UNIQUE Excellence Scholarships
2025-2026 Competiton
UNIQUE Excellence Scholarships (MSc, PhD and Postdocs)
[Competition closed]
Application form
This program aims to promote interdisciplinary research between the fields of artificial intelligence and neuroscience and support training opportunities for master's, doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. The amount awarded to successful candidates is $10,000 for the master students, $15,000 for Ph.D. students and $20,000 for the postdoctoral fellows, for a one-year non-renewable term. This program is made possible thanks to the FRQNT Research Clusters program and generous support from UNIQUE's institutional and CFREF partners (see list).
For more information on the eligibility criteria (for applicants and their supervisors), the application and evaluation procedures, please refer to the program description and application form above.
List of awardees
2024-2025 Competition
Masters excellence scholarships
Masters excellence scholarships
Reza Bayat, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
Enhancing Generalization and Preventing Memorization through Brain-Inspired Dynamic Neuron Localization and Adjustment in Deep Neural Networks
Supervisors: Irina Rish & Bashivan Bashivan
Yohaï-Eliel Berreby, Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, McGill University
Auditory subcortical processing is extensive – what is it for, and how do we leverage it?
Supervisors: Suresh Krishna & Bakhtiari Bakhtiari
Vincent Chamberland, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
La neuromodulation guidée par l’IA dans les interactions sociales humain-avatar
Supervisors: Guillaume Dumas & Jerbi Jerbi
Lucas Gomez, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Scaling multi-task deep neural networks to model the human prefrontal cortex
Supervisors: Pouya Bashivan & Bellec Bellec
Anirudh Gururaj Jamkhandi, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
Probing compositional principles underlying flexible behavior in biological and artificial neural networks
Supervisors: Matthew G. Perich & Lajoie Lajoie
Koraly Lessard, Département d'informatique et de génie logiciel, Université Laval
Apprentissage auto-supervisé pour la caractérisation de la réorganisation synaptique dans des modèles animaux de la neurodégénération
Supervisors: Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal & Gagné Gagné
Shawn Manuel, Département de psychiatrie et d'addictologie, Université de Montréal
Mapping Inter-Individual Differences in Subjective Experience Using the Latent Space Embedding of Multimodal Neural Networks
Supervisors: Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel & Gosselin Gosselin
Doctoral excellence scholarships
Frédéric, Beaupré, Département de biochimie, microbiologie et bio-informatique, Université Laval
Detection of Synaptic Anomalies in Neurodegeneration Using Deep Learning and STED Microscopy
Supervisors: Christian Gagné & Lavoie-Cardinal Flavie
Sungjae, Cho, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
A model of neocortical learning by prediction mismatch
Supervisors: Eilif Muller & Richards Blake
Maxime, Daigle, Department of Physiology, McGill University
Modeling the neural computations underlying the distributed hippocampal representations
Supervisors: Pouya Bashivan & Peyrache Adrien
Aniket, Didolkar, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
General Purpose Object-Centric Vision Models
Supervisors: Yoshua Bengio & Lajoie Guillaume
Frans, Irgolitsch, Genie Biomedical, Polytechnique Montréal
A Computational Approach to Quantifying Changes in the Neurovascular Unit With Hypoxic Insult
Supervisors: Frederic Lesage & Lefebvre Joël
Sarthak, Mittal, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
Amortized Bayesian Posterior Inference
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Bengio Yoshua
Nathan, Molinier, Genie Biomedical, Polytechnique Montréal
A generalizable framework for the automatic detection of spinal pathologies on MRI
Supervisors: Julien Cohen-Adad & Stikov Nikola
Timothy, Nest, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle (DIRO), Université de Montréal
Extending Deep Equilibrium Prop: A bioplausible framework for general artificial learning
Supervisors: Irina Rish & Muller Eilif
Jordan, O'Byrne, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Unifying criticalities: Exploring the spin glass as a model of cognitive and computational diversity in brains and machines
Supervisors: Karim Jerbi & Dumas Guillaume
Soraya, Rahimi, Département de neurosciences, Université de Montréal
Dynamic connectivity in the cortical motor network while monkeys reach and grasp
Supervisors: Numa Dancause & Perich Matthew
Rishabh, Singhal, Département de neurosciences, Université de Montréal
Neural bases of exploration and exploitation
Supervisors: Becket Ebitz & Perich Matthew
Mashbayar, Tugsbayar, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Brain-like connections for visual processing
Supervisors: Blake Richards & Muller Eilif
Younes, Valibeigi, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Influence of AI Synthesized Stimulus on the Specificity of Visual Perceptual Learning
Supervisors: Christopher Pack & Bakhtiari Shahab
Michelle, Wang, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University
Learning neuroimaging biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease progression from cross-sectional and longitudinal data
Supervisors: Jean-Baptiste Poline & Glatard Tristan
Postdoctoral research funding
Colin, Bredenberg, Département de mathématiques et de statistique, Universitéd de Montréal
Scaling and testing synaptic plasticity algorithms for motor control
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Richards Blake
Olivier, Codol, Département de neurosciences, Universitéd de Montréal
In search of the teaching signal for continuous control
Supervisors: Matthew G. Perich & Lajoie Guillaume
2023-2024 Competition
Masters excellence scholarships
Hamza Abdelhedi, Département d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Linking human and artificial neural representations underlying face recognition: Combined insights from MEG and CNNs
Supervisors: Karim Jerbi & Shehab Bakhtari
Kira Dolhan, Interfaculty Studies, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Applying Machine Learning to Functional Brain Connectivity Data to Identify Covert
Consciousness
Supervisors: Stefanie Blain-Moraes & Karim Jerbi
Léo Gagnon, Département d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Compositional Object-Centric Representations with Cortical Columns Inspired Architecture
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Blake Richards
Mahta Ramezanian-Panahi, Département d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Multimodal Models for finding Brain Latent Representations (Brain2Vec)
Supervisors: Irina Rish & Guillaume Dumas
Dylan Sutterlin-Guindon, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Analyses de médiation sur des patrons d’activité cérébrale multivariés
Supervisors: Pierre Rainville & Simona Brambati
Doctoral excellence scholarships
Renaud Bernatchez, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval
Multi-task attention network exploiting unlabeled data to elucidate the remodeling of the F-actin lattice
Supervisors: Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal & Audrey Durand
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)
Peter Brotherwood, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Behaviorally constrained spatio-temporal scene representations in the human brain.
Supervisors: Ian Charest & Frédéric Gosselin
Léo Choinière, Département de neurosciences, Université de Montréal
Apprentissage machine pour l’optimisation de neuroprothèses évoquants des mouvements complexes
Supervisors: Numa Dancause & Guillaume Lajoie
Adrian El Baz, Génie biomédical, Polytechnique Montréal
Develop and deploy an evidence-based, comprehensive, open-source and sustainable federated learning framework for the segmentation of MS lesions in MRI data
Supervisors: Julien Cohen-Adad & Nikola Stikov
Eric Elmoznino, Département d’informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Improving artificial intelligence using insights from the inner workings of human consciousness
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Yoshua Bengio
Xanthy Lajoie, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Les différences entre les sexes dans le réseau fonctionnel du langage
Supervisors: Simona Brambati & Pierre Bellec
Antoine Légaré, Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Université Laval
Influence des neuromodulateurs sur les états cérébraux du poisson-zèbre en développement
Supervisors: Patrick Desrosiers & Paul De Koninck
Filip Milisav, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University
Mapping structure to computational function in the human connectome using reservoir computing
Supervisors: Bratislav Misic & Guillaume Lajoie
Marie-Eve Picard, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Intégration de signaux psychophysiologiques pour l’optimisation de modèles neurocomportementaux individuels de la performance à des jeux vidéo
Supervisors: Pierre Rainville & Pierre Bellec
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)
Jacob Sanz-Robinson, Neuroscience IPN, McGill University
NeuroCI: Continuous Integration of Neuroimaging Results Across Software Pipelines and Datasets
Supervisors: Jean-Baptiste Poline & Tristan Glatard
Postdoctoral research funding
Katarzyna Jurewicz, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Goal-directed search during active vision
Supervisors: Suresh Krishna & Irina Rish
Agah Karakuzu, Génie biomédical, Polytechnique Montréal
Removing artificial variance for artificial intelligence: Self-driving MRI acquisition powered by AI to minimize data bias
Supervisors: Nikola Stikov & Pierre Bellec
Daniel Levenstein, Medicine, McGill University
Modeling sleep dependent learning in artificial neural networks
Supervisors: Blake Richards & Adrien Peyrache
Andrea Luppi, Montreal Neurological Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
Synergistic information in artificial and biological neural networks
Supervisors: Bratislav Misic & Danilo Bzdok
2022-2023 Competition
Masters excellence scholarships
Frédéric Beaupré, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval
Deep Learning for the detection of synaptic anomalies in super-resolution microscopy
Supervisors: Christian Gagné & Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal
Léo Choinière, Département de Neurosciences, Université de Montréal
Apprentissage machine pour l'optimisation de neuroprothèses évoquants des mouvements complexes
Supervisors: Numa Dancause & Guillaume Lajoie
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)
Nanda Harishankar Krishna, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Probing learning dynamics in recurrent neural networks and the brain
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Blake Richards
Nizar Islah, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Computational Modeling of Neocortical mechanisms for Continual Learning
Supervisors: Eilif Muller & Irina Rish
Poune Mirzazadeh, Département de Neurosciences, Université de Montréal
Computational modeling of the distributed brain circuits of decision-making
Supervisors: Paul Cisek & Andrea Green
Diganta Misra, Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle, Université de Montréal
Distillation and Reprogramming in unbalanced long sequences under anytime learning regime
Supervisors: Irina Rish & Pouya Bashivan
Motahareh Pour Ahimi, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Developing a Generalized Computational Model of Attention in Primates
Supervisors: Pouya Bashivan & Guillaume Lajoie
Alyssia Sanchez, Department of Bioengineering, McGill University
Establishing Neurophysiological Evidence for the Treatment of Coma
Supervisors: Stefanie Blain-Moraes & Karim Jerbi
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)
Enning Yang, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Linking AI's understanding with naturalistic stimuli with human brain activity
Supervisors: Danilo Bzdok & Bratislav Misic
Doctoral excellence scholarships
Muni Venkata Naga Karthik Enamundram, Génie biomédical, Polytechnique Montréal
A Probabilistic Continual Learning Framework for Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Segmentation
Supervisors: Julien Cohen-Adad & Farida Cheriet
Simon Faghel-Soubeyrand, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Decoding real-world perceptual ability variations in humans using brain imaging and machine learning
Supervisors: Frédéric Gosselin & Ian Charest
Busra Tugce Gurbuz, Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University
A Neuroscience Inspired Approach To Continual Few-Shot Learning
Supervisors: Christopher Pack & Eilif Muller
Catherine Landry, Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Différences individuelles dans la perception et l’imagerie mentale de scènes visuelles étudiées avec la neuroimagerie et l'apprentissage machine
Supervisors: Ian Charest & Frédéric Gosselin
Charlotte Maschke, Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University
Classifying current and future states of consciousness using dynamic EEG responses to anesthesia
Supervisors: Stefanie Blain-Moraes & Karim Jerbi
Postdoctoral research funding
Quentin Moreau, Département de psychiatrie, Université de Montréal
CLONE: CLOsed-loop NEuromodulation: EEG-tES combination in human-machine social interactions
Supervisors: Guillaume Dumas & Karim Jerbi
Melanie Segado, Département de mathématiques et de statistique, Université de Montréal
Transmodality of Co-Adaptive Algorithms In Neural Interfacing (
Supervisors: Guillaume Lajoie & Blake Richards
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)
Hao-Ting Wang, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Université de Montréal
Impact of age and sex on transdiagnostic brain biomarkers amongst neurodegenerative conditions
Supervisors: Pierre Bellec & Jean-Baptiste Poline
(Scholarship declined by the awardee)