.25 is here! 🎉
What happens when dozens of SBI researchers and practitioners collaborate for a week? New inference methods, new documentation, lots of new embedding networks, a bridge to pyro and a bridge between flow matching and score-based methods 🤯
1/7 🧵
What happens when dozens of SBI researchers and practitioners collaborate for a week? New inference methods, new documentation, lots of new embedding networks, a bridge to pyro and a bridge between flow matching and score-based methods 🤯
1/7 🧵
September 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM
From hackathon to release: sbi v0.25 is here! 🎉
What happens when dozens of SBI researchers and practitioners collaborate for a week? New inference methods, new documentation, lots of new embedding networks, a bridge to pyro and a bridge between flow matching and score-based methods 🤯
1/7 🧵
What happens when dozens of SBI researchers and practitioners collaborate for a week? New inference methods, new documentation, lots of new embedding networks, a bridge to pyro and a bridge between flow matching and score-based methods 🤯
1/7 🧵
Reposted by Michael Deistler
Looky Looky! 😍🥳👏
arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
Super fun project, I ❤️ed coauthoring w/ @sbi-devs.bsky.social.
Great lead by @deismic.bsky.social & @janboelts.bsky.social. Contribs by many talented people @jakhmack.bsky.social. 🙏 to #BenjaminKurtMiller for the kickstart! @helmholtzai.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
Super fun project, I ❤️ed coauthoring w/ @sbi-devs.bsky.social.
Great lead by @deismic.bsky.social & @janboelts.bsky.social. Contribs by many talented people @jakhmack.bsky.social. 🙏 to #BenjaminKurtMiller for the kickstart! @helmholtzai.bsky.social
Simulation-Based Inference: A Practical Guide
A central challenge in many areas of science and engineering is to identify model parameters that are consistent with prior knowledge and empirical data. Bayesian inference offers a principled framewo...
arxiv.org
August 19, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Looky Looky! 😍🥳👏
arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
Super fun project, I ❤️ed coauthoring w/ @sbi-devs.bsky.social.
Great lead by @deismic.bsky.social & @janboelts.bsky.social. Contribs by many talented people @jakhmack.bsky.social. 🙏 to #BenjaminKurtMiller for the kickstart! @helmholtzai.bsky.social
arxiv.org/abs/2508.12939
Super fun project, I ❤️ed coauthoring w/ @sbi-devs.bsky.social.
Great lead by @deismic.bsky.social & @janboelts.bsky.social. Contribs by many talented people @jakhmack.bsky.social. 🙏 to #BenjaminKurtMiller for the kickstart! @helmholtzai.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Deistler
📢 I am looking for AI post-doc/research/engineer positions in Europe (Paris, London, Zurich, ...) starting 2026. My work revolves around generative modeling and AI for Science, with 4+ publications at top conferences during my PhD. If you are hiring, please reach out! If not, please repost 🔁
May 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
📢 I am looking for AI post-doc/research/engineer positions in Europe (Paris, London, Zurich, ...) starting 2026. My work revolves around generative modeling and AI for Science, with 4+ publications at top conferences during my PhD. If you are hiring, please reach out! If not, please repost 🔁
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🎓Hiring now! 🧠 Join us at the exciting intersection of ML and Neuroscience! #AI4science
We’re looking for PhDs, Postdocs and Scientific Programmers that want to use deep learning to build, optimize and study mechanistic models of neural computations. Full details: www.mackelab.org/jobs/ 1/5
We’re looking for PhDs, Postdocs and Scientific Programmers that want to use deep learning to build, optimize and study mechanistic models of neural computations. Full details: www.mackelab.org/jobs/ 1/5
Jobs - mackelab
The MackeLab is a research group at the Excellence Cluster Machine Learning at Tübingen University!
www.mackelab.org
April 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM
🎓Hiring now! 🧠 Join us at the exciting intersection of ML and Neuroscience! #AI4science
We’re looking for PhDs, Postdocs and Scientific Programmers that want to use deep learning to build, optimize and study mechanistic models of neural computations. Full details: www.mackelab.org/jobs/ 1/5
We’re looking for PhDs, Postdocs and Scientific Programmers that want to use deep learning to build, optimize and study mechanistic models of neural computations. Full details: www.mackelab.org/jobs/ 1/5
Reposted by Michael Deistler
Exciting project in Parkinson's disease! Patrik Verstreken's lab (verstrekenlab.sites.vib.be) and my lab are looking for a postdoc to develop and apply ML methods to the analysis of exciting brain-on-chip data. Please spread the word!
More details at: jobs.vib.be/j/110908/pos...
More details at: jobs.vib.be/j/110908/pos...
Postdoc position: Computational methods for neurodegeneration research - VIB
About the labs
The Verstreken Lab and the Gonçalves Lab are based in Leuven, Belgium and part of the
jobs.vib.be
April 24, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Exciting project in Parkinson's disease! Patrik Verstreken's lab (verstrekenlab.sites.vib.be) and my lab are looking for a postdoc to develop and apply ML methods to the analysis of exciting brain-on-chip data. Please spread the word!
More details at: jobs.vib.be/j/110908/pos...
More details at: jobs.vib.be/j/110908/pos...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🎉 Exciting news! We are lauching an sbi office hour!
Join the sbi developers Thursdays 09:45-10:15am CET via Zoom (link: sbi Discord's "office hours" channel).
Get guidance on contributing, explore sbi for your research, or troubleshoot issues. Come chat with us! 🤗
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Join the sbi developers Thursdays 09:45-10:15am CET via Zoom (link: sbi Discord's "office hours" channel).
Get guidance on contributing, explore sbi for your research, or troubleshoot issues. Come chat with us! 🤗
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
April 4, 2025 at 7:36 AM
🎉 Exciting news! We are lauching an sbi office hour!
Join the sbi developers Thursdays 09:45-10:15am CET via Zoom (link: sbi Discord's "office hours" channel).
Get guidance on contributing, explore sbi for your research, or troubleshoot issues. Come chat with us! 🤗
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Join the sbi developers Thursdays 09:45-10:15am CET via Zoom (link: sbi Discord's "office hours" channel).
Get guidance on contributing, explore sbi for your research, or troubleshoot issues. Come chat with us! 🤗
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
We are looking to hire a Senior Scientist or #Postdoc to study brains, biophysics, and behaviour using #Drosophila as a model. Please spread the word!
www.medunigraz.at/en/job-openi...
www.medunigraz.at/en/job-openi...
April 3, 2025 at 10:24 PM
We are looking to hire a Senior Scientist or #Postdoc to study brains, biophysics, and behaviour using #Drosophila as a model. Please spread the word!
www.medunigraz.at/en/job-openi...
www.medunigraz.at/en/job-openi...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
It's been a blast, thanks to @sbi-devs.bsky.social ! This week's hackathon was phenomenal! 🙏 😍 The sbi hackathon welcomed about 25 people in Tübingen with contributions spanning the globe , e.g. 🇺🇸🇯🇵🇧🇪🇩🇪. Wanna see, what we did? Check out the PRs👇
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Pull requests · sbi-dev/sbi
sbi is a Python package for simulation-based inference, designed to meet the needs of both researchers and practitioners. Whether you need fine-grained control or an easy-to-use interface, sbi has ...
github.com
March 21, 2025 at 8:45 AM
It's been a blast, thanks to @sbi-devs.bsky.social ! This week's hackathon was phenomenal! 🙏 😍 The sbi hackathon welcomed about 25 people in Tübingen with contributions spanning the globe , e.g. 🇺🇸🇯🇵🇧🇪🇩🇪. Wanna see, what we did? Check out the PRs👇
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
sbi 0.24.0 is out! 🎉 This comes with important new features:
- 🎯 Score-based i.i.d sampling
- 🔀 Simultaneous estimation of multiple discrete and continuous parameters or data.
- 📊: mini-sbibm for quick benchmarking.
Just in time for our 1-week SBI hackathon starting tomorrow---stay tuned for more!
- 🎯 Score-based i.i.d sampling
- 🔀 Simultaneous estimation of multiple discrete and continuous parameters or data.
- 📊: mini-sbibm for quick benchmarking.
Just in time for our 1-week SBI hackathon starting tomorrow---stay tuned for more!
March 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
sbi 0.24.0 is out! 🎉 This comes with important new features:
- 🎯 Score-based i.i.d sampling
- 🔀 Simultaneous estimation of multiple discrete and continuous parameters or data.
- 📊: mini-sbibm for quick benchmarking.
Just in time for our 1-week SBI hackathon starting tomorrow---stay tuned for more!
- 🎯 Score-based i.i.d sampling
- 🔀 Simultaneous estimation of multiple discrete and continuous parameters or data.
- 📊: mini-sbibm for quick benchmarking.
Just in time for our 1-week SBI hackathon starting tomorrow---stay tuned for more!
Reposted by Michael Deistler
⚡️ Excited to introduce ZAPBench, our #ICLR2025 spotlight: The Zebrafish Activity Prediction Benchmark measures progress in predicting neural activity within an entire vertebrate brain (70k+ neurons!)
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
ZAPBench
ZAPBench evaluates how well different models can predict the activity of over 70,000 neurons in a novel larval zebrafish dataset.
google-research.github.io
March 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
⚡️ Excited to introduce ZAPBench, our #ICLR2025 spotlight: The Zebrafish Activity Prediction Benchmark measures progress in predicting neural activity within an entire vertebrate brain (70k+ neurons!)
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Explore interactive visualizations, datasets, code + paper: google-research.github.io/zapbench
🧠🧪
Together with @dendritesgr.bsky.social, we’ll be hosting a tutorial on constructing and optimizing biophysical models (via Jaxley & DendroTweaks) 🚀
Join us in Florence if you like dendrites, biophysics, or optimization!
Join us in Florence if you like dendrites, biophysics, or optimization!
We are thrilled to host a tutorial on biophysical modeling with Jaxley & DendroTweaks at #CNS2025! 📍 Florence, July 5 — looking forward to seeing you there! www.cnsorg.org/cns-2025 @cnsorg.bsky.social
February 28, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Together with @dendritesgr.bsky.social, we’ll be hosting a tutorial on constructing and optimizing biophysical models (via Jaxley & DendroTweaks) 🚀
Join us in Florence if you like dendrites, biophysics, or optimization!
Join us in Florence if you like dendrites, biophysics, or optimization!
Reposted by Michael Deistler
1) Some exciting science in turbulent times:
How do mice distinguish self-generated vs. object-generated looming stimuli? Our new study combines VR and neural recordings from superior colliculus (SC) 🧠🐭 to explore this question.
Check out our preprint doi.org/10.1101/2024... 🧵
How do mice distinguish self-generated vs. object-generated looming stimuli? Our new study combines VR and neural recordings from superior colliculus (SC) 🧠🐭 to explore this question.
Check out our preprint doi.org/10.1101/2024... 🧵
February 3, 2025 at 7:19 PM
1) Some exciting science in turbulent times:
How do mice distinguish self-generated vs. object-generated looming stimuli? Our new study combines VR and neural recordings from superior colliculus (SC) 🧠🐭 to explore this question.
Check out our preprint doi.org/10.1101/2024... 🧵
How do mice distinguish self-generated vs. object-generated looming stimuli? Our new study combines VR and neural recordings from superior colliculus (SC) 🧠🐭 to explore this question.
Check out our preprint doi.org/10.1101/2024... 🧵
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🚀 Excited to share my latest paper! 📄✨ This project started at the beginning of the pandemic and took longer than expected, but that’s the beauty of science! 🧬🔬 Check it out in the following threads! #PandemicProjects
My post comes a bit late because of TAing duties in @imbizo.bsky.social🇿🇦(1/14)
My post comes a bit late because of TAing duties in @imbizo.bsky.social🇿🇦(1/14)
January 31, 2025 at 9:27 AM
🚀 Excited to share my latest paper! 📄✨ This project started at the beginning of the pandemic and took longer than expected, but that’s the beauty of science! 🧬🔬 Check it out in the following threads! #PandemicProjects
My post comes a bit late because of TAing duties in @imbizo.bsky.social🇿🇦(1/14)
My post comes a bit late because of TAing duties in @imbizo.bsky.social🇿🇦(1/14)
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🙏 Please help us improve the SBI toolbox! 🙏
In preparation for the upcoming SBI Hackathon, we’re running a user study to learn what you like, what we can improve, and how we can grow.
👉 Please share your thoughts here: forms.gle/foHK7myV2oaK...
Your input will make a big difference—thank you! 🙌
In preparation for the upcoming SBI Hackathon, we’re running a user study to learn what you like, what we can improve, and how we can grow.
👉 Please share your thoughts here: forms.gle/foHK7myV2oaK...
Your input will make a big difference—thank you! 🙌
January 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
🙏 Please help us improve the SBI toolbox! 🙏
In preparation for the upcoming SBI Hackathon, we’re running a user study to learn what you like, what we can improve, and how we can grow.
👉 Please share your thoughts here: forms.gle/foHK7myV2oaK...
Your input will make a big difference—thank you! 🙌
In preparation for the upcoming SBI Hackathon, we’re running a user study to learn what you like, what we can improve, and how we can grow.
👉 Please share your thoughts here: forms.gle/foHK7myV2oaK...
Your input will make a big difference—thank you! 🙌
Reposted by Michael Deistler
🎉 Just in time for the end of the year, we’ve released a new version of sbi!
📦 v0.23.3 comes packed with exciting features, bug fixes, and docs updates to make sbi smoother and more robust. Check it out! 👇
🔗 Full changelog: github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
📦 v0.23.3 comes packed with exciting features, bug fixes, and docs updates to make sbi smoother and more robust. Check it out! 👇
🔗 Full changelog: github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
December 30, 2024 at 2:57 PM
🎉 Just in time for the end of the year, we’ve released a new version of sbi!
📦 v0.23.3 comes packed with exciting features, bug fixes, and docs updates to make sbi smoother and more robust. Check it out! 👇
🔗 Full changelog: github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
📦 v0.23.3 comes packed with exciting features, bug fixes, and docs updates to make sbi smoother and more robust. Check it out! 👇
🔗 Full changelog: github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
Reposted by Michael Deistler
Apropos of never ending discussions about whether ANNs are "good" models of the nervous system, here is a slide I present to masters students showing a network that is found in motor control circuits *across phyla* (that's pretty ubiquitous!) I ask them to guess what it does...
December 17, 2024 at 2:14 PM
Apropos of never ending discussions about whether ANNs are "good" models of the nervous system, here is a slide I present to masters students showing a network that is found in motor control circuits *across phyla* (that's pretty ubiquitous!) I ask them to guess what it does...
The SBI package has a public discord server now! 🌍 It is open for users or (aspiring) contributors, or for researchers interested in simulations or Bayesian inference with neural networks. See you there! 👋
We are launching an SBI Discord Server! 🎉
We want to use this server to further build a community around SBI, i.e., for sharing insights, questions and events around simulation-based inference in general and the sbi package in particular.
You are all invited to join! 🤗 github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
We want to use this server to further build a community around SBI, i.e., for sharing insights, questions and events around simulation-based inference in general and the sbi package in particular.
You are all invited to join! 🤗 github.com/sbi-dev/sbi/...
SBI Discord Server 🤖 · sbi-dev sbi · Discussion #1318
Dear all, we are launching an SBI Discord Server! 🎉 We want to use this server to further build a community around SBI, i.e., for sharing insights, questions and events around SBI in general and th...
github.com
December 3, 2024 at 9:05 AM
The SBI package has a public discord server now! 🌍 It is open for users or (aspiring) contributors, or for researchers interested in simulations or Bayesian inference with neural networks. See you there! 👋
I will talk about our efforts to train biophysically detailed neuron models at the CMC Learning Club today (2pm CET). Zoom link sent upon empty email to virtual-talk-link-request@cmclab.org. Thanks a lot @neuroprinciplist.bsky.social for organizing this!
November 28, 2024 at 7:11 AM
I will talk about our efforts to train biophysically detailed neuron models at the CMC Learning Club today (2pm CET). Zoom link sent upon empty email to virtual-talk-link-request@cmclab.org. Thanks a lot @neuroprinciplist.bsky.social for organizing this!
It has been almost 5 years since our first mini-hackathon to kickstart the sbi toolbox. Since then, it has seen lots of major updates, many of them driven by new contributors 🚀 We have now written an updated paper to reflect the current state of contributors & features of the toolbox. Check it out!
The sbi package is growing into a community project 🌍 To reflect this and the many algorithms, neural nets, and diagnostics that have been added since its initial release, we have written a new software paper 📝 Check it out, and reach out if you want to get involved: arxiv.org/abs/2411.17337
sbi reloaded: a toolkit for simulation-based inference workflows
Scientists and engineers use simulators to model empirically observed phenomena. However, tuning the parameters of a simulator to ensure its outputs match observed data presents a significant challeng...
arxiv.org
November 27, 2024 at 11:31 AM
It has been almost 5 years since our first mini-hackathon to kickstart the sbi toolbox. Since then, it has seen lots of major updates, many of them driven by new contributors 🚀 We have now written an updated paper to reflect the current state of contributors & features of the toolbox. Check it out!