Towards an International Instrument - Ad Hoc Expert Group
Pamela Andanda – Kenya
Pamela Andanda is Professor of Law at the Oliver Schreiner School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where she coordinates postgraduate intellectual property law course and chairs the University’s Advisory Committee on Ethics. Her research interests include intellectual property, biotechnology, health law, bioethics, privacy and data protection, and the governance of emerging health-related technologies with specific reference to respect for human rights. She was a member of the European Commission's expert group on the global governance of science. She is also a former member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee (IBC) and played an active part in the working group responsible for drafting the IBC's report on "Ethical issues of neurotechnologies".
Roberto Andorno – Argentina
Roberto Andorno is Associate Professor of Bioethics and Biomedical Law at the Faculty of Law, as well as Senior Research Fellow and Coordinator of the PhD Program in Biomedical Ethics and Law at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zurich (Switzerland). He was President of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare (ESPMH) and is currently a member of the Research Ethics Committee at the University of Lausanne. He is author of numerous articles on topics of biolaw, and more specifically on neurorights and neurosurveillance. He is the author of a report on neurotechnologies and neurorights in Latin America and the Caribbean ("Neurotecnologías y derechos humanos en América Latina y el Caribe: desafíos y propuestas de política pública"; report for the UNESCO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Paris, UNESCO, 2023).
Hervé Chneiweiss – France
Dr Hervé Chneiweiss, neuroscientist and neurologist, is Director of the Neuroscience-Paris Seine-IBPS Laboratory (CNRS INSERM Sorbonne University), and co-leader of the Glial Plasticity and Neuro-oncology team. Since 2013, he has been Chairperson of the Ethics Committee of the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM). In 2017, he was appointed expert to the OECD's BNCT ("Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Converging Technology") working party, for the elaboration of a good-practice guide for the medical use of neurotechnologies. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Neuroethics group of the International Brain Initiative and in 2024 was elected chair of the EBRAINS Ethics and Society Committee. Dr Chneiweiss is also a former member of the National Advisory Ethics for the Life Sciences and the former chairperson of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee (IBC).
Makarena Diana Dudley – New Zealand
Makarena Dudley is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, a position she has held since 2016. Her current research focuses on neurodegeneration and indigenous peoples (in particular, dementia in the Maori population). She has researched stroke recovery. She has 13 years' research experience in this field, and has developed a communication support software application, MedTech. She was appointed to the International Advisory Board on Alzheimer's Disease (2023) and is a member of the International Network for Indigenous Dementia Research. She was appointed Deputy Māori Director of the Brain Research Centre at the University of Auckland.
Najia El Abbadi - Morocco
Najia El Abbadi has been a professor of neurosurgery since 1990. She is the President of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) becoming the first woman in the world, as well as the first African and Arab woman, to assume this responsibility. She is also the first female neurosurgeon in Morocco. She’s also the head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cheikh Zaid International University Hospital in Rabat and chairman of the department of surgery at Abulcasis international university of health sciences. She is a founding-member and former president of the Mediterranean Association of Neurosurgery. She has also served as the president of the Pan-Arab Association of Neurosurgery. She’s currently a member of the World Academy of Neurosurgery. Prof El Abbadi has been director of the stereotactic surgery certificate program at Université Mohammed V since 2008. She’s also been President of the Women in Neurosurgery Committee of the WFNS. In this capacity, she was able to highlight the social difficulties of African women neurosurgeons worldwide.
Nevine Medhat El-Nahas – Egypt
Professor El Nahas is Director of the Ain Shams Neuromodulation and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. She has carried out extensive research in stroke and neurorehabilitation, for example on the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation combined with neuromuscular stimulation. She has also conducted research into gender differences in stroke in developing countries. She has extensive experience of non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, having shown positive effects in a variety of neurological disorders.
Nita Farahany – United States of America
Nita Farahany is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke Law School, the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society and principal investigator of the Cognitive Futures Lab and SLAP Lab. She is a past President of the International Neuroethics Society, an ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) advisor to the NIH Brain Initiative and an appointed member of the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Farahany is also an elected member of the American Law Institute, elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her service in Neuroethics, and a Commissioner to the Unform Law Commission. She is also a frequent commentator for national media and at scientific venues.
Riadh Gouider – Tunisia
Dr Gouider is the head of the Neurology Department and the Alzheimer Center at the Razi University Hospital in Manouba, Tunis. Additional he holds the position of professor of neurology at the Faculty of Medicine in Tunis. Since 2019, he has been actively involved in developing a tool for the iSupport program of the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, he serves as the director of the Laboratory of Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases and Psychiatric Disorders under the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Since 2020, he holds the position of General Secretary of the Tunisian Society of Telemedicine and E-Health (STTeS). Dr Gouider is a member of the WHO Global Dementia Observatory, the European Academy of Neurology’s Gender and Diversity Working Group, and foreign correspondent member in the French National Academy of Medicine (ANM). Moreover, he is co-chair of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) Education Committee.
Marcello Ienca – Italy
Marcello Ienca is a Professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, and the Deputy director of the Institute of Ethics and History of Medicine at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany. He is also heading the Intelligent Systems Ethics unit at the EPFL, Switzerland. Ienca is currently the Neuroethics Lead of the International Brain Initiative, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Neuroethics Society. He has been representing Switzerland at the OECD in the production of the Guidelines on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology. Professor Ienca served as an expert to the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council during the development of the report related to the motion resolution on neurotechnologies and human rights. He is serving as an expert advisor to the Council of Europe.
Judy Illes – Canada
Dr. Illes is Professor of Neurology and Distinguished Professor in Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia. She is Chair of the International Brain Initiative, co-Lead of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy, and Special Advisor on Ethics to the European EuroBioImaging consortium. She was the Canada Research Chair in Neuroethics from 2007-2021, and has served as an inaugural member of the US Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders of the National Academy Science, Engineering and Medicine, as Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Ethics, and of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction, of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and as a Director of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Illes, an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada, is widely credited as a pioneer of the field of Neuroethics. She received the Order of Canada in 2017 in recognition of her contributions. Dr. Illes is tapped frequently by national and international media for comment on the ethics of neurotechnology.
Ryota Kanai – Japan
Ryota Kanai is founder and CEO of Araya, Inc. and specializes in visual information processing in the human brain. Under his leadership, a group of Japanese researchers from universities and private companies recently published a guide to neurotechnology, aimed at providing information on the identification and development of reliable neurotechnology products. Ryota Kanai is actively involved in translating advancements in AI and neuroscience into practical industrial applications, a core focus of Araya. Kanai's contributions to the field have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Young Scientist Award from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. Since 2023, he has furthered his impact by serving as a keynote speaker at international conferences organized by UNESCO.
Nataliya Kosmyna - Ukraine
Dr Kosmyna is a research scientist specializing in development and design of non-invasive, end-to-end brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Coming from a background in artificial intelligence (AI), neuroscience and human computer interaction, she is passionate about the idea of creating a partnership between AI and human intelligence, a fusion of the machine with the human brain. Dr. Kosmyna focuses on the topic of cognitive enhancement and augmentation using BCIs. Dr Kosmyna developed several technological innovations, such as ‘AttentivU’, which uses BCI and machine learning to detect and analyze a person's brain activity in real time. Dr Kosmyna's solutions are successfully deployed in the classrooms, workspaces, aerospace and hospitals. She was awarded the L’Oréal Young Talent Award of the French national program in 2016 and she is recognized as one of France's top 10 talents in 2017 by MIT Innovators Under 35.
Evariste Bofanda Likinda – Democratic Republic of Congo
Evariste Likinda is a former Vice-Dean in charge of teaching at Mbandaka University's Faculty of Medicine. He is also Professor of Neurosurgery, Medical Ethics and Bioethics. Dr Likinda is a practicing neurosurgeon and former head of surgery at Mbandaka University Hospital. He is currently Chairman of the National Bioethics Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He currently serves as an expert on the Hospital Reform and Partnership Project at the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention. Dr Likinda is a former member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee (IBC), and actively participated in the working group responsible for drafting the IBC report on "Ethical issues in neurotechnology". He also supported the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on Ethics of AI in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Qingming Luo – China
Qingming Luo is President of Hainan University and an expert in neuroimaging. He is an elected member of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is one of the organizers of the China Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Project ("Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology", also known as the "China Brain Project"), in charge of the technology platform sub-committee. He was the principal investigator of the "Ethical Issues on Nanoimaging and Nano-pharmaceuticals" project, from 2011 to 2013. He has also been a member of numerous international academic societies, including the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Pedro Esteban Maldonado Arbogast – Chile
Pedro Esteban Maldonado Arbogast is a full professor and former Director of the Department of Neuroscience and a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile. He is also a principal investigator at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA). His research focuses on active sensing and neural network energy homeostasis. He has been a Director and founding member of the Chilean Neuroscience Society since 2005. Since 2021, as a representative of the academic world, he participates in government discussions of Chilean legislation on neuro-rights and artificial intelligence policy.
Olivia Precious Matshabane – South Africa
Dr Matshabane is a neuroethics researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University. She is the Principal Investigator on an African Academy of Sciences and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seed grant focussed on advancing neuroethics in Africa. She completed two postdoctoral fellowships: one at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and another at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. She is a member of the leadership committee of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) Africa Working Group. She is also the South Africa representative in the African Brain Data Network (ABDN) and the International Neuroethics Society (INS) representative to the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). Dr Matshabane also participated in the United Nations National Experts Roundtables on Neurotechnology in 2021.
Robert Moumdjian – Lebanon
Dr Moumdjian is a professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Montreal. He is a neurosurgeon at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM). Dr Moumdjian received his his PhD in Neuroimmunology-Oncology from McGill University in 1989, where he was awarded the Killam Prize for best research in neuroscience in 1989. In 1996, he co-founded the Neuro-Oncology Clinic at the CHUM Research Centre. He was principal investigator of the first gene therapy trial for brain tumors in Canada and the U.S., in Phase II and Phase III. He sits on the Neurosurgery Program Admissions Committee, the CHUM Organ Donation Committee, the Pituitary Tumor Committee, the Primary Brain Tumor Committee and the Cyberknife Committee. He has served on the Novartis Gene Therapy Advisory Board.
Sody Mweetwa Munsaka - Zambia
Prof. Munsaka is an Associate Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Zambia. His research focuses on evaluating markers of neuroinflammation in HIV subtype C-infected individuals and post-mortem brain samples in Zambia. He is the Council Chairperson of the National Science and Technology Council, Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Biosafety Authority, and Board Member of the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research. Prof. Munsaka is also Chairman of the Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (UNZABREC), and Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Zambia. He is the former Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the School of Health Sciences in Lusaka, Zambia.
Ioana Roxana Podina – Romania
Dr Podina is an Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Psychology and Psychotherapy of the University of Bucharest, where she teaches Psychopathology, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Clinical Sciences, Applied Cognitive Psychology, and Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. She is the Head of the Laboratory of Cognitive Clinical Sciences of the University of Bucharest, as well as the principal Investigator of the “aiCARE project - An Artificial Intelligence powered Conversational therapeutic Agent for Anxiety and depREssion in young adult cancer survivors”. Dr Podina is also an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, Journal of Psychotherapy Research, and of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Research areas are digital mental health, e-Health interventions, psychopathology and experimental psychopathology, clinical cognitive science, human-computer interaction, meta-research in psychology.
Dimiter Prodanov – Bulgaria
Dimiter Prodanov is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT) at Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2022 he was granted one of the first ERA Chairs in Bulgaria to start a research laboratory on neurotechnology at IICT. He is also an Associated Research Fellow at the Neuroscience Research Flanders (NERF), and a regulatory expert in IMEC in Leuven, Belgium - a world-leading research center in the area of nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Since 2008 Dimiter Prodanov conducted research in the development of deep brain stimulation and recording electrodes. Prof. Prodanov has a rich and diverse academic and professional background in neuroscience, medicine, and engineering. Originally a doctor of medicine by training, Prof. Prodanov's research contributions span computational biology, mathematical epidemiology, as well as therapeutic modulation of brain activity. His technical pursuits involve the assessment of technological risks, and the development of computer algebra tools and numerical algorithms to model biophysical phenomena and analyze images.
Monique Pyrrho – Brazil
Monique Pyrrho has been a researcher at the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the University of Brasilia since 2008. She is also a professor in the doctoral program in bioethics and professor of bioethics at the International Center for Bioethics and Human Sciences at the University of Brasilia. Dr Pyrrho has conducted research on nanotechnologies and ethics, privacy, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and health.
Patricio Javier Santillan-Doherty – Mexico
Patricio Javier Santillan Doherty is Head of the National Bioethics Committee of Mexico and former President of the Colegio de Bioética. He has been a member of working groups on AI and Patient-Doctor Relationship at the Council of Europe. He represented Mexico on the Committee on Bioethics and Human Rights (CDBIO) and participated in UNESCO's Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC). He is a practicing thoracic surgeon and was formerly Head of the Experimental Surgery Department and Chairman of the Investigation Ethics Committee at the National Institute for Medical Sciences and Nutrition (1997-2012). He was Head of the Department of Experimental Surgery (1987-1997) as well as Deputy Director of Surgery and more recently Medical Director at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (2012-2022).
Lucia Machova Urdzikova – Czechia
Lucia Machová Urdzíková is a scientific researcher at the Institute of Experimental Medicine AVCR in Prague. With over 20 years of research experience, her research focuses on neuroscience and neurotechnology, specializing in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and central nervous system trauma. She is member of the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Experimental Medicine AVCR. She is also an Ethics expert for the European Commission, as well as an ethics advisor for SMEs in the field of Biotechnology.
Yodchanan Wongsawat - Thailand
Yodchanan Wongsawat is the Director of Mahidol University's Institute of Technology and Innovation Management. He is also Director of the Brain Machine Interface Laboratory (BCILAB). His research interests include brain-machine interface, medical devices as well as biomedical engineering. With his contribution in brain-computer interface technology, he has received the 2013 Mahidol University distinguished academic career award. He was project development consultant for "Alertz", an innovative EEG headset for the detection of drowsiness at the wheel. He holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington.
