The goal of this new IBI initiative is to advocate for the meaningful involvement of Indigenous persons and communities in new technologies, particularly those related to the brain and mind.

The International Brain Initiative (IBI) is pleased to announce that Dr. Noor Al Dahhan (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, SickKids), has been awarded the 2025 IBI–Canada Early Career Neuroscientist Award.

IBI Crosscultural Working Group member, Dr. Olivia Matshabane, was recently awarded one of the 2025 International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) Rising Stars Awards.

The IBI Early Career Neuroscientist Award (Canada) is now accepting applications! The award will support an eligible Postdoctoral Fellow or Early Career Faculty member at a Canadian institution to attend the 2025 IBI Daegu Conference: Emotional Brain Mapping in Health & Disease, on October 20 – 22, 2025, in South Korea.

Representing Cameroon, Dr. Alfred K. Njamnshi (IBI Neurodiplomacy Working Group Lead) participated at UNESCO's Intergovernmental Meeting on the draft Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology held on May 12 - 16, 2025 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.

The International Neuroethics Society’s Public Communication and Publishing Affinity Group released its second issue of the Neuroethics Magazine on global neuroethics.

IBI Members were present at the International Neuroethics Society’s Annual General Meeting (Neuroethics 2025) held at Munich, Germany on April 23-25, 2025. The IBI Neuroethics Working Group hosted a joint session with IEEE Standards on Global Neuroethics, and explored opportunities and challenges in developing cross-national ethical frameworks for neuroscience and neurotechnology. The panel featured Drs. Marcello Ienca, Tamami Fukushi, Katherine Bassil, Jennifer Chandler, and Judy Illes. In addition, Dr. Linda Chaabane presented on the work of IBI Partner, Euro-BioImaging, during its session on portable AI-enabled MRI technologies (pMRI).

The IBI is excited to launch joint fellowship opportunities with host institutions from around the world, including Canada, Germany, South Korea, and China!

IBI Chair, Dr. Judy Illes, recently hosted a discussion with Dr. Eero Rissanen on Neurocenter Finland’s role in global neuroscience collaboration. Dr. Rissanen is a neurologist and adjunct professor of neurology, and is the director of Neurocenter Finland.

A new national campaign led by the Canadian Brain Research Strategy urges policymakers to put brain health on the election agenda.

IBI Crosscultural Working Group member, Dr. Olivia Matshabane, is a fellow of the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI) and a Neuroethics Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry, at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. She recently co-authored an insightful article titled Two-eyed Seeing and other Indigenous perspectives for neuroscience, which underscores the value of including Indigenous Knowledge in neuroscience research. The article was co-led by Dr. Judy Illes and Dr. Melissa Perreault, alongside a team of international experts.

The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and allies, including the International Brain Initiative, call on communities around the world to stand up for science!

IBI Chair, Dr. Judy Illes, recently hosted a discussion with Drs. Peter Thorne and Cliff Abraham on the Aotearoa Brain Project’s role in global neuroscience collaboration.

IBI Crosscultural Working Group Lead, Dr. Melissa Perreault (University of Guelph), was featured at CBC’s The Early Edition with Stephen Quinn (February 17, 2025 episode). Dr. Perreault discussed Two-Eyed Seeing and bringing Indigenous perspectives into brain science.

Neuroethics Working Group Lead, Dr. Marcello Ienca, has obtained funding from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Bavarian HighTech Agenda to organize a symposium at the TUM Science & Study Center Raitenhaslach. The event, which will take place in the Spring of 2026, will showcase the IBI Neuroethics ethical framework for responsible AI-processing of neural data and bring together global leaders to discuss critical issues in neural data governance.

The IBI Neuroethics Working Group will be featured at the Annual Meeting of the International Neuroethics Society (INS) on April 23-25, 2025, in a joint session with IEEE Standards on Global Neuroethics. The panel—featuring IBI members Marcello Ienca, Tamami Fukushi, Katherine Bassil, Jennifer Chandler, and Judy Illes—will explore opportunities and challenges in developing cross-national ethical frameworks for neuroscience and neurotechnology.

The Finnish Cancer Center (FICAN), Neurocenter Finland, and public healthcare hospital biobanks have launched a joint project aimed at strengthening the conditions for personalized medicine in Finland.

University of British Columbia researchers, including IBI Chair Dr. Judy Illes, are working with Indigenous scholars and communities to bring Indigenous perspectives into brain science. In a paper published this week in Nature, Dr. Judy Illes, and IBI Crosscultural Working Group Lead, Dr. Melissa Perreault (University of Guelph), explore approaches to integrating Indigenous knowledge with Western approaches in neuroscience. The paper is a product of the Crosscultural Working Group of the International Brain Initiative.

Professor Anna Lydia Svalastog at Østfold University College, member of the IBI Crosscultural Working Group, is among the authors participating in a groundbreaking international study that shows how traditional knowledge can provide new perspectives on mental health and brain research. The study has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature.

Integrating Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in neuroscience can significantly broaden the understanding of the human brain and mind, as argued by the International Brain Initiative’s Crosscultural Working Group of researchers led by Professor Judy Illes from the University of British Columbia, Associate Professor Melissa Perreault from the University of Guelph, and including PhD Candidate Rudi Taylor-Bragge from Monash School of Psychological Sciences.