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João Afonso has a wealth of experience in data science and systems neuroscience. João began their career in 2009 as a Research Technician at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia. In 2012, they joined the Champalimaud Foundation as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Circuit Dynamics and Computations group. During this time, they used machine learning algorithms to decode behavioral and sensorial information from the activity of populations of neurons in the mouse Prefrontal Cortex, and they also implemented a novel algorithm to understand and characterize the variable temporal correlation between the speed at which mice run and its representation at the neuronal level. Additionally, they designed and produced the visualizations necessary to illustrate the findings and methods. During their PhD, they investigated how populations of neurons in the mouse Prefrontal Cortex are involved in short-term memory supported decision making. João is currently a Data Scientist at Opplane, a position they have held since 2022.

João Afonso obtained their Doctor of Philosophy - PhD in Neuroscience from Universidade Nova de Lisboa between 2011 and 2019. João then attended Lisbon Data Science Academy in 2019-2020 for Data Science and Machine Learning. Prior to this, they obtained a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Ispa - Instituto Universitário between 2002 and 2008. João also holds two additional certifications: Data Scientist in Python Path from Dataquest.io obtained in October 2021, and Mathematics for Machine Learning Specialization from Coursera.