Profiles

Mainak Patel, M.D., Ph.D.

Current Position:
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, NC
Graduate: 2011
BS Neuroscience, University of Rochester
Faculty Mentor: David McLaughlin, Ph.D.

Ever since I took my first neuroscience course in college I’ve been captivated by the seemingly impossible feats of computation performed by the brain. In order to study the mathematical codes used by the brain to encode, transform, and synthesize information, I chose to do my PhD through the Computational Biology Program at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Our work consists of creating and studying mathematical models of neural networks.

Thesis

Emergence of Dual Coding Mechanisms in a Network Model of the Locust Antennal Lobe: Transient Temporal Binding vs. a Delayed, High Dimensional Rate Code

Research Interests

Mathematical Neuroscience; Information processing and stimulus encoding by neural networks

Selected Publications

Patel M, Rangan AV, Cai D. Coding of odors by temporal binding within a model network of the locust antennal lobe. In Submission. Forthcoming.

Patel M, Rangan AV, Cai D. A large-scale model of the locust antennal lobe. J Comput Neurosci. 2009 Dec;27(3):553-67. Epub 2009 Jun 23. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 19548077. doi: 10.1007/s10827-009-0169-z.