Research
The PESTILLI LAB promotes progress in psychological and brain science by democratizing scientific research, methods, data, and infrastructure. We are committed to advancing societal well-being by accelerating neuroscientific discovery and education through the application of data science and innovative technology.
Data Neuroscience and Machine Learning Advancing Scientific Understanding through the Integration of Theoretical and Data-Driven Methods.
It has been said that data are the new oil, emphasizing the value of data in driving discovery and understanding in psychological and brain science. At the PESTILLI LAB, we harness the potential of large-scale data analysis, data science, and machine learning to process vast amounts of high-quality data, extracting meaningful insights. Our lab employs advanced data-driven methods to uncover previously unexplored associations between brain biomarkers and behavior, ultimately contributing to the advancement of scientific theory and understanding.
Open Science and Cloud Technology Innovation and Technology for Better, Faster, Stronger Science
We advocate for the use of cloud technology to advance psychological and brain science. Cloud technology can enable scientists to tackle more significant scientific challenges and minimize errors. By facilitating error-free data analysis and management, cloud services can play a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of scientific research. The PESTILLI LAB has developed and operates brainlife.io, an open-source, free-to-use cloud computing platform that supports thousands of students and researchers in conducting reproducible neuroimaging data processing.
Visual White Matter and Brain Networks Understanding vision is key to advancing cures and enhancing the quality of life.
Vision is the primary human sense, relying on the intricate coordination of multiple systems, from the eyes to the brain. Visual signals traverse long-range myelinated axonal pathways, forming a complex network of neurons and brain areas. While much is known about the function of individual neurons and brain areas, our understanding of the communication between these areas remains limited. The PESTILLI LAB focuses on uncovering how neurons and brain areas connect to form networks that support human behavior. Our research combines multiple neuroimaging measurements to study how these networks and the underlying biological tissue sustain human vision during development and across the lifespan.
2023
Center for Mesoscale Connectomics: A multimodal, cross-species approach
Kamil Ugurbil, Sarah Heilbronner, Franco Pestilli, Damien Fair, Christoph Lenglet, Karla Miller, and others
The National Institute of Health Oct 2023
Extending ezBIDS, NiiVue and dcm2niix for user-friendly cloud-based integration and visualization
Chris Rorden, Franco Pestilli
The National Institute of Mental Health BRAIN Initiative Oct 2023
BRIDGE: Brain Research International Data Governance Exchange
Franco Pestilli, Damian Eke, Ricardo Chavarriaga, Thomas Nichols, Fernanda Tovar Moll, Amadi Ihunwo
The Wellcome Trust Jul 2023
2022
A pilot study to develop international data governance for neuroscience
Franco Pestilli
The Kavli Foundation Mar 2022
2021
BD Spokes: SPOKE: MIDWEST: Collaborative: Advanced Computational Neuroscience Network (ACNN)
Franco Pestilli, Susanne Ressl
The National Science Foundation (Special Program for Big Data) Nov 2021 to Jun 2023
CRCNS: US-France Data Sharing Proposal: Open science & cloud computing of MEEG
Aina Puce, Franco Pestilli
The National Science Foundation (Special Program for Big Data) Oct 2021 to May 2023
Collaborative Proposal: CRCNS US-German Data Sharing Proposal: DataLad - a decentralized system for integrated discovery, management, and publication of digital objects of science
Franco Pestilli, Michael Hanke and Yaroslav Halchenko
The National Institute of Mental Health (Special Program CRCNS) Oct 2021 to Aug 2023
A community-driven development of the brain imaging data standard (BIDS) to describe macroscopic brain connections
Franco Pestilli, Russ Poldrack, and Ariel Rokem
The National Institutes of Health (Special Program for the BRAIN Initiative) Aug 2021 to Jul 2023
2020
Harnessing machine learning and cloud computing to test biological models of the role of white matter in human learning
Sophia Vinci-Booher (postdoc)
The National Scienece Foundation (Special SBE Postdoctoral Fellowship) Sep 2020 to Aug 2022
Advancing understanding of human aging via cloud computing
Franco Pestilli
Microsoft Corporation (Faculty Fellowship) Aug 2020
2019
CRCNS: US-France Data Sharing Proposal: Lowering the barrier of entry to network neuroscience
Richard Betzel, Franco Pestilli and Danielle Bassett
The National Institute of Mental Health (Special Program CRCNS) Sep 2019 to Jun 2023
BD Hubs: Collaborative Proposal: Midwest: Midwest Big Data Hub: Building Communities to Harness the Data Revolution
Franco Pestilli
The National Institute of Mental Health (Special Program CRCNS) Jun 2019 to May 2023
2017
NCS-FO: Connectome mapping algorithms with application to community services for big data neuroscience
Franco Pestilli, Ivo Dinov, Lei Wang, Eleftherios Garyfallidis
The National Science Foundation (Special Program for the BRAIN initiative) Sep 2017 to Dec 2021
2016
BD Spokes: SPOKE: MIDWEST: Collaborative: Advanced Computational Neuroscience Network (ACNN)
Franco Pestilli, Ivo Dinov, Richard Gonzalez, DK Panda, Staya Sahoo
The National Science Foundation (Special Program for Big Data) Sep 2016 to Oct 2021
2015
Improved accuracy for anatomical mapping and network structure of the Alzheimer's brain
Franco Pestilli
The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) Sep 2015 to Aug 2017