Michael Beyeler
👁️🧠🖥️🧪🤖 Associate Professor in @ucsb-cs.bsky.social and Psychological & Brain Sciences at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social. PI of @bionicvisionlab.org.
#BionicVision #Blindness #LowVision #VisionScience #CompNeuro #NeuroTech #NeuroAI
- Join us Jan 23 for the inaugural CRML Agentic AI Summit at @ucsb.bsky.social. Researchers, industry, and students exploring how agentic AI drives discovery and real-world impact. Free to attend, limited space: ml.ucsb.edu/events/summi... #AgenticAI #ResponsibleAI #AIResearch
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerAs #neurotechnology scales toward high-resolution implantable devices, new challenges emerge: how will users calibrate visual implants with thousands of channels? Learn how by reading our paper, co-first-authored with Dr. Xing Chen, now published at Brain Stimulation! tinyurl.com/Large-scale-...
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerCan your AI beat a mouse? This is happening Sunday! robustforaging.github.io NeurIPS workshop 11 to 2 California time on Zoom! @mbeyeler.bsky.social @sinzlab.bsky.social @ninamiolane.bsky.social @crisniell.bsky.social @mariusschneider.bsky.social J. Canzano, Y. Hou, J. Peng, et al. #NeurIPS2025
- 🎉 Mouse vs AI #NeurIPS2025 Challenge 2025 The first year was a great success: 🤖 290 submissions 👥 22 teams 🌎 7 countries robustforaging.github.io A huge thank you to all who participated!👏 This was our first attempt at a global competition built around real mouse behavior and visual robustness
- Top teams: 🥇 371333_HCMUS_TheFangs (ASR 0.968, MSR 0.940, Score 0.954) 🥈 417856_alluding123 (ASR 0.864, MSR 0.650, Score 0.757) 🥉 366999_pingsheng-li (ASR 0.802, MSR 0.670, Score 0.736) Full leaderboard: robustforaging.github.io/leaderboard/ #NeurIPS2025 #Neuroscience #AI
- Next: Join our NeurIPS workshop on Dec 7, 2025, 11 to 2 PT on Zoom! Hear from top competitors and our 3 keynote speakers: - @sinzlab.bsky.social - @ninamiolane.bsky.social - @crisniell.bsky.social More info: robustforaging.github.io/workshop #NeurIPS2025 #Neuroscience #AI
- Grateful to the organizing team: @mariusschneider.bsky.social, @jingpeng.bsky.social, Y Hou, L Herbelin, J Canzano, @spencerlaveresmith.bsky.social. 👏🙏🙌 Special thanks to MS, YH, JP for daily work behind the scenes (at the expense of their own research). The challenge would not exist without them!
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerPresenting “Human in the loop optimisation for efficient intracortical microstimulation temporal patterns in visual cortex” again this afternoon at #SfN!! Come discuss! An amazing collaboration between the Biomedical Neuroengineering group at UMH and @bionicvisionlab.org
- Curious about the Dynamical Neuroscience #PhD Program at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social? Come find us at the #SfN2025 Grad School Fair (Both 66)! 🧠🧪 More info at www.dyns.ucsb.edu. #AcademicSky #Neuroscience #compneurosky
- If you're at #SfN25, come chat with us about subretinal implants this afternoon! Poster 122.22, presented by PhD student Emily Joyce
- If you are into #VisionScience or #neuroengineering, come check out our first poster at #SfN2025 this afternoon! Emily Joyce is presenting new work on modeling the bipolar circuitry in the human fovea PSTR122.22 Nov 16 at 1:00 PM www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/21171...
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerI will be presenting the poster “Human-in-the-loop optimisation for efficient intracortical microstimulation temporal patterns in visual cortex” at the Early Career Poster Session #SfN as a TPDA awardee! Nov. 15, 2025 18:45–20:45 (PT) Poster: G5 SDCC Halls C–H Come discuss!
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler"In February 2024, then–UC President Michael Drake announced all employee computers connected to university networks would be required to install Trellix by May 2025. Campuses failing to comply would face penalties of up to $500,000 per ... incident." www.science.org/content/arti...
- 👁️🧠 New preprint: We demonstrate the first data-driven neural control framework for a visual cortical implant in a blind human! TL;DR Deep learning lets us synthesize efficient stimulation patterns that reliably evoke percepts, outperforming conventional calibration. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Many in #BionicVision have tried to map stimulation → perception, but cortical responses are nonlinear and drift day to day. So we turned to 🧠 data: >6,000 stim-response pairs over 4 months in a blind volunteer, letting a model learn the rules from the data.
- We trained a deep neural network (“forward model”) to predict neural responses from stimulation and baseline brain state. 💡 Key insight: accounting for pre-stimulus activity drastically improved predictions across sessions. This makes the model robust to day-to-day drift.
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View full threadTogether, this argues for closed-loop visual prostheses: 📡 Record neural responses ⚡ Adapt stimulation in real-time 👁️ Optimize for perceptual outcomes This work was only possible through a tight collaboration between 3 labs across @ethz.ch, @umh.es, and @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social!
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerNSF GRFP is out 2.5 months late w/key changes 1. 2nd year graduate students not eligible. 2. "alignment with Administration priorities" 3. Unlike prior years, they DO NOT specify the expected number of awards... that is a BIG problem. a brief 🧵 w/receipts www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🚨Our NeurIPS 2025 competition Mouse vs. AI is LIVE! We combine a visual navigation task + large-scale mouse neural data to test what makes visual RL agents robust and brain-like. Top teams: featured at NeurIPS + co-author our summary paper. Join the challenge! Whitepaper: arxiv.org/abs/2509.14446
- As federal research funding faces steep cuts, UC scientists are pushing brain-computer interfaces forward: restoring speech after ALS, easing Parkinson’s symptoms, and improving bionic vision with AI (that’s us 👋 at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social). 🧠 www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/thrilli...
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler[This post could not be retrieved]
- Excited to be heading to São Paulo for the World Blindness Summit 2025! 🌎✨ Looking forward to learning from/connecting with blindness organizations from around the globe. 👉 wbu.ngo/events/world... #WorldBlindnessSummit #Inclusion #Accessibility #Blindness #DisabilityRights
- Curious though - many of the orgs leading this effort don’t seem to be on @bsky.app yet… Would love to see more #Blind, #Accessibility, and #DisabilityJustice voices here!
- Excited to share that I’ve been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at UCSB! Grateful to my mentors, students, and funders who shaped this journey and to @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social for giving the Bionic Vision Lab a home! Full post: www.linkedin.com/posts/michae...
- 👁️⚡ I spoke with Dr. Jiayi Zhang about her Science paper on tellurium nanowire retinal implants—restoring vision and extending it into the infrared, no external power required. New materials, new spectrum, new possibilities. 🔗 www.bionic-vision.org/research-spo... #BionicVision #NeuroTech
- At #EMBC2025? Come check out two talks from my lab in tomorrow’s Sensory Neuroprostheses session! 🗓️ Thurs July 17 · 8-10AM · Room B3 M3-4 🧠 Efficient threshold estimation 🧑🔬 Deep human-in-the-loop optimization 🔗 embc.embs.org/2025/program/ #BionicVision #NeuroTech #IEEE #EMBS
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler👁️⚡ Headed to #EMBC2025? Catch two of our lab’s talks on optimizing retinal implants! 📍 Sensory Neuroprostheses 🗓️ Thurs July 17 · 8-10AM · Room B3 M3-4 🧠 Efficient threshold estimation 🧑🔬 Deep human-in-the-loop optimization 🔗 embc.embs.org/2025/program/ #BionicVision #NeuroTech #IEEE #EMBS #Retina
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🔬👁️ The next-gen #PRIMA chip in action: subretinal surgery training in 🇩🇪 with the Science Corps team, Prof. Yannick Le Mer, and Prof. Dr. Lars-Olof Hattenbach. 3D digital visualization + iOCT = a powerful combo for precision subretinal implant work. #BionicVision #NeuroTech 📸 via Dr. Mahi Muqit
- Thrilled to see this one hit the presses! 🎉 One of the final gems from Dr. Justin Kasowski’s dissertatio, showing how checkerboard rastering boosts perceptual clarity in simulated prosthetic vision. 👁️⚡️ #BionicVision #NeuroTech
- 👁️🧠 New paper alert! We show that checkerboard-style electrode activation improves perceptual clarity in simulated prosthetic vision—outperforming other patterns in both letter and motion tasks. Less bias, more function, same safety. 🔗 doi.org/10.1088/1741... #BionicVision #NeuroTech
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler👁️🧠 It’s not too late to submit your abstract to Optica’s Fall Vision Meeting (FVM) 2025! 📍 Minneapolis/St Paul, Oct 2–5 🧑🏫 Featuring talks by Susana Marcos, Austin Roorda, and Gordon Legge 🍷 Kickoff at the CMRR! 🗓️ Abstracts due: Aug 8 🔗 www.osafallvisionmeeting.org #VisionScience #VisionResearch
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler👁️🧠 Big step forward for #BionicVision: Science has submitted a CE mark application for the PRIMA retinal implant. If approved, it would be the first #NeuroTech to treat geographic atrophy, a late-stage form of age-related macular degeneration #AMD. 🔗 science.xyz/news/prima-c...
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🎙️Our very own Lily Turkstra was featured on WYPL-FM’s Eye on Vision podcast to discuss how blind individuals use assistive tech at home, from tactile labels to digital tools. 📻 Listen: eyeonvision.blogspot.com/2025/05/assi... 📰 Read: bionicvisionlab.org/publications... #BlindTech #Accessibility
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler👁️🧠🧪 Next on the Horizon: Frederik Ceyssens from ReVision Implant on scaling bionic vision to the cortex with Occular, a high-res, deep-brain prosthesis. Why performance might beat invasiveness - and what comes next: www.bionic-vision.org/research-spo... #BionicVision #NeuroTech #BCI
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerReal and imagined images are processed using the same systems in the brain, yet most people can distinguish between the two. Now neuroscientists have identified two brain regions that keep imagined images separate from reality. go.nature.com/3SOqIfV
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🔥 We’re thrilled to announce that adaptive optics trailblazer Austin Roorda (@roordalab.bsky.social) is the 2025 Boynton Award recipient! 🎉 His AOSLO let us image, stimulate, and track single photoreceptors 🧠👁️ He’ll give the Boynton Lecture at #OpticaFVM, Oct 2–5 @ Univ. Minnesota. Save the date!
- Our @bionicvisionlab.org is at #VSS2025 with 2 talks and a poster! First up is PhD Candidate Byron A. Johnson: Fri, 4:30pm, Talk Room 1: Differential Effects of Peripheral and Central Vision Loss on Scene Perception and Eye Movement Patterns www.visionsciences.org/presentation...
- Coming up: Jacob Granley on whether V1 maintains working memory via spiking activity. Prior evidence from fMRI and LFPs - now, rare intracortical recordings in a blind human offer a chance to test it directly. 👁️ #VSS2025 🕥 Sun 10:45pm · Talk Room 1 🧠 www.visionsciences.org/presentation...
- Last but not least is Lily Turkstra, whose poster is assessing the efficacy of visual augmentations for high-stress navigation: Tue, 2:45 - 6:45pm, Pavilion: Poster #56.472 www.visionsciences.org/presentation... 👁️🧪 #XR #VirtualReality #Unity3D #VSS2025
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🌌🛰️🔭Wanna know which features are universal vs unique in your models and how to find them? Excited to share our preprint: "Universal Sparse Autoencoders: Interpretable Cross-Model Concept Alignment"! arxiv.org/abs/2502.03714 (1/9)
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerAtlanta friends, I want to extend a special invitation to have you join us for a really unique event we're hosting on May 7 called "Wired Lives: Personal Stories of Brain Implants": neuro.gatech.edu/wired-lives-...
- Not usually one to post personal pics, but let’s take a break from doomscrolling, yeah? Some joyful moments from the Plous Award Ceremony: Honored to give the lecture, receive the framed award & celebrate with the people who made it all possible! @bionicvisionlab.org @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social
- Happening on Monday!
- Check out his talk, "Learning to See Again: Building a Smarter Bionic Eye," on Monday, April 14th, 4pm-6pm at Mosher Alumni House.💡 For more info click here: www.campuscalendar.ucsb.edu/event/beyele...
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerMark your calendars! 👁️🧠🧪 This year's @optica.org Fall Vision Meeting is heading to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, MN on Oct 3-5, 2025! #VisionScience #VisionResearch #cogsci #neuroskyence #psychscisky #ophthalmology #AcademicSky
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerToday is Retraction Day, when we observe the anniversary of the retraction (Feb. 2, 2010) of the fraudulent paper that purported to show a link between vaccines and autism. 🧪#medsky
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerWhere #VisionScience reaches new heights, From low vision care to brain scan insights. A home for breakthroughs and autumn’s glow, Can you guess where this year’s conference will go? 👁️🧠🧪
- A monumental modeling effort by Tianruo Guo & Team! 🧠🧪 The paper stops short of simulating retinal remodeling but impressively replicates key markers of the degenerated retina, like hyperactivity and oscillations. A valuable framework for optimizing stimulation strategies of retinal implants!
- Virtual Human Retina: A simulation platform designed for studying human retinal degeneration and optimizing stimulation strategies for retinal implants 👁️🧠🧪 doi.org/10.1016/j.br...
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler“Seeing the future”: More media coverage about @mbeyeler.bsky.social winning the 2024-25 Harold J. Plous Memorial Award @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social news.ucsb.edu/2024/021709/...
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerOur PI @mbeyeler.bsky.social has received the 2024-’25 Harold J. Plous Memorial Award by @ucsb.bsky.social, in recognition of his “outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and service.“ New article by @ucsbengineering.bsky.social: engineering.ucsb.edu/news/outstan...
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler🚨 Big news for #PRIMA's journey to restore vision! The PRIMAvera clinical trial has cleared all Data Safety Monitoring Board standards, paving the way for #PRIMA's CE mark approval in the EU. 🧠🧪 Read more: science.xyz/news/prima-d... #BionicVision #NeuroTech #blindness
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerOK If we are moving to Bluesky I am rescuing my favourite ever twitter thread (Jan 2019). The renamed: Bluesky-sized history of neuroscience (biased by my interests)
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerOrder matters: neurons in the human brain fire in sequences that encode information www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerGrateful to the OHBM communications committee (curiously not yet here?) and particularly to @audreycluo.bsky.social for putting together this interview with yours truly: www.ohbm-com.com/blog/intervi..., in which I had the opportunity to hold forth on my educational motivations and philosophy
- It sounded like too much fun not to try it myself
- How do visual prosthetics stack up in everyday life? 👁️🧠🧪 Our latest study reveals a significant gap between researcher expectations and the actual usage of bionic eyes by recipients: tvst.arvojournals.org/article.aspx... #BionicVision #NeuroTech #Blindness #Accessibility
- 👩🔬 We asked: How are Argus II / Orion implants used in everyday life? 💡 Researchers expected frequent use for e.g. socializing & navigation 👁️ But recipients shared a different view: "I hoped it would serve as a navigation device, but it doesn’t bring any benefit. I’ve given up using it outdoors."
- When these devices fall short, implantees often blame themselves: "My vision levels are so low that the implant doesn't work properly." Successes are celebrated as triumphs of technology, while failures are internalized by users as personal deficiencies.
- So what do users really want? 💡 "I’d love to read signs & recognize faces again." 🔗 "It would be amazing if it worked with existing tools like Seeing AI or smart glasses." 🌟 "I just want to feel independent—at work, at home, everywhere." Researchers, it’s time to align this tech with user needs.
- Starting your #PhD journey? Crafting a standout Statement of Purpose is key. Here's a guide with tips & common pitfalls to help you succeed (tailored to #CompSky at #UCSB, but much of it should apply to most depts): docs.google.com/document/d/1... #AcademicSky #AcademicChatter #FirstGen #CSforALL
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerDidn't see one for Neuroscience yet; allow me to oblige
- Applying to the PhD program in #CompSky at #UCSB? It's not too late to get expert feedback on your application materials! 🧪 New deadline: Nov 22 Anywhere on Earth cs.ucsb.edu/education/gr... #Diversity #FirstGen #STEM #WomenInSTEM #CSforALL #AcademicSky
- 🚀Applying to the @ucsbcs PhD program?🎓 There's still time to have your statements & CV reviewed to help you craft a stronger application! Submit by Nov 15 via: cs.ucsb.edu/education/graduate/… #FirstGen #DiversityInSTEM #UCSB
- New well-informed Bloomberg article about #BionicVision 👁️🧠 with a quote from yours truly: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... #NeuroTech #PRIMA #Neuralink
- Reposted by Michael BeyelerAs #BionicVision tech progresses, the research community seems optimistic but mindful of questions about #neuroethics. How do we ensure accessibility, consent, and long-term safety when there is still a gap between researcher expectations and implantee needs? www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Our PhD student Jacob Granley taking the stage at The Brain & The Chip conference! 🧠🧪
- The 2nd Brain & The Chip is underway in Elche, Spain! Leading #BionicVision and #BCI researchers are gathering to discuss latest developments in intracortical neural interfaces. www.bionic-vision.org/events/brain...
- 📢 Faculty Position at #UCSB Our PBS department is hiring a tenured Full Professor in #CogNeuro who will also direct the UCSB Brain Imaging Center (BIC), starting July 2025 or later. Please help spread the word! #BrainImaging #AcademicJobs Apply by Dec 2: recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02858
- Reposted by Michael Beyeler“When you say someone is disabled, there’s an assumption they’re not functional–which couldn’t be more wrong!” Our PhD student Lucas Nadolskis shares insights on #Accessibility, #Inclusion vs. #Integration, and reimagining cities for all: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDSn...
