Gaëlle Desbordes, PhD

Research Fellow
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Massachusetts General Hospital - Harvard Medical School
149 Thirteenth St, Suite 2301
Boston, MA 02129   USA

desbordes at gmail.com
http://cns.bu.edu/~gdesbord/



Education

Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems, January 2007.

Dissertation: Vision in the presence of fixational eye movements: Insights from psychophysics and neural modeling.
Advisor: Michele Rucci.
Graduate courses in computational neuroscience and neural models of: vision, audition, sensory-motor control & adaptive movement planning, speech production, memory & attention, conditioning & reinforcement.

Laval University, Quebec, CANADA
Master of Science in Computer Science, August 2001.

Thesis: An Argumentation-Based Framework For Software Agents.
Advisor: Prof. Bernard Moulin.
Graduate Courses: Neural Networks, Natural Language Processing, Knowledge Representation, Machine Learning, Multi-Agent Systems, Object-Oriented Projects.

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne, FRANCE
Ingénieur Civil des Mines (~BA/MA in Engineering and Management), March 2001.

One of the French Grandes Ecoles: "prestige university-level colleges with competitive entrance examinations" (Collins French dictionary).
Multidisciplinary courses in sciences, engineering and management, including:
Mathematics (Probabilities, Statistics, Optimization, Operational Research, Networks, Complexity Theory, Graph Theory, Automatic Systems), Computer Science, Physics (Structure of Matter, Thermodynamics, Quantum Physics), Civil Eng., Industrial Eng., Environmental Eng., Management, Introduction to Economics and Law, Foreign Languages (English, German, Japanese).

Lycée Pierre Corneille, Rouen, FRANCE: Classes Préparatoires (Math Sup, Math Spé):

Intensive undergraduate courses to prepare the competitive entrance examinations for the Grandes Ecoles, including:
Mathematics (Calculus, Algebra, Geometry), Physics (Electronics, Solid, Fluid and Wave Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Thermodynamics, Quantum Physics), Chemistry, Computer Science, French, Foreign Languages (English, German).
September 1994 - July 1997.

French Baccalauréat (high school degree), C series (Mathematics and Physics)
Mention Très Bien (with Very High Honors), June 1994.
 

Additional Training

Spring 2010: Course HST 584: Magnetic Resonance Analytic, Biochemical, and Imaging Techniques at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST)
February 2010: FreeSurfer Tutorial and Workshop, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA
September 2009: Visiting Fellowship in fMRI, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA
November 2004: Okinawa Computational Neuroscience Course (Japan)

Honors and Awards

2012: Work featured as a Research Spotlight by the Director of the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) on their research blog
2012: Work featured in the Boston Globe, the Huffington Post, Psychology Today, the Harvard Gazette, the Epoch Times, the Philippine Star, the Dana Foundation website, and other national and international media outlets
2012: CompNet Travel Award, Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University
2012: International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR) Poster Prize for an Outstanding Poster Presentation at the International Research Congress for Integrative Medicine and Health 2012
2012: CCARE Poster Award at the Science of Compassion conference
2010-: Varela Award from the Mind and Life Institute ($15,000)
2001-2004: Boston University Arts and Sciences Dean's Fellowship
2000-2001: Laval University Scholarship (Canada)
1999-2000:  Région Rhône-Alpes Scholarship (France)
 

Research and Related Work Experience

2012 - present: Research Fellow
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Brain imaging studies (MRI, fMRI) in the context of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: meditation, mindfulness-based interventions, acupuncture.

Nov 2009 - present: Research Associate (now Visiting Scholar)
Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University, Boston, MA

Investigating the neural mechanisms of different practices of meditation, using brain imaging (MRI, fMRI).

2008 - present: Lecturer
with the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative at Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Contributing to the development and implementation of a 5-year Neuroscience curriculum for Tibetan monastics. Traveled to Dharamsala, India to co-teach this intensive course in person in the summers of 2009, 2010, 2011. See poster presented at the Society for Neuroscience 39th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Oct 2009.

Aug 2006 - Nov 2009: Postdoctoral Fellow in Garrett Stanley's lab
first at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA,
then at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.

Neural population coding in the early visual pathway. Multielectrode data analysis and neural modeling.

May 2002 - July 2006: Research Assistant (Ph.D. student)
Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA.

Investigated the role of fixational eye movements in perception, by conducting psychophysical experiments on human subjects and modeling and simulating biological neural networks in the early visual pathway.

Spring 2003: Teaching Fellow
Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University, Boston, MA.

May 2000 - June 2001: Research Assistant (M.Sc. student)
Computer Science Department, Laval University, Quebec, CANADA; with Prof. Bernard Moulin.

Wrote a bibliographical review on "Explanation and Argumentation in Knowledge-Based Systems", some parts of which are published in an article (cf. Publications below).
Designed an argumentation-based and agent-based system using Logic Programming and Conceptual Graphs (cf. MSc thesis).

Fall 2000: Teaching Assistant
Computer Science Department, Laval University, Quebec, CANADA.

Summer 1999: Visual C++ programmer (internship)
Fujisoft ABC Inc., Kamakura, JAPAN.
 

Publications

Journal articles

P. Condon, G. Desbordes, W. Miller, D. DeSteno. Meditation increases compassionate responses to suffering. Psychological Science, in press, see press release

K. A. Garrison, D. Scheinost, P. D. Worhunsky, H. M. Elwafi, T. A. Thornhill IV, E. Thompson, C. Saron, G. Desbordes, H. Kober, M. Hampson, J. R. Gray, R. T. Constable, X. Papademetris, J. A. Brewer. Real-time fMRI links subjective experience with brain activity during focused attention. NeuroImage, in press. [PubMed]. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.030. [PDF available here].

G. Desbordes, L. T. Negi, T. W. W. Pace, B. A. Wallace, C. L. Raison, and E. L. Schwartz (2012). Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 6:292. Open-Access doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00292. see also press release

G. B. Stanley, J. Jin, Y. Wang, G. Desbordes, Q. Wang, M. J. Black, and J.-M. Alonso (2012). Visual orientation and directional selectivity through thalamic synchrony. Journal of Neuroscience 32(26):9073-9088 doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4968-11.2012

D. A. Butts, G. Desbordes, C. Weng, J. Jin, J.-M. Alonso, and G. B. Stanley (2010). The episodic nature of spike trains in the early visual pathway. Journal of Neurophysiology 104(6):3371-3387 doi:10.1152/jn.00078.2010

G. Desbordes, J. Jin, J.-M. Alonso, and G. B. Stanley (2010). Modulation of temporal precision in thalamic population responses to natural visual stimuli. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 4:151 doi:10.3389/fnsys.2010.00151

A. Boloori, R. Jenks, G. Desbordes, and G. B. Stanley (2010). Encoding and decoding cortical representations of tactile features in the vibrissa system. Journal of Neuroscience 30(30):9990-10005 doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0807-10.2010

G. Desbordes, J. Jin, C. Weng, N. A. Lesica, G. B. Stanley, J.-M. Alonso (2008). Timing precision in population coding of natural scenes in the early visual system. PLoS Biology 6(12): e324. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060324

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2007). A model of the dynamics of retinal activity during natural visual fixation. Visual Neuroscience, 24(2):1-14. doi:10.1017/S0952523807070460 | PDF

M. Rucci and G. Desbordes (2003). Contributions of fixational eye movements to the discrimination of briefly presented stimuli, Journal of Vision, 3(11):852-864. http://journalofvision.org/3/11/18/, doi:10.1167/3.11.18

B. Moulin, H. Irandoust, M. Bélanger, G. Desbordes (2002). Explanation and argumentation capabilities: Towards the creation of more persuasive agents. Artificial Intelligence Review, 17(3):169-222. doi:10.1023/A:1015023512975.

Invited Colloquia

Apr 2013: Invited Speaker at the "Living Compassion" event, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA

Apr 2013: Invited Speaker at the Charite Hospital, Berlin, Germany.

Mar 2013: Invited Speaker: "The Science of Meditation", a public dialogue with Lama Zopa from Karma Thegsum Choling, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY

Mar 2013: Invited Speaker: "Changes in brain activation after eight weeks of training in meditative practices: Comparing mindful-attention meditation and compassion meditation", Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY

Dec 2012: Invited Speaker: "Changes in brain activation after eight weeks of training in meditative practices: Comparing mindful-attention meditation and compassion meditation", Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Nov 2012: Invited Speaker: "Changes in brain activation after eight weeks of training in meditative practices: Comparing mindful-attention meditation and compassion meditation", Metro-Area Research Group on Awareness and Meditation (MARGAM), New York University, New York, NY

Oct 2012: Invited Speaker: "Changes in Brain Activation after Eight Weeks of Training in Meditative Practices: Comparing Mindful-Attention Meditation and Compassion Meditation", Osher Center for Integrative Medicine seminar series, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Sept 2012: Guest Lecturer: "Neuroscience and Meditation", Harvard Extension School, Cambridge, MA

Sept 2012: Invited Speaker: "The Contemplative Brain: Neuroscientific findings in meditation research", Annual Conference of the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education, Amherst, MA

April 2011: "A longitudinal study of meditation novices: Neural and physiological mechanisms", Workshop on Meditation and Brain Imaging, Depression Clinical Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Feb 2011: Guest Lecturer: "Neuroscience and Meditation", Harvard Extension School, Cambridge, MA

Feb 2011: "Meditation practices with major depression: What do we know?", Boston Meditation Research/Contemplative Science Working Group, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Oct 2010: Panelist on "Tibetan Buddhism's Encounter with Modern Science", The 2010 International Conference on Tibetan Buddhism, Atlanta, GA

May 2010: "Longitudinal study of mindfulness vs. compassion meditation training: Brain imaging and physiology", Osher Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Feb 2010: "Longitudinal study of mindfulness vs. compassion meditation training: Research design", Boston Meditation Research/Contemplative Science Working Group, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Apr 2006: "Fixational eye movements during short fixations", Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Feb 2006: "Small eye movements during short fixations in humans", Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Oct 2004: "Small eye movements during short fixations in humans", Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ.

Conferences

Desbordes G, Barbieri R, Citi L, Lazar SW, Negi LT, Pace TWW, Wallace BA, Raison CL, Schwartz EL (2013). Longitudinal effects of compassion meditation training vs. mindful-attention training on brain and autonomic responses to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, Garrison, NY, June 2013. [poster PDF]

Desbordes G (2013). Effects of mindful-attention meditation training vs. compassion meditation training on brain responses to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Center for Mindfulness 11th Annual International Scientific Conference for Clinicians, Researchers and Educators, Norwood, MA, Apr 2013. (accepted for an oral presentation; cancelled due to Boston lockdown)

Desbordes G, Barbieri R, Citi L, Lazar SW, Negi LT, Raison CL, Schwartz EL (2012). Longitudinal effects of compassion meditation training vs. mindful-attention training on brain and autonomic responses to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. The Science of Compassion: Origins, Measures and Interventions, Telluride, CO, July 19-22, 2012

Desbordes G, Barbieri R, Citi L, Lazar SW, Negi LT, Raison CL, Schwartz EL (2012). Longitudinal effects of two types of meditation training on brain responses to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Mind and Life Summer Research Institute, Garrison, NY, June 2012. [poster PDF]

Desbordes G, Negi LT, Raison CL, Schwartz EL (2012). Longitudinal decrease in amygdala response to emotional stimuli after eight-week meditation training. 18th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping, Beijing, China, June 2012. [Abstract and E-Poster]

Desbordes G, Barbieri R, Citi L, Lazar SW, Negi LT, Raison CL, Schwartz EL (2012). Assessment of autonomic tone at rest and during meditation in a longitudinal study of an eight-week meditation intervention. International Research Congress: Integrative Medicine and Health (2012 IRCIMH Congress), Portland, OR, May 2012. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012, 12(Suppl 1):P46 doi:10.1186/1472-6882-12-S1-P46. [Published abstract]

Desbordes G, Raison CL, Negi LT, Schwartz EL (2012). Compassion meditation training modifies fMRI brain response to emotional images in novice practitioners. 2012 International Symposia for Contemplative Studies, Denver, CO, April 2012. (oral presentation)

Kelly ST, Stanley GB, Jin J, Wang Y, Desbordes G, Wang Q, Black MJ, Alonso JM (2011). Thalamic synchrony and stimulus orientation information transmission to cortex. Society for Neuroscience 41st Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Nov 2011.

Ting LH, Bauer-Wu SM, Desbordes G, Hasenkamp W, Hue GE, Iuvone PM, Jaeger D, Worthman CM (2011). Use of a Personal Response System enhances teaching of neuroscience to Buddhist monastics. Society for Neuroscience 41st Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, Nov 2011.

Desbordes G, Lhakdor G, Samphel T, Tashi S, Sonam T, Thupten K, Paldon T, Gyaltsen N, Negi LT, Worthman CM (2010). Neuroscience in translation: exchanges between neuroscientists and Tibetan Buddhist monastics. Society for Neuroscience 40th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, Nov 2010.

G. Desbordes, J. Jin, J.-M. Alonso, G. B. Stanley (2009). A Generalized Linear Model captures the fine temporal precision of thalamic responses to visual stimuli. Society for Neuroscience 39th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Oct 2009. (abstract)

G. B. Stanley, M. J. Black, G. Desbordes, J. Jin, Y. Wang, J.-M. Alonso (2009). Decoding visual motion from correlated firing of thalamic neurons. Society for Neuroscience 39th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Oct 2009.

Desbordes G, Hue GE, Negi LT, Raison CL, Taylor ND, Jaeger D, Kuhar MJ, Samphel T, Ram P, Worthman C. (2009). The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative: Teaching neuroscience to Buddhist monastics. Society for Neuroscience 39th Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Oct 2009.

Desbordes G, Jin J, Weng C, Lesica N, Stanley G and Alonso J (2009). Timing precision in population coding of natural scenes in the early visual system. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. Conference Abstract: Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CoSyNe). doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.06.2009.03.325

Stanley G, Black M, Lewis J.P., Desbordes G, Jin J and Alonso J (2009). Population coding of ground truth motion in natural scenes in the early visual system. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. Conference Abstract: Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CoSyNe). doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.06.2009.03.133

G. Desbordes, J. Jin, C. Weng, N. A. Lesica, D. A. Butts, G. B. Stanley, J.-M. Alonso (2008). Invariance of spike timing precision within neural populations in the early visual system. Society for Neuroscience 38th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., Nov 2008. (abstract)

G. Desbordes, C. Weng, J. Jin, D. A. Butts, G. B. Stanley, J. M. Alonso (2008). Adaptation effects on spike-timing precision within and across LGN cells. Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CoSyNe) conference, Salt Lake City, UT, Feb 2008.

G. Desbordes, C. Weng, J. Jin, D. A. Butts, J. M. Alonso, G. B. Stanley (2007). How correlated is the neural code entering primary visual cortex? Society for Neuroscience 37th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, Nov 2007.

M. Rucci, G. Desbordes, R. Iovin, F. Santini (2006). Fixational eye movements and the perception of spatial detail. Society for Neuroscience 36th Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, Oct 2006.

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2006). Modeling the dynamics of retinal ganglion cells during natural viewing. 10th International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston, MA, May 2006.

M. Rucci, G. Desbordes, R. Iovin, F. Santini (2006). Contributions of fixational eye movements to visual discrimination. Vision Sciences Society 2006 meeting, Sarasota, FL, May 2006.

M. Rucci, R. Iovin, and G. Desbordes (2006). Fixational eye movements and the representation of natural scenes. CoSyNe conference, Salt Lake City, UT, March 2006.

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2005). A model of visual discrimination in the presence of fixational instability. Society for Neuroscience 35th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., Nov 2005.

M. Rucci and G. Desbordes (2005). Influences of fixational eye movements on the statistics of visual input: Implications for early visual representations. Society for Neuroscience 35th Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., Nov 2005.

M. Rucci, G. Desbordes, and A. Casile (2005). Fixational eye movements and the neural encoding of natural visual stimuli: A theoretical perspective. Gordon Research Conference on Oculomotor System Biology, Lewiston, ME, June 2005.

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2004). Modeling the responses of LGN neurons during fixational eye movements. Society for Neuroscience 34th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, Oct 2004.

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2004). Discrimination of briefly presented stimuli in the presence and absence of fixational eye movements. Vision Sciences Society 2004 meeting, Sarasota, FL, May 2004. (abstract)

F. Santini, J.D. Watts, G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2004). A system for experiments of eye movements contingent display. Vision Sciences Society 2004 meeting, Sarasota, FL, May 2004. (abstract)

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2004). Modeling the response of geniculate neurons during fixational instability, 8th International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston, MA, May 2004.

G. Desbordes and M. Rucci (2003). Stimulus identification in the presence and absence of eye movements, 7th International Conference on Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston, MA, May 2003.
 

Service

Faculty at the 2013 CCARE Science of Compassion Summer Research Institute, a six-day conference to advance research on compassion and altruism through collaboration, dialog, inquiry, education, and research; Jul 20-26, 2013, Telluride, CO

Reviewer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Special Emphasis Panel: Education, Conferences, Training (study section ZAT1 PK23)
(2012)

Neuroscience consultant at the International Conference on Science Translation into Tibetan (ICSTT), Atlanta, GA, 2010, 2011, 2013.
Contributing neuroscience expertise to the development of new scientific terms in the Tibetan language.

Ad-hoc reviewer: Active chapter member and mentor at the Massachusetts chapter of the Association for Women in Science (2006-present).
Mentoring junior scientists and participating in events, workshops, seminars, etc. to promote the status of women in science.
 

Memberships


 

 
 

Last update: June 14, 2013