John Pearson
@jmxpearson.bsky.social
Computational neuroscience, neuroML, natural behavior. I charge more for miracles. PI @ pearsonlab.github.io. @dukemedschool.bsky.social.
Pinned
John Pearson
@jmxpearson.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Pearson Lab at Duke University
pearsonlab.github.io
Okay, long-overdue introduction. I’m a computational neuroscientist at Duke, where my lab (pearsonlab.github.io) does theory “bottom up”: we try to start by modeling data and build toward principles.
Reposted by John Pearson
I really enjoyed having this conversation with Andrew Huberman @hubermanlab.com and I hope y'all find it interesting: youtu.be/tb6ApBIXr1k?...
How Your Thoughts Are Built & How You Can Shape Them | Dr. Jennifer Groh
YouTube video by Andrew Huberman
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I really enjoyed having this conversation with Andrew Huberman @hubermanlab.com and I hope y'all find it interesting: youtu.be/tb6ApBIXr1k?...
Reposted by John Pearson
I think this is actually something the NIH gets right: the PO is there for you to run ideas and talk thru summary statement and strategy with. But they’re not the SRO or the panelists actually overseeing/carrying out review; contacting *those* guys about a submission is a big no no.
Is it just me, or is the grant awards process super shady?
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
eg., I once spoke with an academic who was really good at getting grants.
Their advice?
"Build a personal relationship with grant officers."
This was not the only time I've heard some version of this.
It seems super shady.
November 11, 2025 at 12:38 AM
I think this is actually something the NIH gets right: the PO is there for you to run ideas and talk thru summary statement and strategy with. But they’re not the SRO or the panelists actually overseeing/carrying out review; contacting *those* guys about a submission is a big no no.
Reposted by John Pearson
We recently pushed Jupyter Book 2, which was a breaking change for many of our users! We considered publishing a completely different package (e.g., `jupyter-book2`) but decided against it. Here's a quick rationale why:
Why we made a major release for Jupyter Book 2 instead of creating a new package - Jupyter Book: Blog
Updates from the Jupyter Book subproject.
blog.jupyterbook.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:16 PM
We recently pushed Jupyter Book 2, which was a breaking change for many of our users! We considered publishing a completely different package (e.g., `jupyter-book2`) but decided against it. Here's a quick rationale why:
Reposted by John Pearson
Do you know someone qualified to be an Area Chair for #ICML2026?🤔
(...maybe yourself?)
If so, then nominate them to be an Area Chair! Nomination closes November 17, 2025, so don't delay!🚀🚀🚀
Nomination form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
(...maybe yourself?)
If so, then nominate them to be an Area Chair! Nomination closes November 17, 2025, so don't delay!🚀🚀🚀
Nomination form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Do you know someone qualified to be an Area Chair for #ICML2026?🤔
(...maybe yourself?)
If so, then nominate them to be an Area Chair! Nomination closes November 17, 2025, so don't delay!🚀🚀🚀
Nomination form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
(...maybe yourself?)
If so, then nominate them to be an Area Chair! Nomination closes November 17, 2025, so don't delay!🚀🚀🚀
Nomination form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by John Pearson
The Flatiron Institute is #hiring! View our numerous open computational researcher positions: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/careers/ #science
Careers
Careers on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The Flatiron Institute is #hiring! View our numerous open computational researcher positions: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/flatiron/careers/ #science
Reposted by John Pearson
I'm on the academic job market!
I design and analyze probabilistic machine-learning methods---motivated by real-world scientific constraints, and developed in collaboration with scientists in biology, chemistry, and physics.
A few highlights of my research areas are:
I design and analyze probabilistic machine-learning methods---motivated by real-world scientific constraints, and developed in collaboration with scientists in biology, chemistry, and physics.
A few highlights of my research areas are:
November 7, 2025 at 2:47 PM
I'm on the academic job market!
I design and analyze probabilistic machine-learning methods---motivated by real-world scientific constraints, and developed in collaboration with scientists in biology, chemistry, and physics.
A few highlights of my research areas are:
I design and analyze probabilistic machine-learning methods---motivated by real-world scientific constraints, and developed in collaboration with scientists in biology, chemistry, and physics.
A few highlights of my research areas are:
Reposted by John Pearson
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
SSNAP Applications Manager
SSNAP Applications Manager Powered By Submittable - Accept and Curate Digital Content
ssnap.submittable.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Good news everyone: #Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) are back!! We are now accepting applications for SSNAP 2026, which will take place from May 26 to June 6, 2026. #neuroscience #philosophy #brain Please spread the word! ssnap.submittable.com/submit
Reposted by John Pearson
🚨 UNC Psych & Neuro is hiring TWO Teaching Assistant Professors (one Psych, one Neuro) starting July 2026!
If you love creating engaging classroom experiences and mentoring undergrads, please consider applying or sharing widely. Check it out + apply by Jan 14
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/308...
If you love creating engaging classroom experiences and mentoring undergrads, please consider applying or sharing widely. Check it out + apply by Jan 14
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/308...
Teaching Assistant Professor
Teach three courses per semester for a total of six courses each academic year, along with service/administrative responsibilities.
unc.peopleadmin.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:29 AM
🚨 UNC Psych & Neuro is hiring TWO Teaching Assistant Professors (one Psych, one Neuro) starting July 2026!
If you love creating engaging classroom experiences and mentoring undergrads, please consider applying or sharing widely. Check it out + apply by Jan 14
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/308...
If you love creating engaging classroom experiences and mentoring undergrads, please consider applying or sharing widely. Check it out + apply by Jan 14
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/308...
The best falafel is made from carpet. Don't blame me: it's Science!
November 6, 2025 at 8:58 PM
The best falafel is made from carpet. Don't blame me: it's Science!
Reposted by John Pearson
It’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice.
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
November 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It’s grad school application season, and I wanted to give some public advice.
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Caveats:
-*-*-*-*
> These are my opinions, based on my experiences, they are not secret tricks or guarantees
> They are general guidelines, not meant to cover a host of idiosyncrasies and special cases
Reposted by John Pearson
The academic job market is doing something very good:
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
Dear academics
We could dramatically reduce our administrative workload if we all just agreed not to ask for reference letters until we made our list of finalists.
This is massive collective action problem has already been solved by…
*checks notes*
…every other industry on earth.
We could dramatically reduce our administrative workload if we all just agreed not to ask for reference letters until we made our list of finalists.
This is massive collective action problem has already been solved by…
*checks notes*
…every other industry on earth.
Who is for abolishing grad app letters of rec at the point of application? Would it be so bad if letters were requested AFTER candidates were shortlisted? If we do this at UCSD who will join us?
November 3, 2025 at 7:53 PM
The academic job market is doing something very good:
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
A lot of searches are *NO* longer asking for reference letters until applicants make the short list.
This makes is easier to apply for jobs, reduces the letter writing load for faculty, and makes the review process easier for committee members.
Reposted by John Pearson
First paper from the lab!
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
Simultaneous detection and estimation in olfactory sensing https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.01.686013v1
November 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
First paper from the lab!
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
We propose a model that separates estimation of odor concentration and presence and map it on olfactory bulb circuits
Led by @chenjiang01.bsky.social and @mattyizhenghe.bsky.social joint work with @jzv.bsky.social and with @neurovenki.bsky.social @cpehlevan.bsky.social
Reposted by John Pearson
Now in PRX: Theory linking connectivity structure to collective activity in nonlinear RNNs!
For neuro fans: conn. structure can be invisible in single neurons but shape pop. activity
For low-rank RNN fans: a theory of rank=O(N)
For physics fans: fluctuations around DMFT saddle⇒dimension of activity
For neuro fans: conn. structure can be invisible in single neurons but shape pop. activity
For low-rank RNN fans: a theory of rank=O(N)
For physics fans: fluctuations around DMFT saddle⇒dimension of activity
Connectivity Structure and Dynamics of Nonlinear Recurrent Neural Networks
The structure of brain connectivity predicts collective neural activity, with a small number of connectivity features determining activity dimensionality, linking circuit architecture to network-level...
journals.aps.org
November 3, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Now in PRX: Theory linking connectivity structure to collective activity in nonlinear RNNs!
For neuro fans: conn. structure can be invisible in single neurons but shape pop. activity
For low-rank RNN fans: a theory of rank=O(N)
For physics fans: fluctuations around DMFT saddle⇒dimension of activity
For neuro fans: conn. structure can be invisible in single neurons but shape pop. activity
For low-rank RNN fans: a theory of rank=O(N)
For physics fans: fluctuations around DMFT saddle⇒dimension of activity
Reposted by John Pearson
JupyterBook 2 is released! This is now built on top of the @mystmd.org engine directly.
🚀
Please reach out on our GitHub discussions if you have any problems upgrading.
🚀
Please reach out on our GitHub discussions if you have any problems upgrading.
November 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM
JupyterBook 2 is released! This is now built on top of the @mystmd.org engine directly.
🚀
Please reach out on our GitHub discussions if you have any problems upgrading.
🚀
Please reach out on our GitHub discussions if you have any problems upgrading.
Reposted by John Pearson
Come be my colleague! The Wu Tsai Institute at Yale has two faculty searches ongoing:
- One in computational cognitive science (due Dec 1)
- One in neurodevelopment (rolling)
🧠🤖
- One in computational cognitive science (due Dec 1)
- One in neurodevelopment (rolling)
🧠🤖
📣 WTI is hiring faculty positions! Are you interested in advancing our understanding of the brain + how it gives rise to cognition?
Two calls are open:
Open-rank search, Neurocomputation, deadline: 12.1.25
Senior search, Neurodevelopment, rolling review
🔗 wti.yale.edu/opportunities
#KnowTogether
Two calls are open:
Open-rank search, Neurocomputation, deadline: 12.1.25
Senior search, Neurodevelopment, rolling review
🔗 wti.yale.edu/opportunities
#KnowTogether
November 2, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Come be my colleague! The Wu Tsai Institute at Yale has two faculty searches ongoing:
- One in computational cognitive science (due Dec 1)
- One in neurodevelopment (rolling)
🧠🤖
- One in computational cognitive science (due Dec 1)
- One in neurodevelopment (rolling)
🧠🤖
Reposted by John Pearson
Want the freedom of a fancy fellowship, but not the year-long wait or arduous application?
Come join my lab! Work on neuroscience and AI, explore your creativity, be independent or work closely with me, collaborate widely, and have a lot of fun!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Come join my lab! Work on neuroscience and AI, explore your creativity, be independent or work closely with me, collaborate widely, and have a lot of fun!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
October 23, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Want the freedom of a fancy fellowship, but not the year-long wait or arduous application?
Come join my lab! Work on neuroscience and AI, explore your creativity, be independent or work closely with me, collaborate widely, and have a lot of fun!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Come join my lab! Work on neuroscience and AI, explore your creativity, be independent or work closely with me, collaborate widely, and have a lot of fun!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Reposted by John Pearson
I just skimmed the paper (too fast...) and it seems like they're using more than the output sequence and actually the full logits of the output for reconstruction.
November 1, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I just skimmed the paper (too fast...) and it seems like they're using more than the output sequence and actually the full logits of the output for reconstruction.
Reposted by John Pearson
At no point can you accurately predict what will happen. I love it.
We live in a tumultuous world. But I take solace in the fact that the 2010 University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey intro video remains the most unhinged thing I’ve ever seen.
November 1, 2025 at 4:07 PM
At no point can you accurately predict what will happen. I love it.
Reposted by John Pearson
🗣️💬 Your brain understands what someone says *and* who said it -- how? 🧠
@eintzandt.bsky.social @ralphpeterson.bsky.social & Dan Sanes show in Mongolian gerbils that both vocalization type & social identity can be decoded from neural activity in auditory cortex
#prattle 💬
#neurosky
#neuroskyence
@eintzandt.bsky.social @ralphpeterson.bsky.social & Dan Sanes show in Mongolian gerbils that both vocalization type & social identity can be decoded from neural activity in auditory cortex
#prattle 💬
#neurosky
#neuroskyence
Super excited to share the first part of my thesis work!
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
October 31, 2025 at 5:12 PM
🗣️💬 Your brain understands what someone says *and* who said it -- how? 🧠
@eintzandt.bsky.social @ralphpeterson.bsky.social & Dan Sanes show in Mongolian gerbils that both vocalization type & social identity can be decoded from neural activity in auditory cortex
#prattle 💬
#neurosky
#neuroskyence
@eintzandt.bsky.social @ralphpeterson.bsky.social & Dan Sanes show in Mongolian gerbils that both vocalization type & social identity can be decoded from neural activity in auditory cortex
#prattle 💬
#neurosky
#neuroskyence
Reposted by John Pearson
Super excited to share the first part of my thesis work!
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
October 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Super excited to share the first part of my thesis work!
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠
tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
Reposted by John Pearson
It was a privilege to develop the website to showcase the release of this basal ganglia connectome! Congratulations to everyone involved 😊🎉
Check out interactive 3D models, analysis you can perform in your browser, & our interactive matrices; all on the website!
songbird-connectomics.org
Check out interactive 3D models, analysis you can perform in your browser, & our interactive matrices; all on the website!
songbird-connectomics.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:10 PM
It was a privilege to develop the website to showcase the release of this basal ganglia connectome! Congratulations to everyone involved 😊🎉
Check out interactive 3D models, analysis you can perform in your browser, & our interactive matrices; all on the website!
songbird-connectomics.org
Check out interactive 3D models, analysis you can perform in your browser, & our interactive matrices; all on the website!
songbird-connectomics.org
Note: this has a computational scientist track! It’s for you, too, math nerds!
Applications for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award are now open! This program supports early career scientists in #autism or #neuroscience research by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. Apply by 1/14/2026: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/10/31/a... #science
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Note: this has a computational scientist track! It’s for you, too, math nerds!
Reposted by John Pearson
Applications for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award are now open! This program supports early career scientists in #autism or #neuroscience research by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. Apply by 1/14/2026: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/10/31/a... #science
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open
Applications for Fellows-to-Faculty Awards Now Open on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
October 31, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Applications for our Fellows-to-Faculty Award are now open! This program supports early career scientists in #autism or #neuroscience research by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. Apply by 1/14/2026: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/10/31/a... #science