Scientific coding 101 Matthew T. Jacobs

Coding in Science - Why?

• Essentially a required skill
  • Coding opened many doors for me in Grad school
  • It is the primary way data analysis is completed now
  • Open Science = you have to publish code
• It allows efficiency & rigor
  • You can automate tasks saving you hundreds of hours (e.g. preprocessing)
  • You can be much more consistent and accurate than if you did it by hand
  • Code can be shared between labs
  • Publishing code = people review your code = you get more citation.
• Creativity & Fun
  • Allows you to play around with your data, and plot it quickly in many different ways
  • Easily try new methods, or tweak existing ones.
  • Gratifying when you finally get your code to work

Coding in Science - What?

• You just need to know enough to:
  • Collaborate effectively
  • Apply existing code well
  • Plot your data
• Python
  • High level - more like english than like machine language
  • Open Source - no cost to entry, or barriers for others to use your work
  • VERY popular to data analysis = if you have idea, code for it probably exists

Coding in Science - How

• Peer programming
  • Work with one to two peers
  • One person types, while others assist
• Google Collab
  • Like google docs, but for python
  • Works in Browser
  • Allows to text/ videos to be embedded
• Flow
  • Select the appropriate level tutorial
  • Work through each section in small groups
  • If you don’t finish, that is okay. All of the content is free online

Coding in Science - Levels

1. Never coded before - Future Coder
2. Coded a little, but not confident / new to python - LIF Neuron Part 1
3. Confident Coder / know python well - Linear Regression with MSE
4. Expert Coding - dimensionality reduction - Principal Component analysis

Stimulate Your Mind

You heard right, virtual conference ticket sales are now live for the 2025 NeuGeneration Conference 🧠

Don’t miss out on this networking and learning opportunity. Scan the QR or click here to purchase you ticket!

Welcome to NeuGeneration

NeuGeneration is an organization centered around giving the community a foundational understanding of the field of neuroscience, for the benefit of comprehending one of the human body’s most complex organs. We aim to bring our community the most educated professionals to provide you with insights on the latest and most interesting advancements in the field.

Annually, we organize a two-day neuroscience conference, held at the medical campus of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. The conference is organized by a group of undergraduate students who share a common interest in neuroscience. We would like to gladly announce that our conference will be hosted the weekend of February 3rd, 2025. We also host speaker events outside the conference time, well dispersed throughout the year.

Our newest conference will provide delegates with the opportunity to listen to and network with leading neuroscience researchers within North America. Delegates may also compete in a case-competition that gives them a chance to share their passion for problem-solving and research through group learning and presentations, with the potential to have their abstract published in an undergraduate journal.

Lastly, our delegates will participate in hands-on workshops that encompass a diverse set of neuroscience topics. Our conference has explored a wide variety of topics within neuroscience from mental health and neurodegenerative diseases, to topics in artificial intelligence, neurosurgery, and neural plasticity. We are committed to providing our delegates with a worthwhile in-person conference full of revolutionary research and engaging conversations for networking opportunities to inspire the next generation of undergraduate students passionate about neuroscience.

As we approach our ninth annual conference this February, we hope to entice you to join the conversation and to explore the complexity surrounding the sophisticated inner workings of the human brain. We hope to provide the community with a deeper connection to a network that is bigger than themselves, giving delegates the opportunity to share their thoughts, questions, and passion with other individuals who are united by their love of neuroscience. We hope to see you there!

Adam Carbonara & Neleah Lavoie

NeuGeneration Co-Chairs, 2024-2025

NeuGeneration is a one-day neuroscience conference held at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. The conference is organized by a group of undergraduate students who share a common interest in neuroscience. NeuGeneration provides delegates with a variety of speakers, an interactive Q&A, and the chance to participate in a series of workshops or case competition. Our goal is to provide students with an oppotunity to network and create relationships with a large group of professionals and like-minded students from a set of diverse backgrounds.

NeuGeneration 2025 will be held on the weekend of February 3rd, 2025.

Last year, NeuGeneration hosted two speakers to deliver talks. Delegates participated in an interactive Q&A, in which a group of panelists engaged in discussion with our delegates on a hot topic in the realm of neuroscience. Delegates had a choice of participating in a workshop rotation or case competition. Previous workshops have included topics such as neuroanatomy, eye-tracking, concussion awareness, coding, and robotics for brain injury. The case competition gives delegates a chance to share their passion for creativity and problem-solving through group learning and presentations on a given topic.

Tickets can be purchased through our Instagram, Facebook, or website!

Unfortunately, our team has already been hired for the 2023-2025 conference! However, we begin executive and member hiring for next year's event at the end of March. Like us on Facebook and subscribe to our neusletter to stay updated with hiring deadlines!