We are happy to host students from EPFL and other Universities for projects and internships.
If you are interested in working on a project or doing an internship in our laboratory, please apply as follows: Please send an e-mail to the responsible of the project with Caroline Magnin ([email protected]) and Lisa Fleury ([email protected]) in cc.
Please provide the following information in the e-mail:
- Which project type are you interested in (e.g. bachelor project)?
- In which University program are you enrolled and what year are you in (e.g. 3rd year bachelor student in SV)?
- How long does this type of project usually last and how many ECTS credits do you receive for it (e.g. 3 weeks full-time, 6 ECTS credits)?
- What are the deadlines and presentation modes for the project (e.g. presentation during project and written report afterwards)?
- In what period would you like to perform the project in our laboratory (e.g. 1st of May until 19th of May 2022, full-time)?
- What are your main interests (e.g. healthy aging)?
Please attach your CV and your motivation letter.
After reviewing your application, we will contact you via e-mail regarding further details.
Students from external universities will further need
- Two letters of recommendation
- Funding information
Be aware that, due to extensive administrative paperwork, external only projects lasting at least 6 months will be considered for external students. Further be aware that you might need to meet further administrative requirements (e.g. visum, insurance). You will find information to processes and detailed requirements at: http://sae.epfl.ch/exchange-incoming. Please note that our lab is located in the cantons of Geneva and Valais, NOT Vaud (where the main campus is located). In that sense, the visa/residence permits will have to be dealt with in Geneva or Valais respectively.
IMPORTANT: Please note that our laboratory is located at the Clinique Romande de Réadaptation (CRR/SUVA) in Sion as well as at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Switzerland. All of the projects/internships will therefore be taking place in Sion or in Geneva respectively.
Investigating correlates of structural imaging with transcranial ultrasound stimulation in a reversal-learning task
Availability
Spring 2025
Keywords
transcranial ultrasound stimulation, sensorimotor system, structural mri
Location
Campus Biotech, Geneva
Profile
Semester project, 2 days/week
Contact
Objective
Reversal learning, a specific type of reinforcement learning, refers to a set of collective paradigms used to study cognitive flexibility which is the ability to rapidly change behavior in the face of changing circumstances. In brief, reversal learning tasks involve the discrimination between two or more stimuli. The cognitive flexibility is assessed via the evaluation of the participant’s adaptive response following a reversal of the outcomes associated with the stimuli. In this project, we collected structural imaging data from a healthy cohort (n=15) initially recruited to perform a reversal-learning task after sonication of the primary motor cortex via focused transcranial ultrasound.
The primary outcome of this project is to investigate whether the individual structural connectivity properties correlate with the performance observed during the task as well as investigate how the stimulation paradigm may explain the participants’ behavioral performance. To that aim, the student will apply a pipeline designed in our laboratory for analyzing Diffusion-weighted imaging data.
Duration
Semester
Prerequisites
The candidate is expected to have good computational skills (Python mainly), and an interest in computational work and clinical approaches. Applicant must show scientific curiosity and a good level of independence to familiarize with the framework and conduct the analyses.
How to apply
Please send your CV and a 300 words statement of your motivation to Thomas Paul (see Contact).
Investigating the functional magnetic resonance readouts from a reversal-learning task
Availability
Spring 2025
Keywords
transcranial ultrasound stimulation, reinforcement-learning, fMRI
Location
Campus Biotech, Geneva
Profile
Semester project, 2 days/week
Contact
Objective
Reversal learning, a specific type of reinforcement learning, refers to a set of collective paradigms used to study cognitive flexibility which is the ability to rapidly change behavior in the face of changing circumstances. In brief, reversal learning tasks involve the discrimination between two or more stimuli. The cognitive flexibility is assessed via the evaluation of the participant’s adaptive response following a reversal of the outcomes associated with the stimuli. Here, the project consists of the analysis of task-based functional magnetic resonance data collected during a reversal-learning task in a healthy cohort (n=15) after neuromodulation via focused transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation.
Primarily, this project will consist of adapting a pre-existing analysis pipeline for two ultrasound neuromodulation conditions to run first- and second-level analysis. Ultimately, the analysis can be correlated with different metrics outputs measured during the reversal learning task.
Duration
Semester
Prerequisites
The candidate is expected to have good computational skills (Python mainly), and an interest in computational work and clinical approaches. Applicant must show scientific curiosity and a good level of independence to familiarize with the framework and conduct the analyses.
How to apply
Please send your CV and a 300 words statement of your motivation to Thomas Paul (see Contact).