At the interface of neuroscience and gene regulation, I am exploring “simple” forms of learning in the brain through computational models and single-cell RNA-seq.
Research
I use computational approaches to study the regulatory mechanisms that enable learning. More specifically, my work focuses on:
- Analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data to better understand how odor-associated learning occurs in the mouse olfactory cortex.
- Using insights from these data to investigate odor association through computational modeling.
- Characterizing the regulatory network dynamics underlying simple forms of learning using computational models.
This work is carried out under the supervision of Anton Crombach and Guillaume Beslon within the BioTiC team at INRIA in Lyon, France.
Teaching
Practical sessions
- Informatics and Computational Modeling — 3rd-year Bachelor’s program in Biosciences at INSA Lyon (2025–2026)
- Multi-agent simulations
- Stochastic algorithms
- Signal processing
- Mathematical Modeling — 3rd-year Bachelor’s program in Biosciences at INSA Lyon (2025–2026)
- Ecological modeling
- Algebra — 3rd-year Bachelor’s program in Biosciences at INSA Lyon (2025–2026)
- Numerical conditioning
- Linear regression
About me
The way the world works, and the reasons behind it, have intrigued me since I was young, inevitably leading me toward the natural sciences. I started this journey in 2018, when I enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree in Physics at the Complutense University of Madrid. At first, I was attracted by theoretical physics, but attending a seminar on Giorgio Parisi’s research “perturbed” my trajectory. This led me to join in 2022 the Master’s degree in Physics of Data at the University of Padova, where I focused on statistical mechanics and data science, and became interested in the modeling of biological systems. This path eventually brought me in 2024 to BioTiC, an INRIA team in Lyon, where, after an internship, I am now carrying out a PhD focused on the role of regulatory networks in learning.
Contact
E-mail: sofia.pacheco-garcia [at] inria.fr
Address: Inria – Bâtiment CEI2 – 56 Boulevard Niels Bohr, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
Oh, and I am always up for a hike!