Daniel D. Leeds

Professional, Research

Research interests
Research projects
Publications
Presentations
Reports

Research Interests:

Signal processing, machine learning, biological modeling, human cognition (among many other topics)

More specifically: I am interested in modeling neural encoding of perceptual data.

Research Projects:

Presently, I am working on models of object recognition in the brain. I am developing methods to determine fMRI voxel-based selectivities in the later stages of the ventral stream vision pathway.

In Fall 2009, I completed a study of hierarchical, probablistic sparse encodings for speech sounds, incorporating insights from neuroscience. I implemented a model to capture non-linear, factorial structure in the spike codes produced by Smith and Lewicki, 2006.

Previously, I have developed several tools to analyze physiological signals for medical diagnoses and for biological research.

Automated auscultation: I have created software to produce two-dimensional visualizations of the distributions of patients in diagnostically-relevant high-dimensional feature spaces, expanding upon cardiac sound analysis at the MIT Computer Science/Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
Economy of effort in speech: I have explored the kinematics of human speech, at the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics Speech Group.
Statistical structure of bird song: I have studied the statistical structure of zebra finch communication, at Rockefeller University.

Publications:

M Dogar, V Hemrajani, D Leeds, B Kane, and S Srinivasa, "Proprioceptive localization for mobile manipulators." Pittsburgh, PA: CMU; 2010. CMU-RI-TR-10-05. [pdf]
Z Syed, D Leeds, D Curtis, F Nesta, R A Levine, and J Guttag, "A framework for the analysis of acoustical cardiac signals," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 54(4), April 2007. [link]

Presentations:

DD Leeds, DA Seibert, JA Pyles and MJ Tarr, "Uncovering the visual components of cortical object representation," Statistical Analysis of Neural Data, May 2012.

DA Seibert, DD Leeds, JA Pyles and MJ Tarr, "Exploring computational models of visual object perception," Vision Sciences Society, May 2012. poster
DD Leeds, DA Seibert, JA Pyles and MJ Tarr, "Unraveling the visual and semantic components of object representation," Vision Sciences Society, May 2011. [poster, appendix]
DD Leeds and MJ Tarr, "Searching for the visual components of cortical object representation," Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center All Hands Meeting, January 2011. [video]
A Nestor, DD Leeds, JM Vettel and MJ Tarr, "Neurally-derived representations for face detection," Statistical Analysis of Neural Data, May 2010. [poster]
Z Syed, D Leeds, D Curtis, J Guttag, "Audio-visual tools for computer-assisted diagnosis of cardiac disorders," Computer Based Medical Systems 2006, June 2006. [link]

Reports:

Assisted Auscultation: Creation and Visualization of High Dimensional Feature Spaces for the Detection of Mitral Regurgitation (M.Eng. Thesis 2006) [pdf]
Independent Manifolds in the Zebra Finch Song: A Strategy for Robust Social Interaction (Intel Science Talent Search submission 2000/2001) [pdf]