Omar Costilla-Reyes, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Computer-Aided Programming Research Group within the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. His primary research interest lies in developing neurosymbolic programming techniques to advance our understanding of the world. Omar's interdisciplinary research projects encompass various domains, including machine learning, programming languages, interpretability, digital mental health, mathematical discovery, and computational cognitive science for personalized education.

As the project manager of the multidisciplinary NSF Expeditions in Computing project, "Understanding the World Through Code," led by Prof. Armando Solar-Lezama, Omar strives to advance artificial intelligence and programming languages research for scientific discovery. He is also a leader in promoting artificial intelligence initiatives in Latin America.

Omar's recent research achievements span several disciplines, such as computer science, neuroscience, and mental health. In computer science, his work includes "Neurosymbolic Programming for Science" and "Lemma – Bootstrapping High-Level Mathematical Reasoning with Learned Symbolic Abstractions." In neuroscience, he has contributed to "Pattern Recognition of Deep and Superficial Layers of the Macaque Brain Using Large-Scale Local Field Potentials" and "Automatic Methods for Cortex-Wide Layer Identification of Electrophysiological Signals Reveals a Cortical Motif for the Expression of Neuronal Rhythms." In the field of mental health, he has been involved in projects related to schizophrenia and gait analysis, utilizing machine learning techniques to develop clinical insights.

Omar has also led various projects in mental health, Latin America, and education. These include "Senses and Art" in mental health, exploring the impact of artificial intelligence in Latin America, and addressing and countering hate speech through education as a preventative tool.

In terms of education and past positions, Omar has held postdoctoral research roles at the Institute for Medical and Engineering Sciences at MIT and the Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He earned his PhD from the University of Manchester, his Master's degree from the University of North Texas, and his undergraduate degree from Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico.

Omar Costilla-Reyes has demonstrated strong leadership abilities throughout his career. Between 2020 and 2022, he served as Vice President and Fundraising Chair for the MIT Postdoctoral Association. As Project Co-Lead of Senses and Art at MIT since 2020, he has aimed to alleviate anxiety and depression caused by the pandemic by fostering awareness and connection through various paths, such as touch with the Eyes, Feel the Space in Music, and Movement and Emotion.

In 2018, Omar founded the Artificial Intelligence Latin American SumMIT, where he led a team of graduate and undergraduate students at MIT, secured sponsorships, and invited Latin American leaders to support the initiative. In 2019, he was the lead organizer for the Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience: From Neural Dynamics to Artificial Agents mini-symposium at the Society of Neuroscience conference. This event brought together collaborating organizations, including Gatsby Research Unit (UCL), Center for Theoretical Neuroscience (NYU), U Washington, Stanford, and DeepMind.

Omar also led the organization of the Artificial Intelligence meets Neuroscience event at the MIT Cambridge Science Festival in April 2019. Between 2017 and 2019, he served as the Director of Machine Learning for Mexico, leading a group of Mexican scientists and engineers worldwide to collaborate on machine learning projects.

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