Keynote Speakers
Dr. Bharat Biswal
Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA
Prof. Biswal is renowned for his pioneering work in resting-state functional connectivity using fMRI, a breakthrough that reshaped modern cognitive and clinical neuroscience. His research explores intrinsic brain activity, focusing on how large-scale brain networks interact during rest and in clinical populations. He leads the Brain Connectivity Lab at NJIT, integrating methods like fMRI, EEG, and PET to study neurological and psychiatric disorders. His work has wide applications in understanding Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and brain injury. He has published extensively and received multiple honors for his contributions to brain imaging and network neuroscience.
Dr. Chandan J. Vaidya
Professor of Psychology and Vice Provost for Faculty, Georgetown University, USA
Prof. Chandan Vaidya is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying adaptive behavior across development. She directs the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at Georgetown University, investigating executive control, implicit learning, and their variations in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism. Her research involves multidisciplinary methods, comprising behavioral, neuropsychological, and structural and functional brain imaging. Further, her studies investigate how these adaptive mechanisms differ across individuals, particularly with respect to genetic functional polymorphisms of the dopamine system. Prof. Vaidya has contributed significantly to the field through her studies on frontal lobe development and functional brain imaging, enhancing our understanding of cognitive control in children. She also serves as an investigator at the Children’s Research Institute, Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Education, University of Haifa, Israel
Prof. Aviva Berkovich-Ohana is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research bridges contemplative science, consciousness studies, and neurophenomenology. She directs the Neurophenomenology Lab at the University of Haifa, where her work explores how practices like mindfulness meditation, lucid dreaming, and psychedelics influence self-perception, cognition, and brain dynamics. Utilizing neuroimaging techniques such as MEG, EEG, and fMRI, alongside behavioral assessments and first-person methodologies, her studies investigate the neural correlates of altered states of consciousness and self-boundary dissolution. Prof. Berkovich-Ohana has developed the Consciousness State Space (CSS) framework, a neuro-phenomenological model of consciousness and selfhood. Her research is supported by institutions like the Mind and Life Institute and the Bial Foundation. Her research has significant implications for education, mental health, and our understanding of the embodied self.
Dr. Charo Rueda
Full Professor of Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
Prof. Charo Rueda is a leading cognitive neuroscientist specializing in the development of attention and self-regulation during infancy and childhood. She directs the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at the University of Granada’s Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC). Her research employs EEG, eye-tracking, and MRI to study the neural bases of executive attention and inhibitory control in early development. Prof. Rueda has developed cognitive training programs to enhance attention and executive functions in children and has co-founded Neuromindset, a spin-off from the University of Granada dedicated to promoting cognitive development in children.
Dr. Samar Hussain
Associate Professor (Linguistics), Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Dr. Samar Husain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and is associated with the Cognitive Science program at IIT Delhi. He teaches courses in the areas of linguistics, cognitive science, statistics, and psycholinguistics. He is interested in how humans comprehend and produce language. His research group investigates sentence comprehension and production (with a special focus on South-Asian languages) using behavioral, corpus-based as well as computational methods.