Workshop
Synapses at Scale
Connectomes are here! For the first time since the Mind of the Worm, we can gain insight into connectivity at synaptic level resolution across new species. In Drosophila, complete connectomes are already a reality, capturing the structure and connectivity of neurons throughout the central nervous system and for multiple individuals and both sexes. In addition, these resources integrate with morphology, gene expression and genetic tools, offering a powerful platform for the neuroscience community. In mammals, a complete connectome remains aspirational, but, recent advances have produced synapse-level reconstructions of neurons and circuits at an unprecedented scale, particularly within local cortical circuits.
We have entered a period of great innovation around how these detailed snapshots of the brain can inspire and constrain models of the nervous system when combined with experiments, theory, and computational methods. Vast opportunities remain to explore neuronal circuits, cell type diversity, glial interactions, neurovascular dynamics, subcellular networks, and more. However, technical barriers also remain present, including how to share, represent and curate complex datasets, how to work with data at various states of proofreading, and how to consider the variability and alignment of neurons and circuits across individuals, data modalities, and genetic tools.
This two-day workshop is designed to bring together systems and computational neuroscientists with the scientists who generate and curate connectomic datasets, to discuss current and future uses of these rich datasets for both hypothesis-driven and discovery-based research.
Synapses at scale I: what we learn from comparing connectomes across species
Monday March 16
The rapid emergence of large-scale, synapse-resolution connectomes is transforming neuroscience by providing access to complete maps of neural circuitry across species. Yet, the field is still grappling with how to interpret these wiring diagrams in ways that connect structure to computation and behavior.
This workshop will bring together researchers working on flies, songbirds, mice, and other systems to explore what comparative connectomics can reveal about conserved motifs, species-specific specializations, and general principles of neural wiring. We will discuss how to integrate insights across scales—from synaptic connectivity and local circuit motifs to brain-wide organization—and how novel computational and theoretical frameworks can bridge gaps between anatomy and function. The workshop is designed for participants interested in connectomics, behavior, and computational neuroscience, and especially for those seeking to bridge experimental and theoretical approaches
| Time | Speaker | Model | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Session | |||
| 9:00-9:10 | Introduction | ||
| Chair: Wei-Chung Lee | |||
| 9:10-9:35 | Moritz Helmstaedter Director of Connectomics, Max Planck Institute, Germany. |
Mouse | Cerebral Cortex Connectomics |
| 9:35-10:00 | Greg Jefferis Group Leader, MRC LMB University of Cambridge, UK. |
Fly | Learning from connectomes |
| 10:00-10:25 | Marta Zlatic Group Leader, MRC LMB University of Cambridge, UK. |
Fly (larva) | Comparative connectomics reveals circuit modifications that improve learning |
| 10:25-11:00 | Coffee Break | ||
| Chair: Katharina Eichler | |||
| 11:00-11:25 | Wei-Chung Lee Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, USA. |
Mouse | A wiring diagram of the spinal cord dorsal horn |
| 11:25-11:50 | Ila Fiete Associate Investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. |
Fly | Bringing online the self-sustained dynamics of the fly head direction integrator from its connectome |
| 11:50-12:15 | Christoph Giez Postdoc with Lucia Prieto Godino, Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, UK. |
Fly (cross-species) | Cross-species comparative connectomics reveals functional evolution of central neural circuits |
| 12:15-13:30 | Lunch | ||
| Afternoon Session | |||
| Chair: Andreas Schaefer | |||
| 13:30-13:55 | Joergen Kornfeld Group Leader, MRC LMB University of Cambridge, UK. |
Songbird | The songbird basal ganglia connectome |
| 13:55-14:20 | Katharina Eichler Group Leader, Leipzig University, Germany. |
Fly | The Drosophila neck connective: Comparative connectomics of descending pathways |
| 14:20-14:45 | Mojtaba Tavakoli Lab Head, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, USA. |
LICONN | Innovating light-microscopy tools for dense molecular connectomics reconstruction and beyond |
| 14:45-15:15 | Break | ||
| Chair: Marta Zlatic | |||
| 15:15-15:40 | Andreas Schaefer Principal Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, UK. |
Mouse | Structure-Function Mapping of Olfactory Bulb Circuits - towards X-ray connectomics |
| 15:40-16:05 | Michael Winding Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute, UK. |
Fly | From synapses to social behaviour |
| 16:05-16:30 | Florian Engert Professor, Harvard University, USA. |
Zebrafish | Carving Circuits from Connectomics |
| 16:30-16:45 | Break | ||
| 16:45-18:00 | Discussion Panel | What’s next for connectomes? | |
| 18:00-18:10 | Closing remarks |
Schedule subject to change. Last updated 3/15/2026
Synapses at scale II: what we learn from connectomes when building models
Tuesday March 17
The second day of the workshop is action-focused:
- Presenters will share a diversity of research successes, strategies, and lessons learned—including in navigating the challenges posed by incomplete mammalian datasets and the impact of complete connectomes on studying neural systems.
- We will empower the broader Cosyne community to engage with these powerful datasets, by providing examples of data access, analysis, and modeling related to the presented research.
- Foster dialogue between those generating and sharing the data and those using it, ensuring that access, usability, and communication is optimized for scientific impact.
This workshop will include research talks and some tutorials related to the presented research.
| Time | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Session | ||
| 9:00-9:10 | Julijana Gjorgjieva Group Leader, TUM School of Life Sciences, Germany. |
Introduction |
| 9:10-9:35 | Srinivas Turaga Group Leader, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, USA. |
Simulating the fly visual system |
| 9:35-10:00 | Susanne Schreiber Professor, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. |
More than wiring: a mitochondrial perspective on connectomes |
| 10:00-10:25 | Jakob Troidl AI Scientist, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, USA. |
Global Neuron Shape Reasoning for Connectome Reconstruction & Analysis |
| 10:35-10:45 | Break | |
| 10:45-11:10 | Jan-Erik Hühne Graduate Student with Julijiana Gjorgjieva, Group Leader, TUM School of Life Sciences, Germany. |
Connectomic traces of synaptic specificity of cortical inhibitory interneurons in mouse primary visual cortex |
| 11:10-11:35 | Casey Schneider-Mizell Assistant Investigator, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA. |
A landscape of cortical diversity |
| 11:35-12:30 | Bethanny Danskin Scientist, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA. |
How to make sense of complex connectomics data: MICrONS and beyond |
| 12:30-15:00 | Break | |
| Afternoon Session | ||
| 15:00-15:25 | David (Dudi) Deutsch Assistant Professor, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. |
Mixed polarity in the whole-brain Drosophila connectome |
| 15:25-15:50 | Changjoo Park Postdoc with Sebastian Seung, Princeton University, USA. |
Connectomic analysis of mouse CA3 pyramidal cells |
| 15:50-16:15 | Sven Dorkenwald Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. |
Local wiring specificity of pyramidal neurons in mouse V1 |
| 16:15-16:25 | Break | |
| 16:25-16:50 | Sarah Pugliese Graduate Student with Bing Brunton and John Tuthill, University of Washington, USA. |
Connectome simulations predict a central pattern generator circuit for fly walking |
| 16:50-17:15 | Marcella Noorman Assistant Professor, University of Chicago, USA. |
Continuous attractors in small circuits: lessons from the fly connectome. |
| 17:15-17:40 | Alessandro Sanzeni Assistant Professor, Bocconi University, Italy. |
Interplay between connectivity structure and the spatial organization of tuning in connectome-based V1 models |
| 17:40-18:00 | Nuno Maçarico da Costa Investigator, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA. |
Closing remarks |
Schedule subject to change. Last updated 3/15/2026