I am a computational neuroscientist interested in how biological systems efficiently learn models of the world and use them flexibly for decision-making under uncertainty. My work bridges reinforcement learning, representation learning, and biologically plausible learning rules, to develop theory-driven agents grounded in experimental data to explain neural computation, and translate these insights to improve AI systems and educational tools. I hope my work improves the quality of life for my family and wider community.

News

08/2026Invited talk at Ministry of Education, Singapore Tamil Teachers Conference
06/2026Poster: Preserving TD-Driven Place-Field Reorganization at Scale at COSYNE 2026, Lisbon
02/2026Invited talk at Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore
09/2025Invited talk at Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
08/2025Spotlight talk at Computational Psychiatry Conference 2025, Tübingen — €1,000 travel award

Experience

  • 2026 – Present Postdoctoral Fellow · Max Planck Institute for Biological CyberneticsAdvisor: Peter Dayan
  • 2023 – 2025 Postdoctoral Fellow · Harvard University SEASAdvisor: Cengiz Pehlevan
  • 2022 – 2023 Research Scientist I · CFAR, A*STAR
  • 2019 – 2024 Co-Founder & Principal Scientist · Nugen.ai
  • 2017 – 2018 Research Engineer · AI Initiative, A*STAR

Education

  • Ph.D. 2023 Computational Neuroscience · National University of SingaporeAdvisor: Andrew Tan · Biologically Plausible Computations Underlying One-Shot Learning of Paired Associations
  • B.Sc. 2017 Life Sciences (Hons. Distinction) · National University of SingaporeDouble Minor: University Scholars Programme & Special Programme in Science

Honors & Awards

Selected Publications

Nature 2026
Predictive Coding of Reward in the Hippocampus
Yaghoubi, M., Kumar, M. G., Nieto-Posadas, A., Mosser, C-A., et al.
Nature 651, 414–420 · 2026
Paper Code
ICML 2025
A Model of Place Field Reorganization During Reward Maximization
Kumar, M. G., Bordelon, B., Zavatone-Veth, J., Pehlevan, C.
ICML, Vancouver · 2025
Paper Code
Cerebral Cortex 2022
A Nonlinear Hidden Layer Enables Actor–Critic Agents to Learn Multiple Paired Association Navigation
Kumar, M. G., Tan, C., Libedinsky, C., Yen, S-C., Tan, A. Y.
Cerebral Cortex 32(18), 3917–3936 · 2022
Paper Code

→ Full publication list  ·  Google Scholar

B Biological Intelligence   A Artificial Intelligence   D Neurological Disorders

* Equal contribution  ·  ^ Equal senior authorship  ·  Google Scholar

In Preparation

B Hierarchical Spiking Computation with Feedback Alignment for Task-Driven Learning
Overweining, J., Kumar, M. G., Sompolinsky, H.
BAD Scalable yet Interpretable Meta-RL for Decision-Making with Uncertainty
Singh, A., Binz, M., Dayan, P., Kumar, M. G.

Journal Articles

BA One-Shot Learning of Paired Association Navigation using Biologically Plausible Schemas Under Revision
Kumar, M. G., Tan, C., Libedinsky, C., Yen, S-C., Tan, A. Y.
Journal of Neuroscience
Preprint Code
BA Hippocampal Neurogenesis with Cbln-4 Deletion Impairs Fear Conditioning Under Revision
Wang, J.*, Jagadeesh, V. S.*, Kumar, M. G., Libedinsky, C., Yen, S-C., Tan, A. Y., Polepalli, J. S.
Communications Biology
B Predictive Coding of Reward in the Hippocampus
Yaghoubi, M., Kumar, M. G., Nieto-Posadas, A., Mosser, C-A., Gisiger, T., Wilson, E., Pehlevan, C., Williams, S., Brandon, M.
Nature 651, 414–420 · 2026
Paper Code
BA A Nonlinear Hidden Layer Enables Actor–Critic Agents to Learn Multiple Paired Association Navigation
Kumar, M. G., Tan, C., Libedinsky, C., Yen, S-C., Tan, A. Y.
Cerebral Cortex 32(18), 3917–3936 · 2022
Paper Code

Conference Proceedings

A CompleteP for RL: Mitigating Inconsistencies when Scaling Reinforcement Learning In Press
Lee, A.*, Kumar, M. G.*, Bordelon, B., Pehlevan, C.
ICML, Seoul · 2026
BA A Model of Place Field Reorganization During Reward Maximization
Kumar, M. G., Bordelon, B., Zavatone-Veth, J., Pehlevan, C.
ICML, Vancouver · 2025
Paper Code
BD Neurocomputational Underpinnings of Suboptimal Beliefs in Reinforcement Learning Agents Spotlight Talk
Kumar, M. G.*, Manoogian, A.*, Pehlevan, C.^, Roads, S.^
CCN, Amsterdam (25% accept) · 2025
Paper Code
BA DetermiNet: A Large-Scale Diagnostic Dataset for Complex Visually-Grounded Referencing using Determiners
Lee, C.*, Kumar, M. G.*, Tan, C.
ICCV, Paris · 2023
Paper Code
AD Reject Option to Reduce False Detection Rates for EEG-Motor Imagery Based BCI
Kumar, M. G., Ang, K. K., So, R. Q.
EMBC, Korea · 2017
Paper

Book Chapters

BAD Trends, Innovations and Challenges in Employing Interdisciplinary Approaches to Biomedical Sciences
Kumar, M. G., Ayyadhury, S., Murugan, E.
In Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Ch. 20. Springer Nature · 2024
Chapter

Workshop Proceedings

BD Unsupervised Hebbian Learning Drives Biologically Interpretable Pattern Separation in a Hippocampal–Striatal Network Spotlight
Wang, J., Jagadeesh, V. S., Kumar, M. G., Libedinsky, C., Yen, S-C., Tan, A. Y., Polepalli, J. S.
AAAI Workshops, Singapore · 2026
A Tiny Personal Critic: A Lightweight Critic for Low-Compute Language Model Personalization
Singh, A., Kumar, M. G.
AAAI Workshops, Singapore · 2026
BA Human-like Compositional Learning of Visually Grounded Concepts using Synthetic Environments
Lim, Z., Kumar, M. G., Tan, C.
ICLR Workshops, Singapore · 2025
Paper
AD Generating and Validating Agent and Environment Code for Simulating Realistic Personality Profiles with LLMs
Cloos, N., Kumar, M. G., Manoogian, A., Cueva, C., Roads, S.
NeurIPS Workshops: Foundation Models For Science, Vancouver · 2024
Paper
BA Compositional Visual Grounding of Word Concepts through Embodied Reinforcement Learning
Lim, Z.*, Azaman, H.*, Kumar, M. G., Tan, C.
CVPR Workshops, Seattle · 2024
Paper

Research is only part of who I am. Here is a glimpse into the other things I care about.

Military Service

🎖️ Singapore Armed Forces

Service: February 2011 – Present  ·  Current Appointment: S3 Operations Officer

National Service is a cornerstone of Singaporean identity. Over more than a decade of reservist service, I served as Platoon Commander and Company Commander — roles requiring clear decision-making under uncertainty and leading teams under pressure. Skills that turn out to be surprisingly useful in research too.

Entrepreneurship

Applying research to real-world problems to create impactful solutions.

🔬 Noova Tech 2026 – Present

Consultant. Advising on AI strategy and product development at the intersection of neuroscience and technology.

🚀 Nugen.ai 2019 – 2024

Co-Founder and Principal Scientist. Built AI-driven tools for personalized learning and adaptive assessment, translating neuroscience principles of learning and memory into practical educational products.

📋 Agile Practitioner

Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) · Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
I enjoy sitting with people, understanding their problem statements, and figuring out what actually needs to be built.

Community

Interesting things happen when the community is empowered to innovate and lead.

🌺 NUS Tamil Language Society

Advisory Panel / Ex-President · August 2014 – Present

Mentoring student leaders and preserving Tamil language and culture on campus. I have produced, directed, and acted in student theatre productions — a creative outlet that keeps me honest about storytelling and communication.

🤖 Tamil + AI

Collaborating with AI Singapore to create educational videos for the AI for Everyone initiative in Tamil. making AI literacy accessible to Tamil-speaking communities. I served as Chairman of the Tamil+AI Conference 2019 — bringing together technologists and language community members to explore the intersection of AI and Tamil culture.

Travel & Adventure

I love exploring the world! Preferably with the least amount of walking.

✈️

Private Pilot (PPL)

I am a FAA-certified Private Pilot. Navigating landmarks at 5,000 ft requires 3D place fields.

🏍️

Motorcycle

It forces you to be present and situationally aware, or end up in the mud like I have.

🚗

Road Trips

When two wheels aren't enough, four will do. Long drives are good for thinking through hard problems, or zoning out and letting my system one take over.

🏋️

CrossFit

My wife convinced me it was fun. I believe she is right?