Clémentine Dominé

Computational Neurosicence PhD Student

Publications and Posters

First Author 2023 - NeuReps 2023: Symmetry and Geometry in Neural Representations Workshop, NeurIPS 2023
Clémentine C. J. Dominé**, Marco Pegoraro* et al, ‘Geometric Epitope and Paratope Prediction’

2023 - Learning on Graphs Log Comference
Clémentine C. J. Dominé*, Marco Pegoraro* et al, ‘Geometric Epitope and Paratope Prediction’

2023 - Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN) Talk (Top 5%)
Clémentine C. J. Dominé*, Rodrigo Carrasco* et al, ‘NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for evaluation of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex Models’

2023 - Cosyne Poster
Clémentine C. J. Dominé*, Rodrigo Carrasco* et al, ‘NeuralPlayground: A Standardised Environment for evaluation of Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex Models’

2023 - Cosyne Talk (Top 3%)
Emmett Thompson*, ‘Replay of motor sequences in dorsolateral striatum during offline consolidation are revealed using a unsupervised point process model’, Poster in FENS For(2022).(Poster)

2022 - NeurIPS Conference Paper
Clémentine C. J. Dominé*, Lukas Braun*, ‘Exact learning dynamics of deep linear networks with prior knowledge’, NeurIPS (2022). (Paper)

2022 - FENS Forum
Emmett Thompson*, ‘Replay of motor sequences in dorsolateral striatum during offline consolidation are revealed using a unsupervised point process model’, Poster in FENS For(2022).(Poster)

Education

2020-Present

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

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:

  • Exact learning dynamics of in Deep Linear Neural Network with Prior Knowledge Implement an unsupervised point process model for replay detection of motor sequences in the dorsolateral striatum.
  • Revealed first evidence for off-line consolidation of procedural memory in the dorsolateral striatum.
  • Reinforcement learning framework to reproducibly compare hippocampus and entorhinal cortex models against experimental results. Help better understand the function of this brain region in the memory and learning mechanisms.

Notable modules: Kernels, Probabilistic, Variational Inference, Reinforcement Learning, Theoretical Neuroscience.

2016 - 2020

The University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom

Masters of Physics with Theoretical Physics 2016 - 2020

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%

2018 - 2019

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

UC Education Abroad (3rd Year) 2018 - 2019
Notable modules: Particle Physics, Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Biophysics

GPA:4.0

Research Experience

ELLISE PhD Mobility Program, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy

ElliSE Research Rotation 2021 - 2022

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

  • 2022-2023 - 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
  • 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%).
  • 2019-2020 - Pass Mentor Tutor for Peer-assisted Study Sessions (PASS), The University of Manchester.
    Organised and led weekly sessions with student.

Awards - Grants

  • 2023 - Top Reviewer for NeurIPS 2023 and to secure a complimentary registration (500$)
  • 2023 - In2research Mentor of the Year award
  • 2023 - Google Europe Students with Disabilities Scholarship.(7000£)
  • 2023 - Grants for PhD students and postdocs in quantitative fields (1000£)
  • 2023 - Ponte Costa Lab NeuroAi workshop travel grant (100£)
  • 2023 - Princeton ML Theory Summer School travel grant (500$)
  • 2023 - Les Houches travel grant (500$)
  • 2022 - DocSkill grant - CLIE Evening Courses Class List (£390)
  • 2022 - ELISE PhD Mobility Grant (2500$)
  • 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

Review

  • 2024 - COSYNE
  • 2023 - NeurIPS (Top Reviewer)
  • 2023 - Deep Learning Indaba
  • 2023 - Reviewer for ICLR Workshop MLGH
  • 2022 - Reviewer for NeurIPS Workshop NeurReps

Comference and Workshop

  • 2023 - Neurips, New Orleans (USA)
  • 2023 - The KITP Program Deep Learning from the Perspective of Physics and Neuroscience, Santa Barbara (USA)
  • 2023 - CCN (Talk), Oxford (UK)
  • 2023 - Princeton ML Theory Summer School (Poster), Princeton (USA)
  • 2023 - UCL Faculty of Life Sciences Festival of Research (Poster), London (UK)
  • 2023 - COSYNE (Poster), Montreal (CA)
  • 2023 - Les Houches Workshop school of Physics 'Latest advances on biological and artificial neural network'(Poster), Les Houches (FR)
  • 2022 - Neurips (Paper), New Orleans (USA)
  • 2022 - Poster presentation at the Gatsby Tri-Center Hebrew Universtiy (Poster), Jerusalem (Israel)
  • 2022 - COSYNE, Lisbon (Portugal)
  • 2021 - The SWC Internal Symposium (Poster), London (UK)

Invited Talks

Organiser

  • 2022-2023 - NeurIPS Workshop: UniReps: Unifying Representations in Neural Models
  • 2022-2023 - Applications Analytical Connectionism Summer School 2023
  • 2022-2023 - Summer Bridging Program
  • 2022-2023 - Saxe Lab retreat
  • 2022-2023 - Theoretical Neuroscience Journal Club organiser
  • 2022-2023 - NeuroAI organiser(Talks, Deeplabcut hackathon, Annual Event)
  • 2021-2022 - Organiser of Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) Annual Student Symposium

EDI

  • 2023-2024 - Did this really happen (DTRH)' campaign in UCL And Rome Sapienza
  • 2023-2024 - Sarveshwari Singh - WIML Mentor
  • 2022-2023 - EDI representative Saxe Lab
  • 2022-2023 - Mentor at 'les rencontres ELLES actives'
  • 2022-Summer Conference Inclusitivity in Research at UCL Summer Conference
  • 2021-2023 - Athena Swan Committee member at SWC/GCNU
  • 2021-2022 - In2Science Research Contact
  • 2021-2022 - Gatsby Unit Student representative
  • 2017-2018 - Student representative on UCIL Staff Student Liaison Committee (SSLC)

Volonteering

  • 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

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)

Languages

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