EthanĀ Blackwood
PhD Candidate
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Summary
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Seniorš
Top SchoolEthan Blackwood is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania with 11+ years of experience bridging computational methods, systems neuroscience, and research software development. He studies cortical dynamics during learning using two-photon imaging and has a track record of building robust signal-processing tools for open-source electrophysiology projects (notably contributing backend fixes and DSP refactors to the widely used Open Ephys ecosystem). Skilled in MATLAB, Python, and C++, Ethan has developed closed-loop neural stimulation algorithms and production-ready plugins that supported translational work on depression, OCD, and PTSD. He combines hands-on experimental work with teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate level, and is an advocate for open science and increased funding for research software engineering. Less obvious: he intentionally compares animal cognitive strategies for detecting logical inconsistencies with the failure modes of modern AI, guiding both basic science and model evaluation.
11 years of coding experience
4 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelorās Degree, Computer Science, Neuroscience, 3.91, Bachelorās Degree, Computer Science, Neuroscience, 3.91 at Dartmouth CollegeDoctor of Philosophy - PhD, Neuroscience, Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Neuroscience at University of Pennsylvania
English, French, German
Github Skills (14)
hdf10
c-language10
data-conversion10
matlab10
cprogramming-language10
signal-processing10
data-processing10
digital-signal-processing10
filter9
library-design9
filtering9
code-library9
lib9
filterlist9
Programming languages (15)
Github contributions (5)
open-ephys/plugin-GUI
Jul 2017 - Sep 2019
Software for processing, recording, and visualizing multichannel electrophysiology data
Role in this project:
Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:92 commits, 46 PRs, 63 comments in 2 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Ethan primarily worked on refactoring and converting Digital Signal Processing (DSP) components into a common DLL library within the `plugin-gui` repository. This involved modifying header files to include `COMMON_LIB` and adapting existing filter implementations. The changes touched upon various filter types such as Chebyshev, Bessel, Butterworth and RBJ, indicating a focus on signal processing and filter design. The user also integrated and tested changes from the development branch.
connectivityneurosciencepythonmultichannelcomputational-neuroscience
open-ephys/analysis-tools
Oct 2017 - Jun 2019
Code for reading data saved by the Open Ephys GUI
Role in this project:Back-end Developer
Back-end DeveloperContributions:16 commits, 10 PRs, 5 comments in 1 year 7 months
Contributions summary:Ethan primarily contributed to the development and maintenance of tools for analyzing data saved by the Open Ephys GUI. They fixed bugs related to data conversion and improved data scaling functionalities. Their work involved modifying existing code to convert Open Ephys data to the KWIK format, enhancing the conversion process to support data from multiple processors, and improving data handling. The user also refined the existing code by addressing potential errors and improving its readability.
pythonephysguiopen-ephys
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