neuroethology,
neurophysiology/neural data analysis,
auditory neuroscience,
language origins,
language development,
deep learning/NLP,
Animal cognition/communication,
sequence models,
generative models,
computational ethology,
machine perception,
dimensionality reduction
2022–now
Postdoctoral researcher, Datta Lab
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Advisor: Sandeep Robert Datta
2015–2021
PhD Student, Auditory Neurscience Laboratory
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Advisor: Timothy Q Gentner
2016–2017
Student Contractor, Machine learning and Artificial Perception Laboratory
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, CA
Advisor: Benjamin Migliori
2015
R&D Engineer, Cognitive Perception and Computational Intelligence Laboratory
Applied Research Laboratory, State College, PA
Advisor: John Sustersic and Brad Wyble
2014
Field Research Technician, Waibira Research Project
Budongo Conservation Field Center, Budongo Forest, Uganda
Advisor: Catherine Hobaiter
2012–2014
Research Assistant, Comparative Communication Laboratory
The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
Advisor: Daniel Weiss
2022
Glushko Dissertation Prize
Cognitive Science Society and the Glushko-Samuelson Foundation
2020
Dissertation Fellowship in the Cognitive, Clinical, and Neural Foundations of Language
William Orr Dingwall Foundation
2020
Abstract Merit Award Honorable Mention
Society for the Neurobiology of Language
2020
CARTA Fellowship
Center for Research and Training in Anthropogeny
2020
Institute for Neural Computation (INC) Training Fellowship (5T32MH020002-20)
NIMH
2020
Summer Graduate Teaching Scholars Fellowship
UC San Diego
2019
Annette Merle-Smith Fellowship
Center for Research and Training in Anthropogeny
2018
Norman Henry Anderson Scholar
UC San Diego, Psychology Dept.
2018
Student Travel Award
Computational Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN)
2016
Graduate Research Fellowship (2017216247)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2012
President's Fund for Undergraduate Scholars
The Pennsylvania State University
Tim Sainburg, Anna Mai, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Long-range sequential dependencies precede syntactically-rich vocalizations in humans”,
Society for the Neurobiology of Language, 2020.
Tim Sainburg and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Analyzing birdsong with neural networks”,
SSC Pacific Workshop on Naval Applications of Machine Learning, 2016.
Tim Sainburg, Anna Mai, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Long-range sequential dependencies precede complex syntactic production in language acquisition”,
Cognitive Science Society 2021 (CogSci), 2021.
Tim Sainburg, Marvin Thielk, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Animal Vocalization Generative Network (AVGN): A method for visualizing, understanding, and sampling from animal communicative repertoires”,
Cognitive Science Society 2019 (CogSci), 2019.
Tim Sainburg, Marvin Thielk, Brad Theilman, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Sequential organization in birdsong and language: implications for neuroscience and AI”,
Center for Englineered Natural Intelligence Symposium (CENI 2018), 2018.
Tim Sainburg, Marvin Thielk, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Learned context dependent categorical perception in songbirds”,
Society for Neuroscience (SfN), 2018.
Marvin Thielk, Tim Sainburg, Tatyana Sharpee, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Combining Biological and Artificial Approaches to Understand Perceptual Spaces for Categorizing Natural Acoustic Signals”,
Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN), 2018.
Tim Sainburg, Marvin Thielk, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Latent manifold analysis reveals parallels in hierarchical patterning of birdsong and human speech”,
Computational and Systems Neuroscience (COSYNE), 2017.
Marvin Thielk, Tim Sainburg, Tatyana Sharpee, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Shared perceptual spaces for high-dimensional natural acoustic signals”,
Computational and Systems Neuroscience (COSYNE), 2017.
Tim Sainburg, Marvin Thielk, Brad Theilman, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Latent manifold analysis reveals parallels in hierarchical patterning of birdsong and human speech”,
Computational and Systems Neuroscience (COSYNE), 2017.
Tim Sainburg, Brad Theilman, and Timothy Q. Gentner, “Mechanisms for category learning in songbirds”,
Society for Neuroscience, 2016.
2020
Instructor:
Sensory Neuroscience,
University of California, San Diego
2018
Teaching Assistant:
Brain, Behavior, and Evolution,
University of California, San Diego
2018
Teaching Assistant:
Sensory Neuroscience,
University of California, San Diego
2017
Teaching Assistant:
General Psychology,
University of California, San Diego
2016
Teaching Assistant:
Cognitive Psychology,
University of California, San Diego
2013–2014
Peer Leader/Tutor:
Biology: Basic Concepts and Biodiversity,
The Pennsylvania State University