Many congratulations to MRC CoRE postdoctoral neuroscientist Dr. Abhinav Sharma on being awarded a Centre for Brain Research (CBR) - UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) Fellowship.

Based at the CBR and including a mobility component to support research visits to UK DRI Centres, Abhinav’s Fellowship programme aims to develop scalable tools for early detection and monitoring of cognitive decline and dementia risk in India and the UK. It will combine EEG brain recordings, blood biomarkers, and interpretable artificial intelligence to track cognitive vulnerability and resilience in ageing populations. The work is motivated by India’s growing burden of dementia and metabolic disease – a challenge that CBR is uniquely positioned to address. Its scientific and clinical relevance also extends to the UK where innovative approaches to monitoring brain health are in high demand.

The Fellowship includes a cross-institutional mentorship arrangement spanning the CBR at the Indian Institute of Science, the UK DRI, and the MRC CoRE at the University of Oxford. Abhinav will be mentored at the MRC CoRE by Professor Peter Magill and Associate Professor Ashwini Oswal, while the UK DRI mentorship will be provided by Dr Nir Grossman at Imperial College London.

Abhinav commented: “This fellowship is an ideal opportunity for me to help build scalable, biologically grounded tools for cognitive healthcare in real-world settings in India, while also generating insights that are highly relevant to ageing and dementia research in the UK. I am especially excited by the prospect of leveraging my cross-institutional mentoring to strengthen collaborations between CBR, UK DRI and Oxford across neural dynamics, biomarkers, cognitive ageing, and translational neurotechnology. I am grateful to all the senior leaders and mentors for supporting my work and for providing me this opportunity.”

CBR Director Professor K.V.S. Hari commented: “The CBR-UK DRI Postdoctoral Fellowship is part of CBR’s broader efforts to promote international partnerships in aging brain research, and we are pleased to welcome Abhinav to this programme. His focus on building scalable tools for cognitive health in India is precisely the kind of research this Fellowship was designed to nurture. We firmly believe that his contributions will further strengthen the collaborative ties between CBR and UK DRI.”

Professor Siddharthan Chandran, Director and CEO, UK DRI, said: “This Fellowship reflects the immense potential of UK-India scientific partnership to address some of the most pressing challenges in brain health. By combining clinical insight, technological innovation, and collaborative research across our institutions, Abhinav’s work exemplifies globally connected data driven science that will shape the future of dementia research and care.”

MRC CoRE Director Peter Magill commented: “We are delighted for Abhinav. This Fellowship is richly deserved. Abhinav is an outstanding researcher, and a valued colleague and collaborator. We look forward to supporting Abhinav to realise his research ambitions.”

We are pleased to announce that the MRC CoRE in Restorative Neural Dynamics has launched a new partnership with the NHS National Centre for Neurotechnology and Neurorestoration in Newcastle.

The NHS National Centre for Neurotechnology and Neurorestoration (NCNN) is hosted by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, in collaboration with Newcastle University. Led by Dr Luke Bashford and Mr Mohammed Akbar Hussain, it is the UK’s flagship centre dedicated to supporting clinical trials of new and emerging neurotechnologies for the treatment of brain and nervous system conditions.

MRC CoRE Director Peter Magill commented “We are delighted to be partnering with Luke, Mohammed and colleagues at the NCNN. Their complementary expertise and dedicated end-to-end infrastructure open exciting opportunities for accelerating the adoption of neurotechnologies for research and therapy. The synergy with our Challenge is clear, and we look forward to working with the NCNN to empower the clinical exploitation of neural dynamics by advanced medical devices for improved patient outcomes.”

NCNN Scientific Director Luke Bashford commented “The MRC CoRE RND is uniquely positioned within the UK to bridge discovery and translational research on neural dynamics and device-based interventions. The National Centre for Neurotechnology and Neurorestoration will help ensure their groundbreaking developments are available clinically to benefit those living with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions and further our understanding of the human brain. The partnership showcases our collective excellence in basic science and healthcare research for neuroscience and neurotechnology.” 

Congratulations to MRC CoRE Leadership Team member Dr Ashwini Oswal on being awarded the title of Associate Professor by the University of Oxford.

Associate Professor titles are conferred annually in recognition of an individual’s distinction in their field as well as their wider contributions to research, teaching and administration/citizenship.

MRC CoRE Director Professor Peter Magill commented “We are delighted for Ash. This title is richly deserved, reflecting Ash’s outstanding research contributions as a clinician-scientist as well as many other sterling achievements.”

Many congratulations to MRC CoRE postdoctoral researcher Dr. Joram van Rheede on being awarded an Open Fellowship by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

EPSRC Open Fellowships are a prestigious individual award aimed at ambitious and talented researchers who wish to develop, expand or establish a programme of research.

Joram will use his 5-year Fellowship to establish an independent research programme that is focused on the development of ‘smart’ device-based stimulation approaches that can optimally interact with the human brain across the entire sleep-wake cycle. Joram will take up his Fellowship at the University of Oxford in April 2026.

Joram commented: “Sleep is crucial for our brain health, yet current brain stimulation therapies are mainly tested during waking hours. My new research team and I aim to develop better devices for 24/7 preclinical research, with a view to enabling sleep-stage dependent brain stimulation therapy for people living with neurological conditions. I am very grateful for the support leading up to this programme, particularly that from my mentors Professor Andrew Sharott and Professor Timothy Denison. I am excited to start work on this programme and increase the speed at which new insights into brain stimulation can be developed into better therapies for patients.”

MRC CoRE Director Professor Peter Magill commented: “We are thrilled for Joram. He is an outstanding researcher, and his Fellowship is thoroughly deserved. Joram’s research vision is in excellent alignment with the MRC CoRE’s discovery and translational research portfolios, and we look forward to collaborating with Joram during his Fellowship.”