The International Symposium on Brain Function and Cognition (ISBFC) aims to provide an opportunity for discussing the structure and function of the human brain. Its goal is to delve deeper into understanding how these factors interact with cognitive abilities, physiologic deficits and motor skills.
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ISBFC 2026
International Symposium on Brain Function and Cognition
6-7 October 2026
Insights into the future of NeuroAI
Holon, Israel
Holon, Israel
Organizers
About ISBFC
Keynote Speakers
Hadar LEVI-AHARONI
Dr. Hadar Levi-Aharoni is a neuroscientist specializing in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), with a focus on restoring communication for people with paralysis. Her research utilizes intracortical neural recordings to decode intended speech and hand movements from motor cortical activity.
Oren SHRIKI
Prof. Oren Shriki is a computational neuroscientist and founder of the Computational Psychiatry and Neurotechnology Lab at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. He received his Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Mental Health (USA).
Tal GOLAN
Dr. Tal Golan is a cognitive computational neuroscientist whose work combines neural network modeling, psychophysics, and neuroimaging to study human visual cognition. His research uses deep learning to implement explicit computational hypotheses about visual perception, and employs model-driven experimental design to test and compare these accounts against empirical brain and behavioral data.
Christopher JAMES
Christopher is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering from the University of Warwick whose work focuses on physiological measurement, biomedical signal processing, and the development of mobile research platforms for real world health studies. He leads major EPSRC funded programmes and multi-institutional pilots that combine rigorous measurement science with inclusive, community embedded research
Rafael MALACH
Prof. Rafael Malach received his PhD in Physiological Optics (1982) from the University of California at Berkeley and did postdoctoral research at MIT. Since 1985, he is a member of the Brain Sciences Department at the Weizmann Institute. In 2026 he joined the Recanati School of Medicine at Reichman University. In 2022 Malach received the EMET Prize in the life sciences.
Takufumi YANAGISAWA
Prof. Takufumi Yanagisawa is Professor of Neuroinformatics and a neurosurgeon at The University of Osaka. His research combines intracranial electrophysiology and artificial intelligence to decode brain activity and develop clinical brain-machine interfaces for communication and neurological rehabilitation. He is also the founder and CEO of ivec Inc., which is translating minimally invasive endovascular EEG technology into clinical applications for people with severe paralysis.
Hadar LEVI-AHARONI
Dr. Hadar Levi-Aharoni is a neuroscientist specializing in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), with a focus on restoring communication for people with paralysis. Her research utilizes intracortical neural recordings to decode intended speech and hand movements from motor cortical activity. She works with individuals with ALS, including with a completely locked-in syndrome, as well as with stroke patients. Her work pursues two main directions: investigating semantic representations of language at the single-neuron level to improve speech decoding, and characterizing stability and non-stationarity in neural signals in the locked-in state to enhance long-term decoding performance.
Dr. Levi-Aharoni received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics and her Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was advised by Prof. Naftali Tishby and Prof. Oren Shriki. Her doctoral research examined surprise signals within predictive coding frameworks, integrating theoretical information-theoretic models with experimental studies of human brain function. She continued this line of work in postdoctoral research with Prof. Tishby and Prof. Mor Nahum, exploring applications to cognitive BCI-based interventions. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, working with Dr. Daniel Rubin and Prof. Leigh Hochberg as part of the BrainGate consortium.
Oren SHRIKI
His research combines mathematical modeling of brain dynamics, machine learning, and neurotechnology to study neurological disorders, consciousness, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). He is particularly interested in critical brain dynamics as a framework for understanding brain function and dysfunction, and in developing AI-based methods for analyzing neural activity and enabling personalized neurological care. His laboratory develops computational approaches for identifying biomarkers of neurological disorders and translating advances in neuroscience into practical neurotechnologies for diagnosis, monitoring, communication, and rehabilitation.
In 2021, he co-founded NeuroHelp, a neurotechnology company developing wearable EEG systems and AI algorithms for continuous monitoring of neurological conditions. His work spans both fundamental neuroscience and the translation of NeuroAI innovations into real-world clinical applications.
Associate Professor – Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – NeuroHelp.
Tal GOLAN
Dr. Tal Golan is a cognitive computational neuroscientist whose work combines neural network modeling, psychophysics, and neuroimaging to study human visual cognition. His research uses deep learning to implement explicit computational hypotheses about visual perception, and employs model-driven experimental design to test and compare these accounts against empirical brain and behavioral data.
A central theme in Dr. Golan’s research is the design of “controversial stimuli”, a class of diagnostic test stimuli for which models make distinct predictions. These stimuli are generated using optimization and generative AI, and are then tested in human empirical studies. This approach enables critical experiments in which alternative computational accounts are pitted against one another. Current projects in his lab use this strategy, along with additional model-driven experimental methods, to study human visual categorization and similarity judgments, stimulus-driven human eye movements, and the relation between adversarial robustness and human perception. The lab also develops information-theoretic methods for comparing neural network and brain representations.
Dr. Golan received his Ph.D. from the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, advised by Prof. Rafael Malach and Prof. Leon Deouell. He conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, hosted by Prof. Nikolaus Kriegeskorte. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the School of Brain Sciences and Cognition, as well as the Data Science Research Center.
Christopher JAMES
Christopher is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering from the University of Warwick whose work focuses on physiological measurement, biomedical signal processing, and the development of mobile research platforms for real world health studies. He leads major EPSRC funded programmes and multi-institutional pilots that combine rigorous measurement science with inclusive, community embedded research.
Christopher is also the founder of EMbody Biosignals Ltd, a company dedicated to making biological and physiological data understandable, accessible, and useful across research, industry, and community settings. His leadership includes developing the Bionics Bus, a mobile laboratory that brings advanced sensing technologies into schools and underserved communities, enabling participatory science at scale. Christopher is widely recognised for his expertise in extracting meaningful information from physiological data collected beyond the clinic (in homes, schools, and community environments) and for translating these complex signals into clear, impact focused scientific communication.
Rafael MALACH
Prof. Rafael Malach received his PhD in Physiological Optics (1982) from the University of California at Berkeley and did postdoctoral research at MIT. Since 1985, he is a member of the Brain Sciences Department at the Weizmann Institute. In 2026 he joined the Recanati School of Medicine at Reichman University. In 2022 Malach received the EMET Prize in the life sciences.
Malach’s central research aim is to uncover principles by which the human brain underlies the emergence of high-level cognitive behaviors. To that end he combines functional brain imaging using magnetic resonance with invasive electrophysiological recordings, performed for diagnostic purposes in patients. Recently his group has made significant contributions exploring informative parallels between artificial neural networks and perceptual mechanisms of the human cerebral cortex. His group has published over 170 papers.
Takufumi YANAGISAWA
Prof. Takufumi Yanagisawa is Professor of Neuroinformatics and a neurosurgeon at The University of Osaka. His research combines intracranial electrophysiology and artificial intelligence to decode brain activity and develop clinical brain-machine interfaces for communication and neurological rehabilitation. He is also the founder and CEO of ivec Inc., which is translating minimally invasive endovascular EEG technology into clinical applications for people with severe paralysis.
Professor of Neuroinformatics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka
Organizing Committee
Hiromu SAKAI
Waseda University
Hiromu SAKAI
Professor Hiromu Sakai awarded Ph.D. in Social Science from University of California, Irvine. Since then, he worked as a professor in Hiroshima University and Waseda University. His current research focuses on neural representation and processing of language, inference, and thought using neuroimaging technologies such as MEG, ECoG, fMRI and machine learning data processing algorithm.
Professor –Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Director –Center for English Language Education for Science and Engineering (CELESE), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Researcher (Joint Appointment) –Waseda Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Dmitry PATASHOV
Waseda University
Dmitry PATASHOV
Dr. Dmitry Patashov holds Ph.D. in Systems and Information Engineering from University of Tsukuba, Japan. He specializes in Information Engineering. His main interests are Methods for Processing and Analysis of Neuroimaging Data.
Assistant Professor / Researcher – Waseda Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Visiting Researcher – RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Riken Institute, Saitama Japan
Michal BALBERG
Holon Institute of Technology
Michal BALBERG
Dr. Balberg’s research focuses on optical, non-invasive and localized functional imaging and monitoring of the brain. She holds a B.Sc. in physics and a Ph.D. in neural computation, both from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Beckman Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Senior Lecturer – Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Holon Institute of Technology, Holon, Israel
Refael BARKAN
Holon Institute of Technology
Refael BARKAN
Dr. Barkan holds M.D., Ph.D. in Brain Science, B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Computer Science. Founded the first academic faculty in Digital Medical Technologies in Israel.
Co-founded FUTURE@HIT – Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, one of the 10 national centers of its kind, supported by the Israeli government.
Graduate of the “Leadership in Academia” program – senior leadership development network in higher education and the “8400 HealthTech Leadership” program.
V.P. for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Internationalization / Transforming Healthcare Technology / Entrepreneur / Leading Innovation in Higher Education – Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Holon, Israel
Manabu TANIFUJI
Waseda University
Manabu TANIFUJI
Dr. Manabu Tanifuji has worked on neural mechanisms of object recognition from 1997 till 2020. He is also the inventor of fOCT (functional optical coherence tomography), the optical technique to visualize 3D functional structure. He moved to Waseda University in 2020 and has started to investigate language processing in the brain with MEG (magnetoencephalography).
Adjunct Professor – Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Ira IVSHIN-GUETTA
Holon Institute of Technology
Ira IVSHIN-GUETTA
Ms. Ira Ivshin Guetta holds her B.A. degree in social science and M.A. degree in business management.
Responsible of the International Partnerships and Programs at the International Office. Within the responsibilities, she conducts the International Agreements with strategic academic partners, among which Erasmus+. She also represents HIT in international conferences, organizes such in HIT, invites staff and students to participate in workshops and conferences overseas and straightening the collaboration between the academic partners.
International Partnerships and Programs Manager – Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Holon, Israel
Dmitry GOLDSTEIN
Holon Institute of Technology
Dmitry GOLDSTEIN
Dmitry Goldstein is a mathematician with research interests in spectral geometry, operator theory, and signal processing. His work focuses on geometric, spectral, and graph-based methods for the analysis of biomedical and neuroscientific data. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Bar-Ilan University.
Senior Lecturer and Head of the Center for Complex Data Analysis, Faculty of Sciences, Holon Institute of Technology
Yakir MENAHEM
Holon Institute of Technology
Yakir MENAHEM
Yakir Menahem holds an M.Sc. in Computer Science from the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering. He specializes in signal processing and neural network architectures tailored for complex brain and multimodal data analysis.
Researcher and Laboratory Manager – Center for Complex Data Analysis, Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Holon, Israel
Lecturer and Course Coordinator – Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Holon, Israel
Scientific Committee
Hiromu SAKAI
Waseda University
Hiromu SAKAI
Professor Hiromu Sakai awarded Ph.D. in Social Science from University of California, Irvine. Since then, he worked as a professor in Hiroshima University and Waseda University. His current research focuses on neural representation and processing of language, inference, and thought using neuroimaging technologies such as MEG, ECoG, fMRI and machine learning data processing algorithm.
His representative works are:
Zhao, Z. A., Sakai, H., & Luo, Y. (2025). “Simpler is better”: Japanese children’s learning of case-markers in transitive sentences. Language Learning and Development, 1–23.
doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2025.2462017
Nakamura, M., Momma, S., Sakai, H., & Phillips, C. (2024). Task and Timing Effects in Argument Role Sensitivity: Evidence From Production, EEG, and Computational Modeling, Cognitive Science 12, e70023.
doi.org/10.1111/cogs.70023
Tanaka, K., Tsukahara, A., Miyanaga, H., Tsunematsu, S., Kato, T., Matsubara, Y., & Sakai, H. (2024). Superconducting Self-Shielded and Zero-Boil-Off Magnetoencephalogram Systems: A Dry Phantom Evaluation, Sensors 24(18), 6044.
doi.org/10.3390/s24186044
Lai, Y.-Y., Sakai, H., & Makuuchi, M. (2023). Neural underpinnings of processing combinatorial unstated meaning and the influence of individual cognitive style, Cerebral Cortex 33(18), 10013-10027.
doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhad261
Ito, A., & Sakai, H. (2021). Everyday language exposure shapes prediction of specific words in listening comprehension: A visual world eye-tracking study, Frontiers in Psychology 12, 607474.
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.607474
Professor – Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Director – Center for English Language Education for Science and Engineering (CELESE), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Researcher (Joint Appointment) – Waseda Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Manabu TANIFUJI
Waseda University
Manabu TANIFUJI
Dr. Manabu Tanifuji has worked on neural mechanisms of object recognition from 1997 till 2020. He is also the inventor of fOCT (functional optical coherence tomography), the optical technique to visualize 3D functional structure. He moved to Waseda University in 2020 and has started to investigate language processing in the brain with MEG (magnetoencephalography).
Adjunct Professor – Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Erez SIMONY
Holon Institute of Technology
Erez SIMONY
Prof. Erez Simony is an Associate Professor of Brain Sciences in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) and a Scientific Advisor at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
His lab investigates the neurocognitive representations of the human brain during rich, naturalistic stimulation—such as movies and stories—using machine learning to analyze fMRI and ECoG recordings. The lab’s research aims to understand how these stimuli are transformed into short- and long-term memories in both healthy and impaired individuals, and how memory traces are represented at the level of local brain regions as well as through large-scale neural communication across brain networks.
Prof. Simony holds a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, and dual B.Sc. degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from the Technion. As a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, he specialized in large-scale brain network dynamics during naturalistic stimulation, employing neuroimaging and computational approaches.
Associate Professor – Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Holon Institute of Technology (HIT), Israel.
Scientific Advisor – Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.
Anat MIRELMAN
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center | Tel Aviv University
Anat MIRELMAN
Prof. Anat Mirelman, PhD is a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University and is the director of the Laboratory for Early Markers of neurodegeneration (LEMON) at the Tel Aviv Medical Center (TLVMC). In her research she is privileged to address question on motor and cognitive function in ageing and disease and mechanisms of neurodegeneration. In the past 15 years, Prof. Mirelman has lead the ‘Genetics in Parkinson’s disease Project’ at TLVMC which aims to identify early markers that could indicate disease processes in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and individuals at risk due to genetic mutations associated with PD. Prof. Mirelman’s specific interest is in quantitative, objective measures obtained from wearable sensors and digital technology, and their utility in identifying markers of disease and disease progression. To date, the cohort includes more than 3000 participants and is considered one of the largest genetic PD cohorts in the world. Prof Mirelman and her team have published over 150 papers on markers of neurodegeneration and disease progression. LEMON is home to software engineers, neurologists, computational analyst research assistants and several MSc and PhD students.
Director – Laboratory for Early Markers of Neurodegeneration (LEMON), Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
Professor – Sagol School for Neuroscience and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Abigail LIVNY EZER
Sheba Medical Center | Tel Aviv University | CoPilotMD
Abigail LIVNY EZER
Dr. Abigail Livny-Ezer, Director of the C.BIRD Center- Clinical Brain Imaging R&D Center, and an assistant professor at the Imaging Department and Sagol Neuroscience School, Tel Aviv University.
Dr. Abigail Livny-Ezer is a neuroscientist, expert in neuroimaging. Following her Master’s degree in clinical neuropsychology studies at the Hebrew University, Dr. Livny-Ezer specialized during her PhD studies in MRI brain imaging at the School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. She is a member of the first cohort of esteemed TELEM program for “Excellency & Leadership in research” at the Sheba Medical Center.
Dr. Livny-Ezer leads multidisciplinary research that focuses on brain reorganization in various neuro-pathologies, aiming to uncover mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity and disease progression. Specifically, she focuses on how network disruptions both in structural and functional connectivity affect clinical and cognitive outcome. In addition, her neuroimaging center provides clinical services of brain-mapping for precision in several neurosurgical procedures. Recently, she founded 2 startup companies, both integrating advanced neuroimaging and AI: CoPilotMD, serves as a second set of eyes for the neuro-endovascular surgeon in real-time; and Inkognito, empowers diagnostics and treatment precision by fingerprinting brain disorders.
Director – C.BIRD-Clinical Brain Imaging R&D Center, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
Researcher – Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Researcher – Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Co-Founder & CSO – CoPilotMD, Tel Aviv, Israel
Inbal MAIDAN
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center | Tel Aviv University
Inbal MAIDAN
Dr. Inbal Maidan is a distinguished neuroscientist specializing in the investigation of neural mechanisms underlying motor and cognitive functions in neurological disorders, with a primary focus on Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Her research aims to identify and quantify alterations in brain mechanisms as biomarkers for disease risk, progression, and treatment effects.
Employing a multi-modal approach, Dr. Maidan combines motor-cognitive assessments with advanced neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, fNIRS) and electrophysiology methods (EEG, TMS). She has extensive experience in measuring brain activation during rest, motor, and cognitive tasks, investigating their correlation to performance under various levels of difficulty, including dual-task conditions.
Dr. Maidan’s expertise extends to advanced EEG analyses, which she utilizes to reveal sensitive biomarkers for disease diagnosis, progression, and intervention efficacy. While her primary focus has been on Parkinson’s disease and aging, she has recently expanded her research to include epilepsy, addressing critical unmet needs in this field.
As Director of the Brain Electrophysiology & Epilepsy Lab at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Dr. Maidan has made significant contributions to neurology and neuroscience. Her prolific research career is evidenced by 69 publications in high-impact areas over the past decade, solidifying her position as a leading expert in the field.
Director – Brain Electrophysiology & Epilepsy Lab, Neurology Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel
Senior Lecturer – Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Michal BALBERG
Holon Institute of Technology
Michal BALBERG
Dr. Balberg’s research focuses on using near infrared light (NIRS) to study the brain. She is investigating the use of NIRS to identify epileptic activity in patients with epilepsy, connectivity patterns in patients suffering from depression and hemodynamic activity is subjects with cochlear implants. Dr. Balberg is also developing new technologies for monitoring blood flow to the brain and imaging the brain using acousto-optics. Dr. Balberg received a Ph.D. in Neural Computation from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was a postdoctoral Beckman Fellow at the University of Illinois, at Urbana- Champaign. She joined HIT in 2015, after founding a medical device start-up that developed a non-invasive brain monitor (Ornim Medical Ltd.). She is the inventor of more than 20 WW patents, and authored numerous publications in biomedical optics in leading journals and books. Dr. Balberg works in collaboration with researchers at Tufts University and NYU in the US, The Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center, Tel Aviv University and Souraski Medical Center, Sheba Medical Center and Waseda University in Japan.
Senior Lecturer – Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Holon Institute of Technology, Holon, Israel
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