MindCORE at the University of Pennsylvania

Join us today at 5 PM to collectively watch & discuss "Ghost in the Machine" with snacks in 200 Goddard.

Candlelight vigil today at 6 to mark one month of closed doors at The Academy of Natural Sciences. Wear all black. I’ll bring candles. We’re keeping the pressure up until there is a concrete plan to reopen this museum. This is also a great time to pick up posters to distribute!

Neuromatch is hiring 2 Curriculum Specialists for Computational Behaviour! ➡️ Position description: neuromatch.io/wp-content/u... 🙋 Apply here: airtable.com/appBGDTJHkIq... Please share in your networks! #ComputationalNeuroscience #CollectiveBehaviour #NonprofitJob

In the largest genetic study of personality to date, Penn Medicine researchers have uncovered 1,260 genetic variants associated with the “Big Five” personality traits. “There isn’t a single gene for being outgoing or conscientious,” says psychiatrist Henry R. Kranzler. https://bit.ly/3UiEpIc

Two nomination deadlines on the horizon. Nov. 17 is the deadline to submit your nomination for Fellows of the CogSci Society. 🗳️ cognitivesciencesociety.org/fellows/ And the Elman Prize deadline is Nov. 18. 🗳️ cognitivesciencesociety.org/elman-prize/ Visit our website to learn more and nominate!

From the archives: In light of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, we are highlighting this post by Lisa Woodridge about optogenetics, a tool that lets scientists activate neurons with light! Check out the article here: pennneuroknow.com/2021/10/05/s... #PsychSciSky #SciComm 🧠🟦 🧪

We're looking for nominations for a speaker series hosted by the Kording lab @ Penn in Spring 2027! Nominations (including self-nominations) can be made through the attached form.

"How data centers are changing Pennsylvania’s political landscape" by Lavanya Mani for the #DailyPenn: www.thedp.com/article/2026...

Applications are open for the Studio D3 Fellowship at the Allen Institute! This 3-year fellowship empowers recent PhDs with quantitative backgrounds to apply computational and theoretical approaches to some of biology's most complex challenges. Apply by Dec. 1: https://bit.ly/4rgbTmD

ILST Seminar TODAY Friday, October 23, 1:30 Goddard 200, 3710 Hamilton Walk Coffee and cookies provided. Robert Seyfarth The Social Origins of Language @sas.upenn.edu

I'm teaching my students op-ed writing starting next week and I'm looking for good examples to show them! Have a science/education-related op-ed you've liked recently? Link it below 🙏

Navigating Difficult Conversations with Your Mentor: Restorative Communication Tools Tuesday, October 27, 12-1 PM EST Grad Center, Room 304 Register: upenn-gsc.libcal.com/event/17769947

www.pennmedicine.org/news/advance...

Grad Student Op-Ed Writing Workshop Nov 4, 2:30-4PM Grad Student Center, Rm 304 Participants should bring a body of research/experiences that they want to convey to a broad public and/or op-ed ideas! Best suited for grad students in any science area including social sciences. gsc.upenn.edu/events

Very cool that the LDC exists at Penn. "Amid massive changes in the accessibility of training data since its founding in 1992, the LDC is expanding its focus toward interdisciplinary research, helping solve problems in medicine and education." penntoday.upenn.edu/news/sas-lin... @sas.upenn.edu

We are proud to have Dr. Alan Stocker for the GRASP on Robotics seminar talk, who will present "Embodied and Efficient: Toward a Resource-Rational Theory of Human Cognition" TOMORROW from 10:30AM-11:45AM. More info: www.grasp.upenn.edu/events/fall-... #GRASP #GRASPLab #GRASPonRobotics

The Journal of Experimental Pragmatics (JXPrag) is live! A community-owned, Diamond Open Access journal dedicated to research on meaning, inference, communication, & language use in context. ✅Free to publish ✅Free to read ✅Community owned journals.uclpress.co.uk/jxprag/

Interesting: "...there are more libraries in the U.S. (an estimated 125,211, according to the American Library Association) than there are McDonald’s and Starbucks combined." Source: www.pew.org/en/research-...

📅NEXT MONTH: Have a question for Angela Duckworth about getting situated? Join BCFG for a virtual Q&A with Angela, moderated by Katy Milkman. The event is free and open to all. Bring your questions! Monday, November 2 | 1:30-2:00 PM ET Register: upenn.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Nominations Open for Interim Weekly-Paid Professional Staff Assembly (WPPSA) Leadership @upenn.edu The re-establishment of WPPSA will support the restoration of two currently vacant weekly-paid staff seats on Penn’s University Council. Nomination form here: almanac.upenn.edu/articles/nom...

On Tues Oct 27th, Philly will have gone a full month without access to the Academy of Natural Sciences. Join us at academy at 6pm for a candlelight vigil. We’re keeping the light of hope alive. Wear black if you have it. We’re the dark times, but this fight isn’t over.

Science Friday’s nerdy Halloween costume contest is back! 🎃 Enter for a chance to win a SciFri merch gift bag and possibly chat with Flora on the show! The submission form will open October 26 and close November 1. Check out our website for all the details. www.sciencefriday.com/articles/sci...

Only 10 percent of Americans support the idea of household voting, or changing U.S. elections so that each household rather than each adult citizen can cast one vote. That’s according to polling last month from The 19th and YouGov. https://bit.ly/4BhGDIt

The National Science Foundation, one of the largest funders of research in the U.S., has been rocked by firings and budget cuts during the second Trump administration. Now, it is reportedly set to lose its leader at the end of the year sciam.com/article/nati...

Hiring two Lab Managers at Cornell for a new NIH-funded study of emotion and relationships in dementia caregiving families. Great for recent grads headed to grad school. Please share! cornell.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CornellCaree...

This sounds fascinating.

All the candidates — including PA governor and U.S. reps — on the ballot on November 3. https://bit.ly/4dxwpur

Something that really irks me is that if you want to walk to West Fairmount Park's Belmont Plateau from Horticultural Hall Google Maps says it's only 16 minutes but it guides you across an illegal crossing and up a hill with no sidewalks. Philly's parks are too often for cars, not people.

Andrew Persichetti is also MindCORE-affiliated faculty. Though part of Penn, MindCORE has faculty affiliates at Philadelphia area institutions who collaborate with us. You can see all our faculty here: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/people/mindc...

Scientists have mapped one of the most mysterious parts of the human brain in unprecedented detail go.nature.com/4A6HcDV

Nicole Rust in Conversation with Jon Nelson Wednesday, October 28, 3:30-5 PM 200 Goddard @sas.upenn.edu Reception to follow. After living with severe depression, Jon underwent experimental deep brain stimulation and achieved remission. Hear his story. mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/calendar_eve...

MindCORE & Cog Sci Movie Night: Ghost in the Machine Tuesday, Oct 27, 2026, 5-7 PM 200 Goddard @sas.upenn.edu Open to all.

MindCORE/CNI Seminar Friday, Oct 23, 12-1 PM w/pizza From Genetic Variation to Brain Development: AI Approaches to Understanding Autism Heterogeneity Olga Troyanskaya Maduraperuma/Khot Professor of Computer Science Princeton U function.princeton.edu @pennmedicine.bsky.social @sas.upenn.edu

🗓️On 10/22 at 11 am ET, I'm joining the "Behind-the-Scenes" seminar via Zoom to share the story of a 2021 Nature paper I led: "Megastudies improve the impact of applied behavioural science". Join us for a convo on how this project came to be. Register: forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/respon...

This week on America's Next Top (Animal) Model: could an adorable little lemur provide answers about aging and Alzheimer's disease? Tune into this week's post by @nitarome.bsky.social to find out: pennneuroknow.com/2026/10/20/t... #PsychSciSky #SciComm 🧠🟦 🧪

Yet another neat paper from Tal!! The paper itself is short and sweet, but the data are quite thought-provoking. I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to extract stable signatures from such simple behaviors. (Makes me wonder what other idiosyncratic behaviors are hidden in plain sight!) 🔍

“Letting go isn’t hard because the objects themselves are objectively so precious. It’s hard because the brain sees it as changing who we are—and resists that,” writes Warren Center faculty affiliate Emily Falk for the New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026...

NoBEC (Norms and Behavioral Change) Talk October 22 @ 1 PM EST "The Social Media Trap, a Few Other Product Market Traps, and How to Escape Them" Leonardo Bursztyn U Chicago More: normsandbehavior.sas.upenn.edu/events

⏰ Reminder: COS seeks new members for its Preregistration and Outcome Reporting Advisory Group. Terms begin in December 2026. Apply by October 30 for best consideration. In recognition of members' expertise, COS offers an annual honorarium of $1,250. Learn more:

I am actively recruiting participants for my PhD, check out the blogpost to learn more (in ASL & English) 🤗

Happening today! If you're interested in applying for the PhD program in Religious Studies at Penn this coming year, please join us for an information session taking place on Zoom this evening! Details available at this link.

The two measures voters can approve or reject on November 3 give an edge to small and local businesses, and make the City's art and culture department permanent. https://bit.ly/4dsMxx8

🪩🌟 Updated speakers for the ISPSM workshop coming up this week (23/10, 8am EDT/1pm BST): Don't forget to register: tinyurl.com/ISPSMInConve...

I’m accepting applications for PhD students to join my lab in Fall 2027! Our work focuses on psychopathology, personality, classification and assessment, and using AI with intensive longitudinal methods to better understand mental health. See the lab site for more info: ringwaldlab.psych.umn.edu