The Human Brain Project (HBP) recently wrapped up its final summit in Marseille, France.
The Palais du Pharo played host to more than 600 attendees from across the globe, marking a triumphant culmination of ten years of neuroscience research and interdisciplinary cooperation facilitated by the project. The event not only celebrated past achievements but also offered an exhilarating glimpse into the future endeavors to come.
Highlights on our journey
Summit Satellite Events Day
Just before the HBP Summit kicked off, a full day dedicated to satellite events was meticulously crafted on March 27, 2023 to provide extensive training and free sessions on using the various tools and services offered by the digital EBRAINS research infrastructure. It also presented invaluable networking opportunities with experts and peers.
Prof. Petra Ritter (left) and Dr. Michael Schirner (right) giving their lecture at the HBP Summit - Satellite Events Day.
©️Photo by Michael Burgstahler, two tribes
The Brain Simulation Section delivered informative lectures and hands-on training sessions, focusing on the utilization of EBRAINS Services for Sensitive Data. These privacy-compliant services are specifically tailored for conducting brain research using sensitive neuroscience data obtained from human subjects.
Program and training materials link available on our Satellite Events Days blogpost.
Read the HBP highlights of the day.
Summit Science Market
At the Science Market, attendees of the Summit seized the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the array of digital tools and services offered by EBRAINS.
The BSS team running the TVB booth at the HBP Summit. From top to bottom panels: Dr. Leon Stefanovski and Leon Martin, Dr. Dionysios Perdikis, Dr. Julie Courtiol along with Borana Dollomaja, AMU-INS, and Christoph Hüttl.
©️Photo by Michael Burgstahler, two tribes
In particular, visitors had the chance to explore The Virtual Brain reference software for comprehensive multiscale brain simulation and also discover the recently introduced GDPR-compliant federated research data ecosystem: the Health Data Cloud.
Watch the brief interview with Patrik Bey:
Visit the official website of The Virtual Brain: https://www.thevirtualbrain.org
Visit the official website of Health Data Cloud: https://www.healthdatacloud.eu
Poster Session
The core areas of focus and guiding principles of the HBP project were vividly showcased through the works presented by young scientists during the poster session.
Dr. Jil Meier presenting her poster "Simulating deep brain stimulation using a multiscale model in The Virtual Brain" at the HBP Summit 2023.
©️Photo by Michael Burgstahler, two tribes
The Brain Simulation Section displayed 6 posters to disseminate its last work among their peers in different institutions. Major themes going from PET and DBS simulation, multiscale co-simulation, to computational knowledge systems and neurorobotics, were presented.
These built or refined tools and methodologies are already available on the EBRAINS research infrastructure: https://www.ebrains.eu/tools/the-virtual-brain.
“Through the HBP, we have been given access to a lot of data and tools, and now we want to find our own solutions to put them to the best use, to make them fit our research questions.”, says Christoph Hüttl, who was presenting The Virtual Brain Ontology, a system to categorise parameters used in The Virtual Brain and now ties them back to a common biological meaning and function.
You can access the poster abstracts on our HBP Summit blogpost.
Read the HBP highlights of the poster sessions.
Main Scientific Meeting
At the HBP Summit, researchers showcased the remarkable scientific accomplishments of the project and emphasized its lasting impact on the research community. With the project nearing its completion in September 2023, a significant highlight of the final HBP Summit in Marseille revolved around deliberations on the future of digital brain research.
Prof. Petra Ritter at the "Brain Health: an emerging European policy priority" panel discussion, together with Stefan Schreck, European Commission DG SANTE (left) and Nicolas Gazères, Dassault Systèmes (right).
©️Photo by Michael Burgstahler, two tribes
On the second day of the summit, a range of crucial topics were addressed, with a particular emphasis on "Brain Health: an emerging European policy priority".
Prof. Ritter was invited to take the stage and engage in a discussion highlighting the growing need to harness computational advancements within the field and to effectively translate new insights into innovative technologies and healthcare solutions.
Find out more
Relive some of the highlights from the Human Brain Project Summit 2023!