皇家华人

The Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences will be based in the Faculty of Brain Sciences and led by Professor Aikaterini Fotopoulou (UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences). It will be a focal point for the EDI research community at 皇家华人, adding value to current research partnerships and building stronger future capacity within and beyond the university.

One of the Centre鈥檚 main priorities will be to support research that identifies persistent areas of inequality, discrimination, exclusion or stigma听and look at how we can address these challenges. Its focus will be particularly on听the practice or content of brain and mind sciences and related health and wellbeing fields.

Researchers will aim to enhance current methods with pioneering psychological and neuroscientific methods 鈥� including AI, computational modelling, neuroimaging and augmented reality 鈥� to investigate inequalities and effective interventions, as well as explore new partnerships with industry and technological innovators.

The Centre will also support and promote research on the role of inequalities in scientific culture and representation more broadly. For example, racial, gender and cultural inequalities in psychological, neuroscientific and medical sampling have led to incomplete or biased understanding and treatments of many mental and physical health conditions, highlighting the need to incorporate EDI principles in scientific research.

Professor Fotopoulou said:

鈥淥ur vision is to build a world-leading research hub for EDI that establishes new global standards and becomes a beacon of equality expertise and best EDI practice. There are significant opportunities to strengthen research links and collaborations at 皇家华人, as well as to enhance practice.

鈥淭he Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences will not only identify EDI challenges but will focus on developing solutions. To expand our impact, we plan to develop a range of collaborations with new partners, including policy makers, digital innovators and representatives from industry.鈥�

Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences, said:

鈥淓DI is a key strategic priority for UCL and the Faculty, and we already have a strong record of EDI research and practice. I鈥檓 delighted that the Faculty鈥檚 new Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences will enable us to not only expand our EDI expertise in specific areas of the brain and mind, but to foster interdisciplinary research beyond these fields, while enabling partnerships beyond academia.鈥�

The launch will take place from 2-4pm on 19 April. Professor Fotopoulou will introduce the aims and vision of the Centre and Professor Hugo Spiers, Vice Dean for Enterprise within the Faculty of Brain Sciences, will discuss representation in psychology and neuroscience research samples. There will also be opportunities for networking and to hear about ongoing research projects.

Related

• The Centre for Equality Research in Brain Sciences
• Professor Aikaterini Fotopoulou鈥檚 academic profile

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