Ross is currently a PhD student in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience at McGill University, working in the Network Neuroscience Lab with Dr. Bratislav Misic. Ross’ work investigates how seemingly minor variations in analytic methods between neuroscience research groups can lead to dramatically different scientific results and inferences. He is investigating how this methodological variability may impact the robustness of published neuroscience research, and working to develop open-source software resources and best practices to help researchers better understand these differences.

Research Project

Over the past decade neuroscience research has seen a proliferation of data sharing initiatives. Openly-available datasets—like genetic data provided by the Allen Institute for Brain Science—allow scientists to more easily ask complex questions about the brain; however, using these data requires developing new, advanced techniques, and science often progresses before researchers can reach consensus on associated best practices. With support from CONP, I am working to generate community resources for integrating genetic datasets with more widely-available neuroimaging data via the development of an open-source software toolbox (abagen) as well as supporting documentation and recommendations for use.