Dynamics Club
Launched in 2022, Dynamics Club is a UCLA-based forum for junior scientists to discuss nonlinear dynamics in biology and physiology. Starting from 2024, this is also the home for the Interoception Dynamics Affinity Group.
Our monthly seminars are mostly on Zoom, with hybrid access to in-person events. Campus visits are made possible by the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP), Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio) and Brain Research Institute (BRI).
Currently, we have 336 members. If you’re new, sign up here!
Job opportunities:
- A PhD position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Natalie Porat-Shliom at NIH/NCI (Microscopy)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Paul François at Université de Montréal (Details)
Key References (PDFs are available online):
Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)
Dynamics Club in March:
How Neural Heterogeneity Controls Network Function
Speaker: Dr. Richard Gast (Postdoctoral Researcher; Scripps Research)
Date and Time: Mar 6 (Friday) at 11am Pacific Time / 2pm Eastern Time
Hybrid Event: Boyer Hall 554 and on Zoom (Meeting ID: 962 3517 5902; Passcode: 443928)
Abstract:
Recent advances in transcriptomics, projection tracing, and multi-neuron recordings reveal that neural heterogeneity — the continuous diversity of cellular, synaptic, and circuit properties — is a pervasive feature of brains. But what is the functional relevance of this heterogeneity? In the traditional view, differences between cell types are considered as the functionally relevant aspect of neural heterogeneity, whereas the contribution of additional heterogeneity within cell types is considered negligible. In this talk, I will argue that the continuously distributed physiological properties existing within cell types play an important functional role that is complementary to the role of discrete cell types. In the first part of the talk, I will introduce a mathematical framework that allows to derive an analytical relationship between neural heterogeneity and emergent neural population dynamics. In the second part, I will discuss various numerical results that reveal how neural heterogeneity controls the function and development of recurrent neural networks.
Scheduled Sessions:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) |
| Jun | Epinephrine oscillation enhances the alertness of target cells to stress | Dr. Mark Greenwood (Whitehead Institute) |
| Aug | Microglia coordinate activity-dependent protein synthesis in neurons through metabolic coupling | Drew Adler (NYU) |
| 2026 | Neurophysiological principles of reward | Dr. Annie Park (Oxford University) |
| 2026 | Longitudinal monitoring of developmental plasticity in the mouse auditory cortex | Dr. Megan Kirchgessner (NYU) |
Past Events in 2026:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) | Materials |
| Jan 20 | Microdomain Metabolism in Pacemaker Myocytes: The Ca2+ Clock Drives the ATP Clock | Dr. Manuel Munoz Camus (UC Davis) | Pubmed |
| Feb 13 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Dr. Harish Venkatachalapathy (UMN) | Pubmed |
Past Events in 2025
Past Events in 2024
Past Events in 2023
Past Events in 2022