Presentation and Research Lines:
My research started in the field dynamical systems with applications to biology; I got my Ph. D. thesis diploma at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in 1995. I am Associate Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) since 1997. My research is based on a genuine immersion in neuroscience problems with the help of experimental experts, and a posterior choice of appropriate mathematical tools to model and study specific problems. Currently, I am working on different problems of this interdisciplinary field, always developing computational methods, and using and analyzing mathematical tools. The main research topics l'm involved in are:
- Adapted computation of invariant manifolds to study phases of oscillators, with application to the synchronization of neurons in a network.
- Estimation of synaptic conductances: designing nonlinear estimation methods to infer, from the membrane potential of a neuron, the input conductances. From a mathematical point of view, it is an inverse problem tackled both with tools from dynamical systems and statistical inference.
- Multistable perception: models of multiestable phenomena in order to elucidate the brain mechanisms that allow perception to change without altering the sensory stimuli.
- Short-term synaptic depression (neuronal plasticity): using computational methods to study the effects on a network of neurons of the probability of neurotransmitter release.
Supervision tasks:
I have co-supervised four theses: Gemma Huguet (UPC, 2008, with Amadeu Delshams), Pedro E. García-Rodríguez (UPF 2012, with Gustavo Deco), Oriol Castejon (UPC, 2015, with Inma Baldomá and Tere M.-Seara) and Cati Vich (UIB, 2016, with Rafel Prohens). I have also (co-)supervised 17 Master's Thesis: Marina Martínez, Manolo Rivas, Oriol Castejón, Cati Vich, Montse García, Wu Tong, Pau Closas, Gerard Ferré, Román Moreno, Marina Vilardell, Kevin Martínez-Añón, Carla Molina, Lluc Tresserras, Nils Gutiérrez, Roger Valdés, Ferran Arqué (ongoing) and Júlia Perona (ongoing)).
Editing:
- Founder and co-Editor of the Series Research Perspectives CRM Barcelona (published by Birkhäuser).
- Editor-in-chief of the Butlletí de la Societat Catalana de Matemàtiques since February 2019.
Forthcoming events:
Past events:
- Barcelona Mathematical Days 2017, Barcelona, Catalonia, April 27th-April 28th, 2017.
- International Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience, Boulder, Colorado, USA, May 30th-June 2nd, 2017.
- FIDDS 17-Llavefest, Bellaterra, Catalonia, June 12th-June 16th, 2017.
- Barccsyn 2017, Barcelona, Catalonia, June 15th-June 16th, 2017.
- CEDYA 2017 (Special session #27), Cartagena, Spain, June 26th-June 30th, 2017.
- CRM Intensive Research Program on "Mathematical biology", Bellaterra, Catalonia, April-July 2018 (co-organizer).
- "Brain Dynamics and Statistics: Simulation versus Data" at BIRS, Banff
- CRM Intensive Research Program on "Mathematical biology and differential equations", January-June 2009 (co-organizer).
- Conference on Mathematical Neuroscience, Andorra, September 1st-4th, 2006 (co-organizer).
(Latest) Seminars:
- May 14th, 2019. IBNR seminar, New Jersey Institute of Technology. "Synaptic Conductance Estimation from Membrane Voltage Traces"
- May 10th, 2019. IBNR seminar, New Jersey Institute of Technology. "Extended phase response functions for neural oscillators"
- Dec 20th, 2017. Seminari de Sistemes Dinàmics UB-UPC, Universitat de Barcelona. "Mathematical strategies to estimate synaptic conductances"
- May 23rd, 2017. CIM's lunch seminar, Uppsala University. "The role of nonlinear dynamics in some major neuroscience challenges"
- May 10th, 2017. MathNeuro Seminar. INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis. "Strategies to estimate synaptic conductances"
- March 7th, 2017. Math Biology Seminar. NJIT. "Quasiperiodic forcing in bistable perception models"
- February 21st, 2017. Courant Institute, NYU. "Some results on estimation of synaptic conductances"
- January 12th, 2017. Biophysics/biomathematics seminar, UPC. "Global (planar) bifurcations"