Download the internship proposal

Stage type

Master 2 Biomed Engineering or Neuroscience or Cognitive Science. The candidate should be enrolled in French Master 2 or last year of an engineering school in biomedical engineering or signal processing or electronics.

Date and duration of the internship

4-6 months, approximately from January 2027 to the end of July 2027

Context

The VirtuALS project is an ambitious interdisciplinary effort to develop personalized computer simulations (« Digital Twins ») of the central nervous system for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). By integrating structural and functional data into the The Virtual Brain (TVB) platform, we aim to create models that can predict disease progression and virtual responses to new treatments.
The success of these models depends on the quality and consistency of the input data. We are working with a large, unique dataset of 415 participants (including asymptomatic carriers, early-stage patients, and controls) featuring multiple modalities: structural MRI, DTI, fMRI, EEG, and MEG.

Objective

The primary objective of this internship is to build a robust, harmonized database out of several smaller ones that will serve as the foundation for our whole-brain models.

Missions

The intern will be involved in

• Data Harmonization: Implement pipelines to standardize multimodal neuroimaging and electrophysiological data from different cohorts (converting to BIDS format).
• Fiber Tractography to reconstruct structural connectivity.
• Quality Control: Develop and apply automated scripts to assess data quality across MRI and EEG/MEG signals, identifying and correcting artifacts or inconsistencies.
• Introduction to Brain Modeling: Once the data is harmonized, you will assist the postdoc on the project in setting up the first « Digital Twin » simulations using The Virtual Brain (TVB), exploring how biological parameters (like excitation-inhibition balance) relate to the harmonized features.
• Interact with the PI and a postdoc student working on the related project.
• Gain experience in computational neuroscience research, Python programming, whole brain modeling, EEG, MRI, DTI, fMRI data curation, enhancing your skills and CV for future academic research in neuroscience.

Skills required

solid programming skills, Python, basic understanding of neuroscience, good level of French.

Desired

MNE Python, experience with EEG and/or MRI data processing and/or collection, Freesurfer/FSL, signal processing, dynamical systems, good level of English, git, open science.

Monetary compensation

Internship compensation (according to current regulations).

Contact

send email to the following two addresses
1) Mehmet Alihan Kayabaş, PhD; postdoctoral researcher; mehmet-alihan.kayabas[at]inserm.fr
2) Dmitrii Todorov, PhD; Chaire Professeur Junior; dmitrii.todorov[at]inserm.fr,
Neural Connectivity and Plasticity (NCP) team

Please put [STAGE LIB ALS HARMONISE SPRING] in the subject of your email and write the email in English. Before applying check the online version for changes (link here).

Host laboratory

Laboratoire d’Imagerie Biomédicale, LIB, Sorbonne Université, Campus des Cordeliers, 15 rue de l’École de Médecine, 75006 Paris.