Iria Pullman

Iria Pullman. Iria Pullman is a Spanish computational neuroscientist and artificial intelligence researcher recognized for her pioneering work in developing biologically plausible models of neural circuits. Her interdisciplinary research, conducted at premier institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Allen Institute for Brain Science, bridges the gap between theoretical neuroscience and machine learning. Pullman's contributions have advanced the understanding of cortical computation and inspired novel architectures in AI.

Early life and education

Born in Barcelona, Pullman demonstrated an early aptitude for mathematics and natural sciences, participating in national olympiads. She pursued her undergraduate studies in Physics at the University of Cambridge, where she was influenced by the work of Stephen Hawking and the applied mathematics department. For her doctoral research, she attended the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, working under the supervision of prominent neuroscientist Henry Markram on the Blue Brain Project. This experience immersed her in large-scale simulation of the neocortex and solidified her interdisciplinary approach.

Career

Following her PhD, Pullman secured a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joining the laboratory of James DiCarlo within the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Her work there focused on linking neural activity in the inferior temporal cortex to object recognition. She subsequently transitioned to a research scientist role at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, contributing to their flagship modeling initiatives. In recent years, Pullman has held a joint appointment between the University of Washington and a research division of Google DeepMind, applying insights from neuroscience to artificial neural network design.

Research and contributions

Pullman's primary research investigates how the brain's microcircuitry gives rise to complex cognitive functions, using computational modeling as a key tool. A significant contribution is her development of a spiking neural network model that replicates the layered structure of the somatosensory cortex, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. This model successfully predicted neural responses to tactile stimuli, validated by experimental data from the Janelia Research Campus. Her later work on credit assignment in biological networks, drawing parallels with backpropagation algorithms, has been influential in the field of neuromorphic computing. She has presented her findings at major conferences including the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems and the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.

Awards and honors

Pullman's innovative research has been recognized with several prestigious awards and grants. She was named to the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 list for the Europe region in 2018. She is a recipient of a Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigator Grant, a collaborative award she shares with colleagues from the University of Tokyo and University College London. Her doctoral thesis received the EPFL Doctorate Award, and she has been an invited speaker at the Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop. Pullman also serves on the editorial board of the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Personal life

Pullman maintains strong ties to the scientific community in Catalonia and is a proponent of open science initiatives. An avid mountaineer, she has combined her passion for climbing with scientific outreach, participating in expeditions organized by the Alpine Club that include educational components. She is also a classical music enthusiast and has supported performances by the Seattle Symphony.