Stefan Berteau, Ph.D.

202-213-0312
stefan@berteau.science

Education

Boston University, Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems (2008-2018)

Boston, MA - PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems

Advised by Daniel Bullock, Arash Yazdanbakhsh, Ennio Mingolla, and Stephen Grossberg

Key coursework in the neural basis of vision, audition, motor control, learning, and reward, plus nonlinear mathematics, multivariate statistical analysis, developmental neurobiology, electrophysiology, and systems neuroscience.

FAES Graduate School at the National Institutes of Health (2006-2007)

Bethesda, MD – Continuing Education

Basic Human Neuroanatomy, including anatomy lab work under Miles Herkenham on human brains and spinal cord segments, and observed experimental brain surgeries from within the OR.

American University, College of Arts and Sciences (1998-2002)

Washington, DC - Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Design and Development, Computer Science Focus

Key coursework in Graphic Design, User Interface Design, Sound Design, Typography, AI Programming, 2D/3D Graphics Programming

Workshops and Certifications

  • NIH Human Subjects Certification
  • Fast Optical Imaging Summer Workshop at the Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications, Presentations, and Patents

Publications

  • Berteau, S. A. (2018). Modeling biophysical and neural circuit bases for core cognitive abilities evident in neuroimaging patterns: hippocampal mismatch, mismatch negativity, repetition positivity, and alpha suppression of distractors (Doctoral dissertation).
  • Berteau, S., & Bullock, D. (2020). Simulations reveal how M-currents and memory-based inputs from CA3 enable single neuron mismatch detection for EC3 inputs to the CA1 subfield of hippocampus. Journal of Neurophysiology, 124(2), 544-556. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00238.2019
  • Berteau, S., & Armitano, E. (2026). Case Report: A Possible Novel Adult-Onset, Progressive MAO-A Hypofunction. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20, 1743519. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2026.1743519
  • Wagner-Carena, J., Kate, S., Riordan, T., Abbasi-Asl, R., Aman, J., Amster, A., ... & Berteau, S. (2026). Functionally identified neuronal assemblies robustly encode stimuli and are structurally delineated by inhibition. Cell Reports, 45(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117900
  • Zhang, Z., Berteau, S., Albers, J., Dorkenwald, S., & Mihalas, S. The statistical connectome of the mouse primary visual cortex. In preparation.

Significant Talks

  • 2024 Center for Data Driven Discovery, “Extraction of Statistical Connectomes from Large-Scale Datasets”
  • 2016 Colgate University Invited Speaker, “Your Brain on Music: Novelty, Dopamine, and Computer Modeling: A simple proposed artificial neural network capable of modeling the human response to an aesthetic pattern”
  • 2016 Google Brain Invited Speaker, “Expectation, Surprise, and Recontextualization in Music”
  • 2015 Inter-Science of Learning Center (iSLC) Annual Meeting, “How to be a critical reader of Neuroscience Articles”
  • 2004 SecureIT, “Spyware, Uninvited and Unwanted”

Posters

  • 2024 Society for Neuroscience, “Discrete Cell Assembly Structure in Mouse Visual Cortex”
  • 2020 SfN Crossroads, “Voltage Based Spike-timing Dependent Myelin Plasticity”
  • 2015 Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting, “A Mechanistic Model of Alpha-Induced Information Suppression”
  • 2014 Computational and Systems Neuroscience (Cosyne) Annual Meeting, “Alpha coherence networks and the prerequisites for communication in simulated cortex”
  • 2013 Cognitive Neuroscience Society Annual Meeting, “A Biophysical Perspective on Cortical Comparators in Mismatch Negativity”
  • 2012 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, “Changes in Mnemonic Activity Drive Task-Dependent Alpha Band Oscillations: A Network Model for Effective Ignoring”
  • 2011 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, “Network analysis in EEG source-space of the dynamics that support intentional ignoring of visual stimuli”

Patents

  • Berteau, Stefan A. 2012. “System and Method for Bayesian Text Classification”. U.S. Patent 8,103,110, filed May 15, 2008, and issued January 24, 2012
  • Berteau, Stefan A.; Grucz, Michael L.; Goldsmith, Kevin C. 2012. “System and Method for Identifying a Cookie as a Privacy Threat”. U.S. Patent 8,196,176, filed April 16, 2008, and issued June 5, 2012

Research Experience

Independent Researcher

(2010-present; Self-funded March 2025-present)

  • Discovered what appears to be a previously undocumented monoamine oxidase A disorder
  • Characterized the mechanism of pathophysiology
  • Constructed computational models of cellular metabolism with and without said disorder
  • Validated the models using multiple model-derived testable predictions
  • Applied validated models to obtain an extremely effective pharmacological treatment regimen using existing medications
  • Published the above work in Frontiers in Neuroscience, see Berteau & Armitano (2026), under Publications

Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA

Center for Data Driven Discovery, Research Scientist I (May 2021 – March 2025)

  • Large-scale models of structure-function relations in reconstructed neocortical tissue, based on 2P/3P Calcium Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy
  • Large-scale dynamical systems modeling using PyTorch
  • Structural modeling and simulation work using large-scale datasets
  • EM segmentation, reconstruction, and coregistration with fluorescence data
  • Mentored three advisees, taking them from internships through the creation of a joint project as visiting research scientists, culminating in their being the primary and secondary authors of original publishable research (Wagner-Carena et al., above)
  • Co-advised an undergraduate thesis at Harvard University

Boston University, Boston, MA

Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Barbas Lab, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (January 2019 – February 2020)

  • Performed NIH-funded research analyzing experimental data and creating mathematical models of prenatal neocortical development and cortico-cortical connection formation
  • Worked with neuroanatomists to model the subplate’s role in guiding inbound cortico-cortical axons in utero

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

General Education Department, Teaching Fellow (October 2017 – January 2019)

  • Automated requirement evaluations for the General Education Department
  • Directed archival work, assisted in course and student record evaluations

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

Department of Psychology, Sekuler Lab, Visiting Research Scientist (March 2011 – January 2017)

  • Performed NSF- and NIH-funded research analyzing experimental data and creating mathematical models of alpha oscillations
  • Prototyped novel methods of analysis, including a method of analyzing EEG coherence networks while preserving phase information and a novel application of superparamagnetic clustering
  • Constructed the first computational model of the role of alpha oscillations in intentional ignoring

Boston University, Boston, MA

Department of Cognitive and Neural Systems Research Assistant and Teaching Fellow (September 2008 – July 2017)

  • Performed NSF-funded research designing experiments and constructing models of cortical development, learning, expectation formation, and reward systems in the brain
  • Modeled biophysically realistic systems consisting of dozens of interconnected differential equations
  • Programmed and piloted experimental studies using eye trackers, EEG, and single-cell electrophysiology
  • Award-winning teaching fellow for a graduate-level course in vision science. Led discussion sections, designed grading criteria and evaluated projects and exams
  • Programmed simulations in Python, C, and MATLAB

CA (Formerly Computer Associates) and HCL Technologies, Herndon, VA

Senior Research Engineer, Malware Threat Research (February 2004 – May 2009)

  • Authored industry standards as CA’s founding representative in the Anti-Spyware Coalition
  • Applied Bayesian statistics to the classification of EULAs
  • Designed economic models used to predict the future behavior of spyware authors
  • Researched and prototyped automated categorization and detection of software threats, including analysis of complex peer-to-peer botnets via network tomography
  • Reverse-engineered complex malicious applications including kernel-mode driver code
  • Negotiated enhanced privacy practices with high-profile companies such as Apple, Sony BMG, Facebook, and PayPal
  • Tracked and countered hostile state actors, including during the invasion of Georgia in 2008
  • Addressed conferences, U.S. Congressional committees, and state legislatures as media/legislative spokesperson
  • Managed teams of up to five individuals to accomplish the tasks listed above

Skills

Programming:
Python, PyTorch, C, MATLAB
Modeling:
biophysical models, dynamical systems, metabolic and signaling pathways, large-scale network simulation, Bayesian statistics
Data Analysis:
EM reconstruction and coregistration, 2P/3P calcium imaging, ERPs, EEG coherence networks
Experimental:
EEG, eye tracking, psychophysics, patch-clamp electrophysiology