Launched in 2025, the Quantitative Scholars Program embeds undergraduate students in Carney-affiliated host labs for a nine-week summer research opportunity. Scholars work under the guidance of mentor Jason Ritt, Carney's scientific director of quantitative neuroscience, to contribute new quantitative methods to host lab research. Upon acceptance into the program, the Scholars are matched with one or more unique projects.
The innovative program enables Carney researchers to expand their quantitative capabilities, while supporting undergraduate training in the application of data science and computational methods to brain science.
Sample projects from 2025:
- Developing deep learning pipelines to identify and score structural abnormalities in lung cancer tissue
- Applying contrastive learning to analyze the shape of action potentials in cultured neurons, quantifying how specific gene mutations (like ASH1L) alter electrical excitability over time
- Implementing computer vision algorithms for a closed-loop laser system to enable precise targeting and high-throughput study of peripheral pain pathways
- Computationally merging single-cell RNA sequencing and chromatin accessibility data to map gene regulatory networks that guide axon development in the spinal cord
Students in the program are fully supported by Quantitative Scholars Awards.
