BrainHack Marseille

BrainHack Marseille 2027 · 3 - 5 February 2027

Call for Project Proposals

BrainHack projects are what participants spend two days working on together. A project can be a tiny question or a large community tool, a vague idea or a released package. If it uses computation to tackle a problem, we'd love to have it.

Submit a project See past projects

What fits?

There is only one real rule

Your project should be computational and aim to solve a problem: writing or improving code, building a pipeline, analysing or organising data, developing a model or method, or helping people learn the tools to do any of these.

Beyond that, we are open to every size, stage and format. Most projects are about the brain, but past editions have also hosted gut-microbiome analyses and simulations of embryonic development. If you're unsure whether your idea fits, just ask us.

Any size, any stage

People often ask how big or how advanced a project should be. The honest answer is: anywhere on these scales is fine. Here are real projects from previous editions at different points on each.

Stage

How far along is it?
  • Just an idea, no code yet e.g. One Cell Wonder (2026) started from a concept: grow an organism from one cell with simple rules.
  • A prototype or basic structure e.g. EyePrep (2026) had a first structure and needed QC, tests and visualisations.
  • A released, mature tool e.g. SLAM, a published Python package that its team has improved at several BrainHacks.

Scale

How big is the goal and the team?
  • One focused question, a few people e.g. Bias correction of heterogeneous MRI images (2024): make one pipeline step robust to a specific artefact.
  • A lab-sized workflow e.g. Awake dog dMRI (2026): build a full preprocessing workflow for one dataset.
  • A community-wide effort e.g. NARPS Open Pipelines (2023): reproduce 70 fMRI analysis pipelines as an open resource.

Expertise needed

Who can join in?
  • No prior experience e.g. WISE (2024) helped people start Python from scratch, with no prerequisites.
  • Some coding or domain knowledge e.g. Surf(ac)ing fMRI data (2023) combined fMRIPrep, Workbench and nilearn; some Python recommended.
  • Advanced or specialist e.g. GPU porting of information-flow measures (2020) in the Frites package.
Develop software

Add features, tests, docs or speed to a tool, new or existing.

Build a pipeline

Chain tools into a reproducible workflow, or make one more robust.

Analyse data

Bring your dataset and a question; find the right method together.

Organise & share data

Standards like BIDS, lab notebooks, metadata, open data.

Model & theorise

Implement, adapt or stress-test a computational model.

Learn & teach

Hands-on sessions to help others pick up a tool or language.

Past projects

A selection of projects from BrainHack Marseille 2020 - 2026, to give you a feel for the variety. They are examples, not a template: your project doesn't have to look like any of them.

Software2020 - 2026

SLAM: Surface anaLysis And Modeling

An open-source Python package for neuroanatomical surfaces from MRI. Its team has come back at several editions to improve CI, tests, tutorials and features with new contributors.

Released toolPythonMRI
View project
Software2023

NARPS Open Pipelines

A codebase reproducing the 70 fMRI pipelines of the NARPS study, to study analytical variability. Good first issues included documentation and writing tests.

Existing codebasefMRIReproducibility
View in 2023 edition
Software2023

PTVR: virtual-reality perception experiments in Python

An open-source library that lets researchers build reproducible VR vision experiments with high-level Python scripts, in the spirit of PsychoPy.

Existing libraryPythonBehaviour
View in 2023 edition
Software2023

MYOnset: detecting EMG onsets

A Python package for detecting muscle-activity (EMG) burst onsets and offsets in typical reaction-time experiments, a step few existing tools handled well.

Existing packagePythonEMG
View in 2023 edition
Software2020

GPU porting of information-flow measures

Add GPU implementations to the Frites package so that directed information flow can be estimated on large brain networks, with a CPU/GPU switch for users.

Existing packagePythonGPU
View in 2020 edition
Software2026

Braina: an AI agent for brain-interaction analysis

Bring your own neural time series and learn to study brain interactions with the Frites and HOI packages, while testing an AI agent under development.

Under developmentPythonAI agents
View project
Pipelines2024

Bias correction of highly heterogeneous MRI images

A small, focused goal: make one step of the Macapype pipeline robust to strong intensity bias in some non-human primate MRI acquisitions.

Focused fixMRINon-human primates
View in 2024 edition
Pipelines2026

Methodological challenges in awake dog dMRI

Collaboratively build a practical diffusion-MRI preprocessing workflow, from data integrity checks and motion correction to registration and quality control.

Basic structureFSLDiffusion MRI
View project
Pipelines2026

EyePrep: a BIDS-App for eye-tracking preprocessing

Turn fragmented eye-tracking preprocessing into a standard, reproducible tool, with automated quality-control metrics and before/after visualisations.

Basic structureBIDSEye tracking
View project
Pipelines2023

Surf(ac)ing fMRI data

Combine open tools (fMRIPrep, HCP Workbench, nilearn) into a pipeline for surface-based fMRI analysis, benchmarked on sample BIDS data.

Combining toolsfMRIPython
View in 2023 edition
Pipelines2020 - 2021

Macapype: segmentation-to-mesh pipeline

A pipeline for segmenting non-human primate anatomical MRI and building surface meshes, developed further over consecutive editions.

Existing pipelineNipypeMRI
View in 2021 edition
Data analysis2026

How do we really measure shape similarity?

Part of a PhD project: find a metric, or a combination of metrics, that reliably ranks the similarity of 2D shapes explored by touch. One clear question, in Matlab.

Basic structureMatlabBehaviour
View project
Data analysis2026

Quantifying neural communication across brain regions

Test connectivity metrics on recordings from hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and nucleus reuniens to look for signatures of memory consolidation.

ConceptPythonElectrophysiology
View project
Data analysis2024

Beyond the Neurons: Exploring the Stars!

Characterise calcium activity in two types of glial cells around the spinal cord's central canal, and how they may interact with rhythm-generating neurons.

Own datasetCalcium imaging
View in 2024 edition
Data analysis2023

Developing a routine to analyse calcium signals

Combine FIJI/ImageJ plugins with Python code into one integrated analysis suite for population calcium imaging.

Lab toolingImageJPython
View in 2023 edition
Data analysis2022

Removing 1/f noise in LFP across recording systems

Compare ways of removing pink (1/f) noise from local field potentials recorded with different electrophysiology systems.

Method comparisonLFP
View in 2022 edition
Data analysis2022

16S metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiome

A reminder that projects don't have to be about the brain: a computational analysis of gut microbiome sequencing data.

Beyond neuroscienceBioinformatics
View in 2022 edition
Data & open science2023 - 2026

Electronic lab notebook (eLabFTW) and BIDS conversion

Replace paper lab notebooks: design eLabFTW forms for specific experiments and write Python tools to convert the recorded metadata to BIDS.

Basic structureBIDSPython
View project
Data & open science2021 - 2022

BIDS for electrophysiology

Work on extending the BIDS data standard to electrophysiology and on sharing electrophysiological data openly.

StandardsOpen data
View in 2022 edition
Data & open science2020

eCOBIDAS: a web app that writes your methods section

A web app that guides you through reporting your neuroimaging methods and writes the methods section for you.

Web appReproducibility
View in 2020 edition
Data & open science2022

A Brainhack projects database

Collect and organise information about Brainhack projects so that they are easier to find and build on.

CommunityMetadata
View in 2022 edition
Modelling2024

Understand and adapt the Hybrid Predictive Coding model

Start from someone else's published code: understand how the model works, adapt it to a sound dataset, and probe its predictions for timing research.

Existing codePython
View in 2024 edition
Modelling2023

Building models that interpret neuroimaging data

A new implementation of whole-brain models built on recent machine-learning tools, fitted to MEG data from the Human Connectome Project.

In developmentJAXMEG
View in 2023 edition
Modelling2026

One Cell Wonder

From developmental biology: simulate how a whole organism emerges from a single cell, using a cellular automaton with a live visualisation of the growing cell types.

ConceptJupyterBeyond neuroscience
View project
Modelling2022

Automatic detection of spiking motifs

Develop methods to detect repeating spike-timing patterns in neurobiological recordings.

Method developmentSpiking data
View in 2022 edition
Learning & experiments2024

WISE: Workflow Improvement by Shifting to python

Two days to start moving your analyses to Python, with no prerequisites: a ready-to-use environment, your own data, and people to help.

No code neededPythonBeginners
View in 2024 edition
Learning & experiments2022

Automate your processing pipelines with nipype / pydra

An overview of how nipype works, advice on whether it suits your processing, and hands-on help writing your own nodes and workflows.

Hands-on helpNipype
View in 2022 edition
Learning & experiments2022

Translating speech and music encoding code from Matlab to Python

Port existing analysis code for neural encoding of acoustic features from Matlab to Python.

Code translationMatlabPython
View in 2022 edition
Learning & experiments2026

AXB-ART: machine vs. human speech similarity

Deploy a web-based perceptual experiment and its data collection, then compare human judgements with similarity predicted from speaker embeddings.

Basic structurePythonOnline experiment
View project
Learning & experiments2022

PsychophyGit: fast, flexible online experiments

A tool for building and running online psychophysics experiments quickly.

ToolingOnline experiment
View in 2022 edition

Have something that doesn't look like any of these? Even better: submit it!

What makes a good proposal

You don't need everything polished; you can keep editing your proposal after submitting it. These points help participants pick your project and get started quickly.

  • A clear problemWhat are you trying to solve, for whom, and why does it matter?
  • Goals that fit two daysOne or two concrete things you'd be happy to have achieved by the end of the hacking days.
  • Good first issuesSmall, well-defined tasks newcomers can start on right away.
  • Skills you're looking forAnd what people can contribute even without them: testing, documentation and fresh eyes all count.
  • Data and resourcesWhat data or code people will work with, and how to get set up before the event.
  • What participants will learnA tool, a method, a dataset, a way of working: tell people what they'll take home.

How to submit

Fill in the form

Click Submit a project and complete the GitHub issue form. Dummy content is fine if you're missing something.

Tell us it's ready

Add a comment to your issue: "Hi @Brainhack-Marseille my project is ready!"

Quick review

A project monitor checks your proposal and helps you shape it if needed.

Goes online

Once approved, your project appears on the BrainHack Marseille 2027 website.

Pitch & hack

Present your project briefly at the event, gather a team and get hacking.

SUBMIT PROJECT

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to have code or results already?
No. Several past projects started as pure ideas (see One Cell Wonder or WISE). What matters is that you can describe the problem and are ready to minimally organise the work.
Is my project too small, or too big?
Probably neither. A single focused question with two or three people works well, and so does a chunk of a large community tool. For big projects, pick a part that can progress in two days.
Does it have to be about neuroscience?
Most projects are, but it isn't required. Past editions have included gut-microbiome analysis and simulations of embryonic development. The requirement is that the project is computational and aims to solve a problem.
Can my project be a tutorial or a learning session?
Yes. Projects such as WISE (learning Python from scratch) or the nipype/pydra project were built around helping others get hands-on with a tool.
Which programming languages and tools are OK?
Any. Python is the most common, but past projects have also used Matlab, ImageJ, FSL, JAX, web technologies and more.
Can I bring my own data?
Yes, many projects do. Make sure the data can be shared with your collaborators, or prepare a shareable sample or an open dataset for people to work on.
I don't have a GitHub account. Can I still submit?
Creating a GitHub account is free and takes a couple of minutes. If that's a blocker, email us at brainhack.marseille@gmail.com and we'll help you submit.
Can I submit with co-leaders, or lead more than one project?
Co-leading is welcome: the form has fields for leaders and collaborators. If you're thinking of leading several projects, get in touch so we can discuss it.
What is the deadline?
The submission deadline will be announced soon. Submitting early helps participants discover your project and prepare before the event.

Got an idea? Let's hack on it together.

BrainHack Marseille 2027 · 3 - 5 February 2027 · Timone campus, Marseille

Submit a project

Want help framing your idea? Write to brainhack.marseille@gmail.com