LSMU Contributions to EBRAINS: Advancing Brain Research Together
EBRAINS (European Brain ReseArch InfrastructureS, ebrains.eu) is the premier research infrastructure for brain research aiming to advance multidiciplinary collaborative research in fundamental neuroscience, medicine and artificial intelligence, translation of innovations into clinical practice, and promotion of education in the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience.
EBRAINS is a leading digital research infrastructure that promotes and accelerates progress in neuroscience, medicine and neurotechnologies, and unites leading institutions of brain research in Europe. EBRAINS aims to foster a deeper understanding of brain structure and function using personalized digital brain twin models, to develop advanced methods for the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of brain diseases, to develop effective artificial intelligence technologies, to train a younger generation of scientists, to communicate the latest innovations from EBRAINS, and to educate the public about brain health and wellbeing.
LSMU has an extensive network of international cooperation in Europe and collaborates with EBRAINS centers in France (System Neuroscience Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille), Switzerland (University of Bern, Bern), Germany (Jülich Research Centre, Jülich), Italy (University of Pavia, Pavia; Institute of Biophysics, Palermo), Belgium (Ghent University, Ghent), Sweden (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm), Norway (University of Oslo, Oslo), Finland (Tampere University, Tampere).
Intensive and successful research activities are carried out with Prof. Viktor Jirsa (EBRAINS Chief Science Officer, EBRAINS The Virtual Brain leader; Director of Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Aix-Marseille University, France) on building personalized digital brain twin models for personalized medicine.
EBRAINS Lithuania successfully participates in Horizon 2020 and European Horizon projects together with EBRAINS scientists, present research results in publications, presentations at conferences, organize joint scientific and educational events, participate in exchange programs for scientists and students, train undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in EBRAINS research topics.
Joint scientific projects of LSMU and the EBRAINS/Human Brain Project:
- „Implementing digital services to empower neuroscience research for health and brain inspired technology via EBRAINS“. HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-B-01 (Research infrastructure services to support health research and accelerate the digital transformation (2023)). Topic: HORIZON-INFRA-2022-SERV-B-01-01 Type of Action: HORIZON-RIA (HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions). 2024-2026.
- “Personalized Virtual Brain Model for Parkinson’s Disease Patients”, Lithuanian-French programme “Gilibert”, 2025-2026.
- “Prediction of neurosurgical treatment outcomes in Parkinson‘s disease”. EBRAINS Research Infrastructure Voucher Programme Call 2020. 2022-2023.
- “Multiscale Modelling of Impaired Learning in Alzheimer’s Disease and Innovative Treatments”. FLAG-ERA, the Flagship ERA-NET Joint Transnational Call JTC 2019 in synergy with the Human Brain Project. No. S-FLAG-ERA-20-1. 2020-2023.
- Multiscale Hippocampal Models for Neuronal Plasticity: Integration to the Brain Simulation Platform – HippoPlasticity, EU programme Horizon 2020 Human Brain Project Partnering Project. 2019-2020.
- Network models including neuron-glia interactions. Project name: EU FET Flagship Human Brain Project. Project ID: 650003. Call: H2020-FETFLAG-2014. Programme:H2020. SP4 Theoretical Neuroscience, Work package P4.2 Generic Models of Brain Circuits. 2019.
Scientific and educational events organized by LSMU in collaboration with EBRAINS/Human Brain Project:
- 10th EBRAINS Baltic-Nordic Summer School „From Neurons to The Virtual Brain, Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence“, Helsinki-Stockholm-Helsinki, 28-31 May 2024. Read more..
- „Artificial Intelligence in Medicine“, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania, 23 Nobember. Read more..
- EBRAINS Brain Simulation School 2022 “Training on Single Neuron Models, Brain Circuit Models, Cognition, Collaboratory, Synaptic Plasticity and Learning”, Palermo, Italy, May 29 – 4 June 2022. Read more..
- Human Brain Project/EBRAINS Symposium “From Cortical Neurocircuits to Consciousness”, Paris, France, 11-13 April 2022. Read more..
- Human Brain Project/EBRAINS Young Investigator Event „EBRAINS for Medicine“, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania (virtual) 26-27 May 2021. Read more..
- Human Brain Project/ EBRAINS 8th Baltic-Nordic School on Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics BNNI 2021 „Learning in the Brain and NeuroRobots – from Molecules to Behaviour with the EBRAINS Training on the Brain Function, Dysfunction and Neurorobotic Systems”, Stockholm, Sweden (virtual), October 21-25 2021. Read more..
In 2024, LSMU scientists actively participated in the meetings of the EBRAINS international network. Dr. Augustinas Povilas Fedaravičius (LSMU Neuroscience Institute; LSMU Department of Neurosurgery) interned at the Neurosciences des Systèmes Institute, Aix-Marseille University, (France) and participated in the EBRAINS Fall School of Computational Neuroscience on October 21-24, 2024. Vytautas Kučinskas, PhD student (LSMU Neuroscience Institute) participated at the Brain Innovation Days 2024 in Brussels, Belgium on November 12-15, 2024. Participation in these events allowed establishing new international contacts and will contribute to the application of acquired knowledge in the planning and development of further advanced research and educational activities of EBRAINS.
LSMU membership in EBRAINS enables the strengthening of collaboration with Europe’s leading neuroscience institutions, the development of research projects using the EBRAINS “The Virtual Brain” platform, the organization of scientific and educational events, the training of young researchers, and the expansion of EBRAINS activities in Lithuania and the Baltic States.
LSMU is an associative member of EBRAINS since 2022. Prof. Aušra Saudargienė (LSMU Neuroscience institute; LSMU Department of Health Psychology) is a member of the EBRAINS Science and Technology Committee since 2022, and represents the interests and achievements of the Lithuanian researchers in neuroscience, medicine, brain modelling and artificial intelligence.
LSMU membership in the EBRAINS network is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania. The project “Membership in the EBRAINS International Network No. 2024-PRO-00022” is financed through the Recovery and Resilience Facility under the “Next Generation Lithuania” plan and the Lithuanian State Budget funds.
