Nima Dehghani.

Nima Dehghani

Research scientist
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nima Dehghani is a research scientist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on data-driven dynamical modeling, foundations of physical computing and bio-inspired intelligence.

He was initially trained as a physician and later as a physicist, obtaining his Ph.D. in complex systems physics and computational neuroscience from Sorbonne Université  (Campus Pierre et Marie Curie) while conducting research at the Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience at the Unité de Neuroscience, Information et Complexité, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UNIC-CNRS). For more information, see: https://compneuro.mit.edu/about

Explore more from The Transmitter

New phase of BRAIN Initiative spawns basal ganglia ‘parts list’

With a standardized cell naming system and infrastructure for data collection and analysis, the basal ganglia project sets the stage for a whole-brain primate atlas.

By Claudia López Lloreda
12 November 2026 | 1 min watch
Research image showing genes containing microexons in mice.

Machine-learning model spots autism-linked variants that scramble splicing

The model provides a way to investigate genetic variation in regions of the genome whose functions have been difficult to interpret.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
12 November 2026 | 4 min read
Illustration of two overlapping speech bubbles patterned with blue and pink horizontal lines on a background of pink and brown horizontal lines.

Future of AI brain models sparks debate

Neuroscientists are divided about whether foundation models that predict brain responses will help the field understand how brains work.

By Natalia Mesa
11 November 2026 | 10 min read