Clémentine Dominé

Computational Neurosicence PhD Student

Publications - Posters

*First Author

Published
  • Kunin, D.*, Raventós, A.*, Dominé, C., Chen, F., Klindt, D., Saxe, A. & Ganguli, S., 2024. Get rich quick: Exact solutions reveal how unbalanced initializations promote rapid feature learning. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (Neurips),38, (Spotlight). [paper]
  • Fumero, M., Rodolá, E., Dominé, C., Locatello, F., Dziugaite, K. and Mathilde, C., 2024, May. Preface of UniReps: the First Workshop on Unifying Representations in Neural Models. In Proceedings of UniReps: the First Workshop on Unifying Representations in Neural Models (pp. 1-10). PMLR. [paper]
  • Dominé, C. *, Braun, L.*, Fitzgerald, J.E., and Saxe, A.M., 2023. Exact learning dynamics of deep linear networks with prior knowledge. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2023(11), p.114004. [paper]
  • Braun, L.*, Dominé, C.*, Fitzgerald, J., and Saxe, A., 2022. Exact learning dynamics of deep linear networks with prior knowledge. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 35, pp.6615-6629. [paper]
  • Pegoraro, M. *, Dominé, C.*, Rodolà, E., Veličković, P., and Deac, A., 2023. Geometric Epitope and Paratope Prediction. Bioinformatics, 40(7), p.btae405. [paper]
Pre-Print/Under-Review
  • Dominé, C.*; Anguita,N*; Proca, AM.; Braun, L; Kunin;D Mediano, P.A.M. ; Saxe , A.M.; 2024. From Lazy to Rich: Exact Learning Dynamics in Deep Linear Networks. arXiv. [paper]
  • Thompson, E., Rollik, L., Waked, B., Mills, G., Kaur, J., Geva, B., Carrasco-Davis, R., George, T., Domine, C., Dorrell, W. and Stephenson-Jones, M., 2024. Replay of procedural experience is independent of the hippocampus. bioRxiv, pp.2024-06. [paper]
  • Dominé, C.*, Carrasco Davis, R.A. *, Hollingsworth, L., Sirmpilatze, N., Tyson, A.L., Jarvis, D., Barry, C., and Saxe, A.M., 2024. Neural Playground: A Standardised Environment for Evaluating Models of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex. bioRxiv, pp.2024-03. [paper]
Workshop papers
  • Jarvis, D*; Lee,S*; Dominé, C.*; Sarao Mannelli , S; Saxe ,A.M.; A Theory of Initialisation’s Impact on Specialisation’. NeurIPS 2024 Workshop on Mathematics of Modern Machine Learning.
  • Dominé, C.*; Anguita,N*; Proca, AM.; Braun, L; Kunin; D Mediano, P.A.M.; Saxe , A.M.; 2024. From Lazy to Rich: Exact Learning Dynamics in Deep Linear Networks. NeurIPS 2024 Workshop on Mathematics of Modern Machine Learning.
  • Dominé, C.*, Carrasco Davis, R.A. *, Hollingsworth, L., Sirmpilatze, N., Tyson, A.L., Jarvis, D., Barry, C., and Saxe, A.M.,2023. NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for Evaluation of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex Models. Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN) Talk. (Top 5%).
Abstracts
  • Maiorca, V., Azeglio, S., Fumero, M., Dominé, C., Rodolà, E., and Locatello, F., 2024. Multi-subject neural decoding via relative representations. Cosyne: Poster.
  • Dominé, C. *, Carrasco Davis, R.A.*, Hollingsworth, L., Sirmpilatze, N., Tyson, A.L., Jarvis, D., Barry, C., and Saxe, A.M., 2023. NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for Evaluation of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex Models. Cosyne: Poster.
  • Pegoraro, M.*, Dominé, C.*, Rodolà, E., Veličković, P., and Deac, A., 2023. Geometric Epitope and Paratope Prediction. bioRxiv, pp.2023-06. NeuReps 2023: Symmetry and Geometry in Neural Representations Workshop, NeurIPS 2023.
  • Pegoraro, M. *, Dominé, C.*, Rodolà, E., Veličković, P., and Deac, A., 2023. Geometric Epitope and Paratope Prediction. bioRxiv, pp.2023-06. Learning on Graphs Log Conference.
  • Thompson, E., Rollick, L., Carrasco-Davis, R., Dominé, C., Dorrell, W., George, T., Mills, G., Kaur, J., Stephenson-Jones, M., 2022. Replay of motor sequences in dorsolateral striatum during offline consolidation are revealed using an unsupervised point process model. FENS Forum: Poster.
  • Thompson, E., Rollick, L., Carrasco-Davis, R., Dominé, C., Dorrell, W., George, T., Mills, G., Kaur, J., Stephenson-Jones, M., and Dominé, C., 2023. Replay of Motor Sequences in the Dorsolateral Striatum during Offline Consolidation are Revealed Using an Unsupervised Point Process Model. Cosyne: Talk. (Top 3%).

Education

Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom
2020-Present

Ph.D supervised by Andrew Saxe and Caswell Barry, I am studying the theory and computation at the basis of learning and memory. Research direction include: Notable modules: Kernels, Probabilistic, Variational Inference, Reinforcement Learning, Theoretical Neuroscience.

The University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
2016 - 2020

Masters of Physics with Theoretical Physics

Masters thesis: Study of E-kick procedure optimization using PIC code simulation for non-neutral plasma with the ALPHA experiment at CERN. (Master Thesis Part 1 & 2 )

Notable modules: Quantum Field Theory, Gauge Theories, Advanced Statistical Physics, Non-Linear Dynamics.

First-Class Honours, Grade 80%

The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA
2018 - 2019

UC Education Abroad (3rd Year)
Notable modules: Particle Physics, Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Biophysics

GPA:4.0

Research Experience

Zuckerman Institute, Columbia University, London, UK
2024-Present

Research Scholar
Supervised by Dr.Kim Stachenfeld and Pr.Larry Abbott, working on geometric deep learning for generalizing Hippocampal-Entorhinal computation.

Google DeepMind NeuroLab, Google DeepMind, London, UK
2023-2024

External Lab Member in London, UK

Supervised by Dr. Kim Stachenfeld, working on Geometric deep learning for generalizing hippocampal-entorhinal computation.

ELLIS PhD Mobility Program, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
2021-2022

Ellis Research Rotation

Supervised by Petar Veličković (DeepMind) and Emmanuele Rodolà (Sapienza), I studied the binding properties of antibody-antigen using tools of geometric deep learning. Predicting of the antibody-antigen binding region is key to developing vaccines and synthetic antibodies.

Blue Brain Project École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Summer Intern 2018 - 2019

Summer internship at the EPFL Blue Brain Project with Dr. Rajnish Ranjan, Section Manager of the Membrane Systems Group in the Simulation Neuroscience Division (Lausanne, Switzerland). My primary duties included in redesigning and upgrading the existing ion channel model fitting with Hodgkin-Huxley and Markov model formulation (Writting).

The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA

Undergraduate research 2018 - 2019

Supervised research at UCLA with Pr. R. Bruinsma. Study of a method of quantum state manipulation, inspired by the spin echo, which can reduce the time uncertainty error for quantum computer applications. (Papers publishes following this initial work: 1 & 2) Supervised research at UCLA with Pr. K. Arisaka. Study of the depth visual information encoding by the theta phase using reaction time in Virtual reality. (Poster)

CERN, Geneva, Switzerland/ The University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom

Scientific Collaborator 2017 - 2018

Study of the E-kick procedure optimization using MATLAB PIC code simulation for non- neutral plasma with the ALPHA experiment at CERN continued as a master’s project with Dr Will Bertsche.

CERN, Geneva, Switzerland

Summer Intern 2016 - 2017 2017 - 2018

The ALPHA experiment is working with trapped anti-hydrogen atoms and aims at studying fundamental symmetries between matter and anti-matter. I developed my computing and electronic skills by working on a project around a “push-pull” Mosfet circuit for the security valve of the apparatus. I developed computing and electronic skills by working on the electronic circuit of the security valve for the cryostat for the future Alpha-G experiment measuring the gravity constant with anti-matter. Day-to-day running of the experiment. (Record of the most anti-hydrogen caught) Assisted Summer Student lectures. Certified guide inside the AD facility.

Teaching

  • 2022-2024 - Lecturer Gatsby UCL courses: Bridging Program (Lectures and tutorials).
  • 2021-2022 - Teaching Assistant for Gatsby UCL courses: Theoretical and Systems Neuroscience Course. (Lectures and tutorials).
  • 2021-2022 - Teaching Assistant for the Gatsby UCL courses: The CAJAL Advanced Neuroscience Training. (Lectures and tutorials).

Supervising - Mentoring

  • 2023-2024 - Nicolas Anguita - Masters Thesis: Deep linear networks theory. (Future PhD at Cambridge) 92 % (Imperial Minimax Labs project Prize).
  • 2023-2024 - Sarveshwari Singh - WIML Mentor.
  • 2022-2023 - Kevin Ferrao - In2Research Host: 8 weeks research placement working on Neuralplayground.
  • 2022-2023 - Kendall Feeny and Nicola Jadesola - In2Research Mentor.
  • 2021-2022 - Ariel Flint Ashery and Anton Fedotov - Summer Undergrad Interns Supervisor: on prioritised replay in the student teacher set-up.
  • 2021-2022 - Luke Hollingsworth - Supervision of Computer Science Master student from the University College London. A simplified and detailed implementation of the Tolman Eichenbaum Machine (TEM) and ablation analysis (Grade: 78%). PhD at UCL.
  • 2019-2020 - Pass Mentor Tutor for Peer-assisted Study Sessions (PASS), The University of Manchester.
    Organised and led weekly sessions with student.

Awards - Honors

Funding
  • 2024 - The KITP follow-on program: Deep Learning from the Perspective of Physics and Neuroscience (1000$).
  • 2023 - Google Europe Students with Disabilities Scholarship (7000£).
  • 2023 - Grants for PhD students and postdocs in quantitative fields (1000£)
  • 2023 - Ponte Costa Lab NeuroAi workshop travel grant (100£).
  • 2023 - Princeton ML Theory Summer School travel grant (500$).
  • 2023 - Les Houches travel grant (500$).
  • 2022 - DocSkill grant - CLIE Evening Courses Class List (£390).
  • 2022 - ELISE PhD Mobility Grant (5000€).
Honors
  • 2024 - UCL Inclusion Awards 2024 - Shortlisted Nominee - Sir Stephen Wall Award: Inspiring Role Model.
  • 2023 - Top Reviewer for NeurIPS 2023 and to secure a complimentary registration (500$).
  • 2023 - In2research Mentor of the Year award.
  • 2022 - Best Poster Award - Gatsby Tri-center meeting, Israel, Hebrew University', Exact learning dynamics of deep linear networks with prior knowledge' (Poster).
  • 2020 - The Stellify Award is the University’s most prestigious undergraduate extracurricular award (Outstanding efforts in Leadership and Volunteering).
  • 2018-2019 UCLA Dean's Honors List.
  • 2019 - The Entry Scholarship - students gaining A*A*A* grades awarded by the UoM.(1000£).
  • 2019 - Bourse au mérite Haute-Savoie for French Baccalaureate “Mention Très Bien” with “Félicitations du jury”, grade : 18.5/20. 1,8 \% Students qualified) (500€).

Other Occupations

Comference - Workshop
  • 2024 - Paper Neurips Vancouver (USA).
  • 2024 - Talk - Google Deepmind NeuroLab Workshop (UK).
  • 2023 - Attendee - Neurips, New Orleans (USA).
  • 2023 - Attendee -The KITP Program Deep Learning from the Perspective of Physics and Neuroscience, Santa Barbara (USA).
  • 2023 - Talk - CCN contributed, Oxford (UK).
  • 2023 - Poster - UCL Faculty of Life Sciences Festival of Research, London (UK).
  • 2023 - Poster - COSYNE, Montreal (CA).
  • 2022 - Poster - Neurips (Paper), New Orleans (USA).
  • 2022 - Poster - The Gatsby Tri-Center Hebrew Universtiy, Jerusalem (Israel).
  • 2022 - Attendee - COSYNE, Lisbon (Portugal).
  • 2021 - Poster - The SWC Internal Symposium, London (UK).
Additional professional training
Summer & winter schools attended
  • 2023 - Princeton ML Theory Summer School (Poster), Princeton (USA)
  • 2023 - Les Houches Workshop school of Physics 'Latest advances on biological and artificial neural network'(Poster), Les Houches (FR)
Talks
Contributed talks
Invited talks
  • 2024 - Invited talk - Flatiron CCN NYU - Exact learning dynamics of the rich and lazy learning regimes
  • 2024 - Invited talk - Harvard School of Engineering and Apllied Sciences - Exact learning dynamics of the rich and lazy learning regimes
  • 2024 - Panel Speaker at Neuroverse Podcast at SWC - 'Will AI ever fully capture or replicate the brain's complexity?'
  • 2024 - Speaker at Women in Neuro UK - 'Future Neuro: Woman in AI, tech and computation'
  • 2024 - Panel Speaker - SWC GCNU Internal symposium - 'Should all scientists try to be PI's'
  • 2024 - Invited talk - Google Deepmind NeuroLab workshop (UK)
  • 2023 - Invited talk - Ponte-Costa Lab NeuroAi workshop
  • 2023 - Invited talk - Theory center at the Zuckerman Institute Columbia
  • 2023 - Invited talk - NeuroAI UCL
  • 2022 - Invited talk - Rome Sapienza
  • 2022 - Invited talk - Neurips the Woman Ignite Social
Professional services
Review
  • 2025 - ICLR
  • 2024 - COSYNE
  • 2023 - NeurIPS (Top Reviewer)
  • 2023 - Deep Learning Indaba
  • 2023 - Reviewer for ICLR Workshop MLGH
  • 2022 - Reviewer for NeurIPS Workshop NeurReps
Workshop chair
  • 2023-2024 - Organiser NeurIPS Workshop: UniReps: 2nd Workshop on Unifying Representations in Neural Models
  • 2022-2023 - Organiser NeurIPS Workshop: UniReps: 1st Workshop on Unifying Representations in Neural Models
Institutional & departmental committees
  • 2023-2024 - Application Review Committee, GCNU Summer Bridging Program
  • 2022-2023 - Application Review Committee, School on Analytical Connectionism, Gatsby Unit, UCL. 2023
  • 2022-2023 - Application Review Committee, GCNU Summer Bridging Program
  • 2022-2023 - Organiser Saxe Lab retreat
  • 2022-2023 - Organiser Gatsby Theoretical Neuroscience Journal Club
  • 2022-2023 - Organiser NeuroAI UCL organiser(Talks, Deeplabcut hackathon, Annual Event)
  • 2021-2022 - Organiser of Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) Annual Student Symposium
Outreach

Skills

Computing skills

Python, C++, MATLAB, Mathematica, LTSPICE, Arduino, Latex, FOVE, Emotive, Excel.

Other skills

PIL certified for animal handling, CPR / AED / First-Aid Certification Course, Diving level 1, Sailing License.

Activities

Music - Guitar, musical theory, singing, piano, ukulele.
Sports - Rock-climbing, skiing, snowboard, running.
Blog - Art and Sciences (@artlovessciences).

Volonteering
  • 2024 - WIML Neurips 2023 Comference Volonteer
  • 2022 - Half-marathon fundraising for Rape Crisis England & Wales
  • 2019 - The Midnight Mission Service Volunteer
  • 2019 - Volonteer Association Mondiale pour les Orphelins
  • 2018 - Fundraising Volunteer for the Santa Monica Mountain Restoration
  • 2018 - Swimathon fundraising for Cancer Research UK

Languages

French - Native language
English - TOEFL: 106/120 (2015)
German - Silver AATG, Certification level A2/B1 (2016)
Italian - Level A2+