Event FAQ

What is a Brainhack? Brainhack DC 2021 is an official satellite event of the International Brainhack Global. The goal of the event is to bring together researchers with diverse backgrounds to collaborate on science projects in neuroimaging. Check out this recent community paper in Neuron describing our philosophy on Brainhacks!

Will this event be in person or online? This is a hybrid event. Participate in-person at Georgetown University or on Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent out via email to all registrants.

What about COVID-19 safety? All participants who participate in person must submit vaccination information at the following link: https://gucovid.force.com/visitor/s/?event=VE1054 Individuals who submit their vaccination information will receive a short health attestation form via email on the morning of your visit to campus. Those who fail to complete these steps will not be permitted to participate in person. All attendees will also be required to wear face masks at all times. We will provide extra masks if needed.

What is the event Code of Conduct? All participants agree to adhere to the Brainhack Code of Conduct. The principles of inclusivity and safety outlined in this Code of Conduct are integral to the Brainhack culture/community, so we take them very seriously. Please use this form to anonymously report any violation of our code of conduct.

How do I get to the event location? Information about the location (White Gravenor Hall at Georgetown University), directions, public transportation, and parking can be found here.

Do I need to bring any supplies or install any software beforehand? Please remember to bring your own laptop to this event or reach out prior to the event if you require a computer. We will have up to three computers for use on site, but might need to equip them with appropriate software if needed. Software will vary by workshop and project, so be sure to join the Slack for updates regarding any required software.

How can I get in contact with the event organizers or other attendees? This year, we are using Slack for all communications related to Brainhack DC. Introduce yourself, join or create a channel to discuss different topics in neuroscience or to discuss items relevant to your project. We will be using the free version so note that older messages will be automatically deleted after we hit 10,000 messages.

Will there be any training sessions? YES! We have an awesome lineup of speakers from around the DC region who will be leading presentations on a wide-range of topics. Please refer to the schedule below for more information.

I am unable to attend the entire event. Can I opt to attend only a few training sessions? Absolutely! We encourage this and hope you can fit as many training sessions as you can into your schedule. If you would like to work on a project but have limited time, we encourage you let your group know about your schedule ahead of time and determine together whether your schedule will accomodate that particular project.

I have a project idea! How can I propose it? Participants are encouraged to post their project ideas using this form via GitHub. On Friday morning, we will have a session during which participants can "pitch" their projects! Project pitches do not need to be formal (you are welcome to prepare 1-5 slides, but do not need to). However, it does help if you come prepared with your (1) project aims and (2) a rough idea regarding how team members can contribute. You are welcome to propose an idea at any stage of development (e.g., something you have already been working on or an idea you’ve always wanted to start). Here are some more guidelines for preparing your project. If you have any questions about an idea you have, please feel free to reach out! See the Brainhack Project Gallery for an idea of what people are working on around the world. A list of projects submitted for our local event can be found here.

Can I continue to work on a project after the event is over? This will vary depending on the project, but we definitely encourage this! Brainhacks are designed to increase and foster new collaborations that extend beyond the event! After the event is over, we also encourage project groups to submit a report describing their project as a conference paper to the 2021 Brainhack Proceedings after the event.

Schedule

(Training sessions are bolded)

Friday (December 10, 2021), Eastern Time
9:30am-10:00am Check-In & Coffee (provided)
10:00am-10:30am Intro to Brainhack with Liza Levitis (NIMH/UCL) & Shawn Rhoads (GU)
10:30am-12:00pm Project Pitches
12:00pm-1:00pm Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm-2:00pm Joining Project Groups
2:00pm-3:00pm Intro to Git/GitHub with Arshitha Basavaraj (NIMH)
3:00pm-3:30pm Coffee Break (provided)
3:30pm-4:30pm Intro to BIDS & fMRIPrep with Junaid Merchant (UMD)
4:30pm-7:00pm Open Hacking
7:00pm-              Social Event at Epicurean
Saturday (December 11, 2021), Eastern Time
9:30am-10:00am Coffee (provided)
10:00am-11:30am Open Hacking
11:30am-12:30pm Intro to CuBIDS with Sydney Covitz (UPenn)
12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30pm-2:30pm Intro to Data Viz with Liza Levitis (NIMH/UCL)
2:30pm-3:00pm Coffee Break (provided)
3:00pm-4:00pm Intro to Machine Learning with Jessica Dafflon (NIMH)
4:00pm-7:00pm Open Hacking
Sunday (December 12, 2021), Eastern Time
9:30am-10:00am Coffee (provided)
10:00am-11:30am Open Hacking
11:30am-12:30pm Bayesian Multilevel Modeling with Gang Chen (NIMH)
12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30pm-3:00pm Open Hacking
3:00-3:30pm Coffee Break (provided)
3:30pm-5:00pm Open Hacking
5:00pm-              Project Presentations