MISSION STATEMENT
The International Association for Mapping the Brain (IamBrain.org) was founded in 2020 as a multidisciplinary, international community of clinicians, scientists and researchers, strongly interested in brain mapping despite their diverse backgrounds and specialisms; fostering collaborations and networking; and participating in clinical and research initiatives, and exchange of ideas.
The Association has contributions from a number of clinical specialities (neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery, psychology, speech and language therapy, neuroimaging) and research specialities (anatomy, tractography, computer science and AI) aiming to study and understand the brain from its multiple facets.
The Association also aims to create a community of members participating in the above principles and contributing throughout the year and particularly through the Annual Meeting with oral and poster presentations and interactive discussions during the scientific sessions.
For those deeply interested in brain mapping for clinical care or scientific research, we extend a warm welcome and look forward to their contributions.
International Association for Mapping the Brain (IamBrain.org)
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
& DIVISIONS (2020-2023)
GEORGE SAMANDOURAS - LONDON, UK
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE CHAIR
MARSEL MESULAM - CHICAGO
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE/NEUROLOGY
GREGORY HICKOCK - IRVINE, USA
LANGUAGE/COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
CATHY PRICE - LONDON, UK
FUNCTIONAL NEUROIMAGING/LANGUAGE
MICHEL TIEBAUGHT DE SCHOTTEN
PARIS, FRANCE DTI/BRAIN CONNECTIVITY
ANTHONY DICK - MIAMI, USA
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
ROGER LEMON - LONDON, UK
MOTOR NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
GUILHERME RIBAS - SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
CORTICAL NEUROANATOMY
FION BREMNER - LONDON, UK
NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY
ARTHUR TOGA - LOS ANGELES, USA
NEUROIMAGING/INFORMATICS/ATLASING
MITCHEL BERGER - SAN FRANSISCO, USA
SURGICAL BRAIN MAPPING
ANDREW MCEVOY - LONDON, UK
EPILEPSY/NEUROSURGERY
ALEXANDRA GOLBY - BOSTON, USA
SURGICAL NEUROIMAGING
EDWARD CHANG - SAN FRANSISCO, USA
LANGUAGE/NEUROSURGERY
JUAN MIRANDA FERNANDEZ - STANFORD, USA
NEUROANATOMY/DTI/NEUROSURGERY
SOTIRIOS BISDAS - LONDON, UK
MULTIPARAMETRIC IMAGING
CHRIS KOUTSARNAKIS - ATHENS, GREECE
WHITE MATTER NEUROANATOMY
CERI DAVIES - LONDON, UK
GENERAL NEUROANATOMY
COMMITTEE PROFILES
GEORGE SAMANDOURAS - CHAIR
CONSULTANT NEUROSURGEON
THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR
NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
QUEEN SQUARE, LONDON
George Samandouras trained in Neurosurgery in Oxford receiving numerous teaching awards from the University of Oxford before becoming Consultant Neurosurgeon in November 2009 at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the world's first institution specializing in brain pathologies. He runs a neuro-oncology service with high volume awake craniotomies and resection of gliomas in eloquent parts of the brain. He is invited annually to present his work to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and other international societies. He is an invited member of the Executive Committee of the AANS/CNS joint section on tumours (2016-2022) currently serving a third term. His bestselling book "The Neurosurgeon's Handbook", Oxford University Press, has been translated to Chinese in 2015.
MARSEL MESULAM
RUTH DUNBAR DAVEE PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE & DIRECTOR, MESULAM CENTER FOR COGNITIVE NEUROLOGY AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, CHICAGO, USA
Marsel Mesulam obtained B.A. and M.D. degrees at Harvard University. He is past president of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping and of the Boston Society for Neurology and Psychiatry, and past vice president of the American Neurological Association. His research has addressed the neural connectivity of the monkey brain, organization of human cholinergic pathways, representation of cognitive functions by large-scale networks, and neurobiology of dementias. He has received the Potamkin Prize for research on Alzheimer’s disease from the American Academy of Neurology, the Javits Award from the National Institutes of Health, the McKnight Foundation Director’s Award, and the Bengt Winblad Life Achievement Award from the Alzheimer's Association. He held the Robert Wartenberg Lectureship and the H. Houston Merritt Lectureship of the American Academy of Neurology. His textbook, Principles of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, has been part of training programs in Neurology, Psychiatry, Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. His current research focuses on the functional imaging of neurocognitive networks, the factors that promote memory preservation in advanced age, and the treatment of dementias. His trainees in clinical, cognitive and basic neuroscience lead major research programs in the United States and abroad.
GREGORY HICKOCK
PROFESSOR, COGNITIVE SCIENCE
PROFESSOR, LANGUAGE SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF CALFORNIA, IRVINE, USA
Gregory Hickok’s research focuses on the neurobiology of language, speech, and hearing with application to understanding the nature of acquired language disorders (aphasia). He has published over 165 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters and edited several book volumes on the neurobiology of language and hearing. His research uses a multi-method approach including functional MRI, ECoG, neuropsychology, and computational modeling, and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health for the last three decades. He is also a PI on the NIH funded Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR). He was the inaugural Chair of the Society for the Neurobiology, founding director of UC Irvine’s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and Editor-in-Chief of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review from 2014-2019. He is the author of The Myth of Mirror Neurons: The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition.
ARTHUR TOGA
DIRECTOR, MARK AND MARY STEVENS NEUROIMAGING &INFORMATICS LAB
LOS ANGELES, USA
FOUNDING EDITOR, NEUROIMAGE
Arthur W. Toga has authored more than 1,000 publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, written and edited widely used books, including an encyclopedia on brain mapping, and is the founding editor of the journal NeuroImage. Building on decades of experience in brain mapping and atlasing, his research now focuses on identifying biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases, applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to the study of neuroscience, and creating increasingly detailed maps of the brain’s structure and function. He leads data sharing efforts on numerous large-scale studies of neurological diseases, including the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), and the Data Archive for the BRAIN Initiative (DABI), and is the principal investigator for the Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network, a premier data-sharing platform that connects researchers around the globe collecting and analyzing data on Alzheimer’s disease
CATHY PRICE
DIRECTOR, WELLCOME CENTRE FOR HUMAN NEUROIMAGING, LONDON, UK
PROFESSOR OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY, UCL
Cathy Price's research program aims to establish a functional anatomical model of language that predicts how speech and reading are lost and recovered following neurological damage or developmental delay. The hypothesis is that there are multiple ways that the brain can perform each language task (degeneracy). If this is true, then the effect of damage or developmental delay will depend on whether there is a surviving system available to sustain the task. To dissociate the neuronal systems for the same task, her group uses structural and functional MRI of subjects who vary in their cognitive abilities, demographics and neurological status. This allows them to characterize individual variability in the neuronal networks of neurologically normal populations and to examine how brain damage affects cognitive abilities in patient populations. In particular, her group aims to determine how the impact of damage to one system depends on the integrity of another
MITCHEL BERGER
PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR, BRAIN TUMOUR CENTRE
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, USA
Professor Berger is the Director of the Brain Tumor Surgery Program and Director of the Neurosurgical Research Centers. His main clinical interests are the treatment of brain tumours in adults and children. He has extensive expertise in the intraoperative mapping of the brain to identify the sites of the motor, sensory, and language function and thereby avoid their involvement or injury during surgery. His current research interests involve identifying molecular markers in gliomas as correlates of tumour progression and prognosis. Dr Berger is currently the Principal Investigator of UCSF's SPORE Brain Tumor Program, funded by the National Cancer Institute and NINDS. His articles, books and lectures have changed the practice of neurooncology worldwide.
ROGER LEMON
EMERITUS SOBELL PROFESSOR OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
QUEEN SQUARE INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY, UCL
Roger Lemon is currently Emeritus Sobell Professor of Neurophysiology at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology at UCL. He is a past Director of the Institute. He is a Fellow and past Council Member of the Academy of Medical Science. He was awarded the Fyssen Prize in 2015 and is an International Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His main research interest is the control of skilled hand movements by the brain and is prompted by the need to understand why hand and finger movements are particularly affected by damage to the cortex, and its major descending pathways. He has a life-long interest in the organisation, electrophysiology and function of the corticospinal tract, and its involvement in stroke, spinal injury or motor neurone disease. He has carried out studies in human volunteers and stroke patients, as well as in purpose-bred non-human primates, since these provide the best available model for the human sensorimotor system controlling the hand.
ANDREW MCEVOY
CONSULTANT NEUROSURGEON
THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR NEUROLOGY
AND NEUROSURGERY
QUEEN SQUARE, LONDON, UK
Andrew McEvoy is a world-leading Consultant Neurosurgeon at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and Institute of Neurology in London. He has the largest adult epilepsy surgical practice in the UK and leads the surgical arm of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy which is the renowned, preeminent epilepsy research group in Europe. Mr McEvoy performs all surgical therapies for the management of epilepsy such as temporal lobe resections, hemispherectomy, corpus callosotomy, vagal nerve stimulation and gamma knife surgery. He has a number of ongoing research interests examining the technique of EEG-fMRI, the evaluation of functional deficit following epilepsy surgery resection and imaging of the optic radiation to prevent visual field defects in temporal lobe surgery. He was listed in The Times 2010 top UK doctors for his epilepsy and brain tumour surgery
MICHEL TIEBAUGHT DE SCHOTTEN
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
BRAIN CONNECTIVITY AND
BEHAVIOUR LABORATORY (BCBLAB)
SORBONNE UNIVERSITIES, PARIS, FRANCE
Michel Thiebaut de Schotten has been in the field of neuroimaging for just about a decade, but he has already established himself as a leader in the field with a solid scientific track record. He has contributed a number of innovative methods and fundamental new discoveries that have important implications for theories of brain structure and function. Hence his work spans the whole gamut from the development of novel methodology to experimental work to theory. Critically, he is dedicating significant effort toward the clinical translation of his neuroscience work through an open model approach that makes his tools freely accessible to the community. He has co-authored with Marco Catani the book "Atlas of Human brain connections" OUP.
ALEXANDRA GOLBY
DIRECTOR OF IMAGE-GUIDED NEUROSURGERY
CO-DIRECTOR AMIGO (ADVANCED MULTI-MODALITY IMAGE-GUIDED OR), CO-DIRECTOR CLINICAL fMRI HALEY DISTINGUISHED CHAIR IN THE NEUROSCIENCES, PROFESSOR OF NEUROSURGERY & RADIOLOGY, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
Dr. Golby’s clinical practice is focused on image-guided neurosurgery with special interests in surgery for patients with brain tumors and epilepsy, particularly those whose disease is intimately involved with critical brain regions. Using advanced multi-modal imaging and intra-operative image-guidance, Dr. Golby performs precise, minimally invasive, and personalized surgery. In addition to conventional open craniotomy for brain tumors, she is also specialized in laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), a minimally invasive technique that uses precisely guided laser heat to destroy tumors in the brain. Dr. Golby performed the first clinical use of LITT for brain tumor in New England in 2010. This technique is particularly helpful for tumors deep in the brain or those that are difficult to access using conventional approaches. Her research involves the development and application of preoperative and intraoperative imaging techniques to optimize surgical treatment of neurosurgical patients with brain tumors. Her research is highly translational and uses structural, functional and molecular imaging techniques to improve neurosurgical planning and intraoperative decision-making.
EDWARD CHANG
PROFESSOR AND CHAIRMAN,
DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, USA
An internationally renowned surgeon–scientist, Chang specializes in the treatment of epilepsy, brain tumors, and cranial nerve disorders, with a focus on advanced brain mapping to preserve critical areas for speech and motor function and implantation of neurostimulation devices to relieve seizures, pain, and other disorders. His research focuses on the brain mechanisms that underlie the perception and production of speech. With publications in Cell, Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, and Neuron, the Chang Lab has made fundamental discoveries that not only advance the field, but also provide basis for the translational development of future speech prosthetic devices. As co-founder and co-director of the Center for neural engineering and prosthesis Chang leads a collaborative group of experts across UCSF and the University of California, Berkeley, to develop state-of-the-art biomedical technology that restores function for patients with neurological disabilities such as paralysis and speech disorders. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar with over 200 peer-reviewed publications, he also contributes to other areas of research, including in the improvement of seizure localization and epilepsy treatment; neural circuits of depression and pain; and potential targets for therapeutic neurostimulation.
GUILHERME RIBAS
PROFESSOR OF SURGERY, UNIVERSITY OF SAO PAULO
MEDICAL SCHOOL, SAO PAULO NEUROSURGEON, ALBERT EINSTEIN HOSPITAL, BRAZIL
Professor Ribas runs a research laboratory at the Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, focusing on microneurosurgical anatomy and on cranial neurosurgical techniques; he has published more than 50 articles and 40 book chapters. He is a pioneer of stereoscopic publications in neurosurgical journals (Journal of Neurosurgery, December 2001, with its cover illustration), and his lectures are mostly done with 3D techniques since 1995. In 2010 his article The Cerebral Sulci and Gyri was the most accessed article of the whole Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group. He is a member of the editorial staff of the Neurosurgical Focus, Journal of Neurosurgery Video Supplement and reviewer for Neurosurgery, and World Neurosurgery.
JUAN CARLOS FERNANDEZ-MIRANDA
PROFESSOR OF NEUROSURGERY & SURGICAL SCIENCES, SURGICAL DIRECTOR, STANFORD BRAIN TUMOUR, SKULL BASE AND PITUITARY CENTRES, STANFORD, USA
Dr. Juan Fernandez-Miranda is Professor of Neurosurgery and Surgical Director of the Stanford Brain Tumor, Skull Base, and Pituitary Centers. He is internationally renowned for his expertise in minimally invasive brain surgery, endoscopic skull base and pituitary surgery, open skull base surgery, and complex brain tumor surgery. He has performed over a thousand endoscopic endonasal operations for pituitary tumors and other skull base lesions. He is highly regarded for his innovative contributions to the development and refinement of endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery, for his ability to select the most effective and less invasive approach to each individual patient, and for his precise knowledge of the intricate anatomy of the white matter tracts required to maximize resection and minimize morbidity on high and low grade glioma patients.
ANTHONY DICK
DIRECTOR, COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM
PI NIMH PROJECT AHEAD, CO-I NIDA ADOLESCENT BRAIN AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (ABCD) STUDY
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, MIAMI, USA
Anthony Dick is Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Florida International University. Using diffusion-weighted and functional imaging, Anthony studies the neurobiology of language and executive function. He is specifically interested in how these developing cognitive processes are mutually supported by distributed structural and functional neural networks that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. He primarily uses functional and structural neuroimaging methods in typical and atypical child populations from 4-years to 11-years. His current work as a PI of the NIMH Project AHEAD and a Co-I of the NIDA ABCD study focuses on fiber pathway development in language and executive function networks, with an emphasis on understanding the functional significance of newly identified fiber pathways such as the Frontal Aslant Tract, and historically significant pathways such as the Arcuate Fasciculus. Understanding the structure and function of these pathways contributes to theoretical advances in defining brain function and development, and additionally establishes potential markers of clinical response to treatment of developmental disorders.
FION BREMNER
CONSULTANT NEUROOPHTHALMOLOGIST
THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR NEUROLOGY
AND NEUROSURGERY, LONDON, UK
PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN
NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY SOCIETY
Fion Bremner is a consultant neuro-ophthalmologist at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery in London. One of his main research interests is the development of clinical tests to assist in the diagnosis and management of neurological diseases, including intraoperative perimetry during awake craniotomies. He has lectured in many countries of the world, and is the current President of the European Neuro-Ophthalmological Society (EUNOS). He has published around 100 papers and book chapters.
SOTIRIOS BISDAS
CONSULTANT NEURORADIOLOGISTS & MRI LEAD, THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY, QUEEN SQUARE, LONDON, UK,
PROFESSOR OF RADIOLOGY AND NEURORADIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON & UNIVERSITY OF TUBINGEN, GERMANY
Professor Sotirios Bisdas is renowned clinical Neuroradiologist and prolific researcher in the field of advanced and hybrid imaging techniques for neurological diseases with emphasis on Neurooncology. He is leading the Neurooncology imaging research group at Queen Square and has pioneered the first clinical applications of cutting-edge imaging like MR-PET and ultra-high field MR spectroscopy. Currently, his translational clinical research focus is on chemical exchange transfer saturation MRI, hyperpolarised-MRI, resting-state connectivity and diffusion-weighted MRI biomarkers for white matter integrity and microstructure in gliomas. He has authored more than 140 publications (h-index:39) and has received 6 awards for his innovative work.
CHRIS KOUTSARNAKIS
HEAD, NEUROANATOMY LAB, UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
HELLENIC CENTRE FOR NEUROSURGICAL RESEARCH, ATHENS, GREECE
Dr Christos Koutsarnakis is a Consultant Neurosurgeon with a specialist interest in surgical neuro-oncology, brain mapping and skull base surgery at the Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, Greece. He is also head of the micro neurosurgery laboratory and lecturer in Clinical and Experimental Neurosurgery at the University of Athens. He has carried out pioneering work into brain mapping and has authored many international publications. His has an extensive teaching background and has been a regular trainer at the White Matter Dissection Course organized by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) at the Evangelismos Hospital in Athens. He was awarded the first prize for best oral presentation at the 29th Hellenic Neurosurgical Conference for his work on ‘The cerebral isthmus: Definition, fibre tract anatomy and functional considerations’.
D. CERI DAVIES
PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON, UK
PAST PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ANATOMY ASSOCIATIONS, WORLD CONGRESS OF ANATOMY (2019)
Professor Davies is actively involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate education and is a Member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He has published in peer-reviewed journals on a wide range of topics including comparative neuroanatomy, neurodegenerative disease, septic encephalopathy, a number of aspects of clinical anatomy and anatomy education. Professor Davies is a Past President of the Anatomical Society. He is currently President of the Institute of Anatomical Sciences and Inspector of Anatomy for Ireland. He was President of the International Federation of Anatomy Associations World Congress of Anatomy, London, 2019.