Join Us for Insightful Events and Workshops

Neuroimaging has revolutionized our understanding of the human brain. After the first wave of studies over the last two decades, a new set of innovations have created a second revolution in human brain imaging. The Innovations in Neuroimaging Methods Conference (INMeC) will bring together an international and diverse cohort of experts in cognitive neuroimaging to assess the current state of human brain research and identify future directions.

The conference will consist of research presentations, panel discussions on “Women in Neuroscience” and “Neuroimaging in the UAE and MENA region,” a poster session, and tutorials for students and junior researchers on cutting-edge neuroimaging tools. 

More information and registration details will follow. In the meantime, please mark your calendar and send any questions to the conference organizers: Olivia Cheung and David Melcher.

Speakers

• Yanchao Bi, Peking University, China
• Olivia Cheung, United Arab Emirates University, UAE
• Olivier Collignon, UC Louvain, Belgium
• Ida Gobbini, University of Bologna, Italy
• Clayton Hickey, University of Birmingham, UK
• Angelika Lingnau, Regensburg University, Germany
• Liuba Papeo, CNRS, Lyon, France
• Marius Peelen, Donders Institute for Mind and Brain, Nijmegen, Netherlands
• Nathan Weisz, University of Salzburg, Austria
• Clayton E. Curtis, Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, NYU

Organized by

• David Melcher, Professor of Psychology; Global Network Professor of Psychology, NYU Abu Dhabi
• Olivia Cheung, United Arab Emirates University, UAE

Please see the webpage here for registration 

Upcoming CBH Seminar by Prof. Dr. Bassem Yammout, President of MENACTRIMS, Professor of Neurology and director of the Neurology Institute at Harley Street Medical Center happening at NYUAD C1-120, 9:30 AM where he will present about MS etiology, prognosis and treatment.

Upcoming CBH Seminar by Younes Valibeigi, PhD Candidate from The Neuro. Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University happening at NYUAD A6-009, 11 AM where he will present about microstimulation of V4 domains modulates visual perception in non-human primates.

CBH hosted Prof. Alan Evans, Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University, for a seminar on how large-scale data integration is reshaping neuroscience. Drawing on experience from building population-level imaging resources and advanced analytic frameworks at McGill, he discussed how international collaborations enable harmonized data collection and shared computational infrastructures across research communities. The seminar highlighted lessons learned from creating open, interoperable platforms and how global partnerships accelerate discovery in brain mapping and neurodevelopment.

CBH hosted Prof. Efthymios Papatzikis, Professor of Neuroscience & Medical Psychology at Canadian University Dubai, for an insightful seminar on sound perception and neural development in premature infants. The talk presented a multi-level EEG signal denoising and analysis framework using frequency–entropy investigation, embedded within NICU family-centered care approaches.

The NYUAD Center for Brain and Health (CBH) hosted an Open MS Research Day. A community-focused event that brought together researchers and people living with Multiple Sclerosis, including the MS Ambassadors of the National MS Society UAE. Participants engaged directly with scientists to learn how ongoing research can advance MS care and improve quality of life. Interactive demonstrations showcased innovative haptics, therapeutic gaming, biofeedback tools such as a modernized 9-Peg Hole Test, and game-based cognitive assessments measuring processing speed. Attendees also experienced virtual-reality platforms designed to monitor visual changes associated with optic neuritis. The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, supported by NYUAD Core Technology Platforms, demonstrated how intelligent robotic systems could assist individuals living with MS and how continued AI research may enhance patient support. Participants further explored how neuroscience, clinical partnerships, and advanced imaging at CBH are shaping the future of MS research and treatment. We are grateful to the Public Health Research Center for supporting this community initiative.

CBH proudly sponsored the Ibn Sina Neurotech School, at New York University Abu Dhabi

Organized by Arabs in Neuroscience – AiN, the school brought together an inspiring group of early-career researchers from across the MENA region, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe for an intensive, hands-on experience in cutting-edge neuroscience and neurotechnology.

Throughout the week, participants engaged in:
– Foundational lectures in neuroscience and neurophysiology
– Practical sessions with EEG, fMRI, and neural data acquisition
– Data analysis, modeling, and final project presentations

It’s a privilege to support initiatives that are building local and regional capacity in neuroscience, fostering cross-border collaboration, and helping shape the next generation of neurotechnology leaders.

Learn more about the school here.

We are pleased to share the success of the recently concluded 3rd Annual Brain Health Workshop, which was held to explore the latest advancements in brain health research and provide valuable hands-on experiences in MRI and genetic analysis.

The workshop brought together a diverse group of advanced undergraduate students, early graduate students, and biomedical research professionals from across the UAE. The event provided a unique opportunity to deepen knowledge in the application and interpretation of brain imaging and genetic data, guided by national and international research experts.

Participants had the chance to dive into both basic and advanced concepts of MRI and genetic analysis, with a special focus on understanding brain health. Throughout the event, experts led a series of hands-on sessions that allowed participants to work directly with large open science datasets, particularly in the context of obtaining normative data for comparison with data acquired within the UAE.

The workshop’s comprehensive agenda covered a range of topics, including:

• An introduction to MRI and MR physics

• Overview of MRI data types, formats, and structures

• MRI analysis pipelines, both local and cloud-based

• Data integrity and quality control techniques

• MRI data visualization and interpretation

• Pre-processing and processing of brain imaging data, including structural and perfusion MRI

• Structural quantification, parcellation, and neural marker extraction

• Incorporating non-imaging measures, such as demographics, into data fusion

• Genetic analysis of brain imaging traits

• Multivariate analysis linking brain imaging with behavior and genetics

Attendees also gained valuable insights into the broader field of brain science research, opening new doors for research and career opportunities in the UAE.

The workshop was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the Center for Brain and Health and the Research Institute at New York University Abu Dhabi.

We would like to extend our gratitude to all the speakers, participants, and organizers for making this event a resounding success. Stay tuned for more exciting opportunities to engage in the fascinating world of brain health research!

The Center for Brain and Health successfully hosted its first annual Winter Symposium on Global Neuroimaging from January 13 to 15, 2025, at the NYU Abu Dhabi campus. This landmark event brought together leading experts and enthusiasts in the field to explore cutting-edge advancements in neuroimaging across three key domains:

• Global Imaging and Standardization
• Translational and Clinical Imaging
• Normative and Healthy Brain Imaging and Function

The symposium also featured a highly interactive half-day workshop on Perfusion Imaging, offering attendees hands-on experience with the latest techniques and tools.

With 13 distinguished guest speakers from diverse backgrounds and over 70 attendees participating over the three days, the event fostered meaningful dialogue and collaboration. Beyond the academic program, the symposium included a special half-day social event, where guests visited the iconic Abrahamic Family House and enjoyed an early dinner at the scenic Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, creating opportunities for networking and connection.

This inaugural symposium marked a significant milestone in advancing global neuroimaging research and collaboration, setting the stage for future editions. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to drive innovation in the field.

The Center for Brain and Health (CBH) was delighted to host the first CBH Social Event of 2024/2025 academic year, which took place at A2 atrium. The guests got together for a brief social event, engaged in converstations with members from different teams and enjoyed some refreshments. 

Dr Mohamed Ameen from Universit of Salzburg  presented at an insightful CBH seminar on Aperiodic Brain Activity to Track Sleep Dynamics.

CBH hosted a seminar with the guest speaker Zhongpeng Dai, a PhD candidate from Southeast University China.

CBH successfully hosted the second annual Brain Health Workshop, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23 and 24, 2024.

Professor Alessio Fracasso – Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Glasgow, Scotland, UK and a Visiting Research Fellow at NYUAD presented a thought provoking CBH seminar on Cortical Myelin Trajectories Across the Human Lifespan, Approaches Towards Individualized Strategies in Medicine and Neuroscience.

Dr. Tanmoy Maita and Dr. Shivam Mittal from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi joined us for an interacting and compelling CBH seminar that was hosted at NYUAD on March 20, 2024.

Visual attention is essential for visual perception; it enables us to selectively process information across space, visual dimensions, and time. In this CBH seminar, Professor Marisa Carrasco; Julius Silver Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, Collegiate Professor at New York University, New York, focused on two types of covert spatial attention: Endogenous attention, which is voluntarily deployed and sustained, and exogenous attention.

The Center for Brain and Health hosts monthly social events with the 4th one of the 2023/2024 academic year one happening on March 4, 2024

Professor Maxime Descoteaux from Sherbrooke University, Canada was hosted in a CBH seminar where he focused on the 160,000 km of human brain white matter, its integrity and how non-invasive diffusion MRI can be used to develop novel biomarkers sensitive to demyelination, axonal disruption and neuroinflammation.  

The Center for Brain and Health hosts monthly social events with the 3rd one of the 2023/2024 academic year one happening on February 20, 2024

CBH was pleased to host a seminar with Dr. Nikola Stikov from École Polytechnique, University of Montreal and a Visiting Research Fellow at NYUAD. Where he gave a historical perspective of publishing and science communication, emphasizing the need for transparency, data and code curation and introduced the NeuroLibre reproducible preprint server (neurolibre.org), aiming to go beyond the PDF and point the way toward the research article of the future.

Karolis Degutis a PhD candidate from Max Planck School of Cognition and Humboldt University was hosted for a CBH seminar where he examined the role of dynamic coding and rotated neural subspaces as potential mechanisms of how the visual cortex can simultaneously multiplex working memory and perceptual information during visual distraction. He also discussed another study, where he examined the functional roles of different cytoarchitectonic layers of the PFC during high and low working memory load by employing ultra-high-resolution laminar fMRI. 

Omnia Hassanin, a PhD student at the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. presented an insightful CBH Seminar on Predicting Binocular Retinotopic Organization From Monocular Input in which her research focuses on developing computational and machine learning frameworks to model the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying health and disease states. 

The Center for Brain and Health hosts monthly social events with the 2nd one of the 2023/2024 academic year one happening on January 15, 2024

The Center for Brain and Health (CBH) was delighted to host the very first CBH Social Event, which took place on Monday, November 20, 2023,