Talmo Pereira

Talmo Pereira, PhD, is a Salk Fellow and Principal Investigator leading a research lab at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. His work focuses on developing computational tools using deep learning and computer vision to study biological motion across species, including animal behavior, plant root systems, and neural coordination mechanisms. Pereira pioneered markerless motion capture technology and created the widely adopted SLEAP software for behavioral analysis.

Education:

• BS in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• MS in Neuroscience from Princeton University
• PhD in Neuroscience from Princeton University

Research Focus: Pereira's lab bridges artificial intelligence and biological systems, developing methods to quantify movement patterns in health and disease states. Key innovations include deep learning frameworks for behavioral phenotyping, neural circuit analysis, and plant root dynamics. The research emphasizes open-source tool development for global scientific collaboration.

Publications: Pereira's recent articles demonstrate a consistent focus on AI-driven analysis of biological systems, with strong themes in behavioral quantification (animal and human), neural circuitry, plant phenomics, and biomedical applications. His work frequently involves interdisciplinary collaboration and open-source tool development.

Awards & Honors:

• Society for Social Neuroscience Open Science Award (2022)
• Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award (2022)
• Princeton Porter Ogden Jacobus Fellowship (2020)
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2015)
• NIH Undergraduate Training Award (2013)
• Multiple undergraduate honors including HHMI Scholar and Meyerhoff Scholar

Team & Advising: Leads a diverse team including postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, bioinformatics analysts, and undergraduate interns. Current advisees include PhD student Scott Yang and Master's students Shrivaths Shyam and Aaditya Prasad. The lab has trained over 20 alumni who progressed to top academic and industry positions.