Josh Faskowitz

Hi there! 👋 I’m a postdoctoral fellow in the Section on Functional Imaging Methods (aka Peter Bandettini’s group) at the NIMH. I study how functional brain networks are organized across 🧠 in space 📍 and time ⏱️ with a particular interest in edge-centric approaches to fMRI and computational models of brain organization.

I completed my Ph.D. in 2021 under the supervision of Olaf Sporns at Indiana University and I did a postdoc year jointly with the Brain Networks & Behavior Lab (aka BetzelLab) and the Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (aka SpornsLab). My work sits within a scientific community that examines brain architecture through the lens of network 🕸️ (‘graph theory’) and its applications. An advantage of our network neuroscience approach is that we can attempt to clarify “organization” with intuitive algorithms and simplifing operations 💻, all while retaining sensitivity to the complexities of our data. My grad work was supported by an NSF GRFP, the IU graduate school, and the IU psych department.

Check out my Github for scripts, code, and data related to these endeavors (projects on community detection in brain networks here and here! Also, some edgy tools here and here and here). I’ve also been compiling a list of openly-available brain network data, for all of us to enjoy. I’ve benefited greatly from my colleagues’ openly available data and code. Hopefully I can pass on the favor!

I studied neuro- and cog- science (and minored in marketing 🤷) at the University of Southern California (2014), and spent my time as an undergraduate assistant in the USC Emotion and Cognition Lab. Following graduation, I made the trek westward to Marina del Rey, where I worked as a research assistant for the USC Imaging Genetics Center under the mentorship of Dr. Neda Jahanshad. Here I assisted on a wide range of MRI projects (including Enigma), and picked up an affinity for bash scripting, data sharing, and non-linear registration techniques.

I’m originally from Orange County, CA - a nice locale with a stunning shoreline 🌴, great weather, and a vibrant sporting culture. I’m an admirer of modern architecture and abstract art. I enjoy perusing Google Earth 🌍 for unqiue geological features and man-made wonders. I am fond of Americano coffee, spy novels, 1970’s prog-rock, Jeopardy!, grillin’ burgers, and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. I’m an especially avid disc golf 🥏⛳️ and pickleball player 🥒🎾. I would be remiss to not mention my wonderful family: my wife Elizabeth and our baby daughter, who shares my affection for Richard Scarry illustrations and long afternoon naps.

Academic links

• Curriculum Vitae: some info on positions, papers, talks, and teaching.
• Google Scholar: publications, citation counts, and the usual scholarly bookkeeping.
• Publons: peer-review activity and publication-related metadata.
• Figshare: shared datasets, figures, and other research outputs.

Professional and semi-professional internet

• Twitter: science, links, and occasional non-science detours.
• LinkedIn: the formal career summary version of me.

Other corners of the internet

• LA Times interview: a very old but still amusing appearance from 1998.
• Leavy Library wall of scholars: apparently I made it onto a wall.
• High-school art: some older visual work from well before the brain-network era.