We are pleased to announce the 4th Annual Chen Institute-USC Symposia Series on Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence in Sensation and Motivation, to be held on Thursday, April 23 and Friday, April 24, 2026, as part of the ongoing partnership between the Chen Institute and the University of Southern California.

On behalf of Drs. Li Zhang and Steve Kay of the USC Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, you are cordially invite to join us on April 23, 2026 from 9:00AM to 5:00PM at ZNI Herklotz Conference Room ZNI 112, for a day of inspiring science, meaningful conversation, and community.

The 2026 symposium will maintain its central focus on a fundamental question in systems neuroscience: How do brain circuits integrate external sensory inputs and internal states to generate motivated behavior? The meeting will convene leading investigators to examine the circuit, computational, and theoretical principles that underlie sensation and motivation.

This year, the symposium will place expanded emphasis on the rapidly advancing interface between neuroscience and artificial intelligence. In particular, the program will highlight the bidirectional integration of AI methodologies with neuroscience research — exploring how machine learning and computational frameworks inform the study of neural systems, and how insights from brain function guide the development of artificial intelligence. By fostering dialogue across experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches, the symposium aims to clarify shared principles, identify critical open questions, and promote rigorous interdisciplinary collaboration.

The program will take place over two days:

9:00AM-5:00PM            Thursday, April 23, 2026 — Public symposium featuring invited lectures and scientific discussion                

9:00AM-5:00PM            Friday, April 24, 2026 — Private Speakers’ Workshop (invitation only), dedicated to in-depth discussion and the development of future collaborative directions

We are honored to welcome the following distinguished speakers:

Brice Bathellier — Institut Pasteur and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France

Bing Wen Brunton — University of Washington

Laura Busse — Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany

Michael Halassa — Tufts University

Brian Lee — University of Southern California (USC)

Lauren McElvain — University of Southern California (USC)

Samuel Nastase — University of Southern California (USC)

Talmo Pereira — Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Herbert Zheng Wu — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Daniel L.K. (Dan) Yamins — Stanford University

Guangwei Zhang — Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

All students, PhD candidates, staff, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and alumni are warmly welcome.

Please RSVP at [email protected] or scan the QR code on the flyer at your earliest convenience. Food and beverage will be provided. Thank you.