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Blog

Building Bridge between Large-Scale Brain Initiatives

3 November 2025

Event: Joint INCF–EBRAINS Day 
Date: 11 December 2025 
Registration: https://summit2025.ebrains.eu/register-to-ebrains-summit-2025 
Program Committee: Mathew Abrams, Jan Bjaalie, Archana Golla

As part of the upcoming Joint INCF–EBRAINS Day at the EBRAINS Summit 2025, a dedicated session will bring together leaders from major international neuroscience research infrastructures to discuss how the community can strengthen collaboration and maximize collective impact. The session will provide a platform to identify common gaps, address persistent challenges, and explore new opportunities for partnership and interoperability across neuroscience data and service infrastructures.

Purpose and Format

This interactive session will be structured into three discussion segments, each focusing on one of the main themes: Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities. Each segment will be introduced by a representative repository, followed by a panel of speakers representing a range of neuroscience infrastructures who will exchange perspectives on current needs, barriers, and potential strategies for collaboration.

1. Understanding the Gaps

Moderated by: JB Poline, NeuroBagel

The first session will focus on identifying existing gaps in neuroscience research infrastructures and how greater coordination can help address them.

Participants:

  • Kenji Doya: Brain/MINDS
  • Florian Hutzler: Austrian NeuroCloud
  • Franco Pestilli: BrainLife

The discussion will highlight the importance of interoperability, shared data standards, and improved access to distributed datasets. Panelists are expected to emphasize that aligning metadata frameworks and enhancing data discoverability will be key steps toward building a more connected research environment.

2. Addressing the Challenges

Moderated by: Maryann Martone, SPARC

The second session will turn to the practical and organizational challenges faced by neuroscience infrastructures — from data governance and sustainability to community engagement.

Participants:

  • Birgit Schaffhauser: MIP, HIP
  • Yaroslav Halchenko: DANDI Archive
  • Thomas Wachtler: G-Node

Panelists will discuss strategies for ensuring long-term infrastructure viability, enhancing user support, and navigating evolving data-sharing policies. The conversation will also explore how to foster trust, transparency, and user-centered design to strengthen community participation.

3. Exploring the Opportunities

Moderated by: Jan Bjaalie, EBRAINS

The final session will look ahead to the future of neuroscience collaboration, identifying opportunities for innovation and integration across infrastructures.

Participants:

  • Cyril Pernet: Public Neuro
  • Petra Ritter: Health Data Cloud
  • Gard Thomassen: Services for Sensitive Data (TSD), University of Oslo

This discussion will explore potential avenues for cross-platform interoperability, federated data sharing, and leveraging cloud-based solutions to support large-scale neuroscience research. Panelists will envision how coordinated efforts can drive progress and enable more seamless data exchange across the community.

Looking Ahead

The Program Committee members expect this session to reaffirm a shared vision among neuroscience infrastructure leaders: a collaborative, open, and sustainable data ecosystem that empowers researchers and accelerates discovery. By working together to identify gaps, confront challenges, and embrace opportunities, the neuroscience community will continue to build toward a more connected and impactful future.